Format and Scoring

Types of Questions
Toss-up: Teams compete to buzz in first and answer the question. A correct answer wins the team four points and the right to attempt a bonus question. No conferring is allowed on toss-ups. If a player buzzes in before a moderator finishes the question, but gets it wrong, the team is assessed a four point penalty and the question is awarded to the other team.

Bonus: Teams have 20 seconds to confer and answer this question. The team captain must begin the team's answer before time is called.

Team Challenge Question: Each Team Challenge Question is an essay type question worth up to 20 points, and partial credit is awarded. Time ranges from 90 seconds to 5 minutes for a challenge question, and the topics can be almost anything related to oceanography.

A single NOSB match consists of two 6-minute buzzer rounds with two Team Challenge Questions in between. Each buzzer round is made up of 7 question pairs (for 14 question pairs per match), each containing a toss-up question and a bonus question.

Officials

* Moderator

* Science Judge

* Rules Judge

* Scorekeeper

* Runner