The thirteenth annual National Ocean Sciences Bowl was held at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, Florida April 23–25 2010. Once again the Oceanic Engineering Society was one of the sponsors and Norman D. Miller represented the Society at the event. High School students and their coaches from 25 high schools across the country that had won their regional competitions attended and took part in the finals competition.
     The event began with field trips around the St. Petersburg area on Friday morning. The formal opening ceremony took place Friday afternoon in the FWRI auditorium on the USF campus. Dr. Bob Gargosian opened the meeting and introduced the mayor of St. Petersburg who welcomed all. He was followed by a short welcoming address from Dr. Al Hine, Associate Dean of the College of Marine Science and Professor of Geological Oceanography at USF. He was followed by W. Bruce Strickrott from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who gave a very interesting presentation on deep submergence vehicles, especially Alvin. Mr. Strickrott is the expedition leader and chief pilot of the manned deep submergence vehicle Alvin at Wood Hole. His presentation was very well received and was a most appropriate kick-off for the NOSB competitions.
     The competitions began in earnest on Saturday morning in the Science and Technology Building. This was a very fitting place as it is a new building and class rooms are well suited for competitions. Each row of tables is higher than the preceding row, hence visibility if perfect throughout the room. The competitions continued throughout the day through Double Elimination Round 4. Everyone then adjourned to the USF Pool area for dinner and an evening Marine Career Extravaganza.
     Sunday morning began with everyone assembled in the FWRI auditorium. Rear Admiral David Titley, Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy gave a very interesting presentation on his work. This was followed by the Double Elimination Rounds 5–8. The rounds were completed shortly afternoon and lunch was held. The Awards Ceremony was held in the FWRI Auditorium beginning at 2:00 PM. Dr. Gagosian opened the ceremony and invited all students in 9th through 25th places to stand and be recognized by a round of applause. The formal award presentations followed. Dr. Gagosian called Colonel Norman Miller from the Oceanic Engineering Society to come forward and present the 8th through 5th place awards. The team captains came forward as their award was called and received a plaque and award certificate from Colonel Miller. Photos were taken as each plaque was presented with a ­final photograph of the whole group. The schools receiving the awards were:

8th place team – Arcadia High School, Arcadia, California.	7th place team – Thomas Jefferson High School, Alexandria, Virginia.
5th place team – Punahou High School, Honolulu, Hawaii.	6th place team – Neah-Kah-Nie High School, Rockaway Beach, Oregon.

     Dr. Gagosian then called Dr. Shirley Pomponi forward to present the 4th place award to La Jolla High School, La Jolla, California. Judith Coats presented the 3rd place award to Mission San Jose High School, Fremont, California. The 2nd place award was presented by Captain William Kearse (NOAA) to the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST) from Highlands, New Jersey. The 1st place award was then presented to Marshfield High School, of Marshfield, Wisconsin, by Dean Bill Hogarth. The final award given is the Sportsmanship Award. The students vote on the team they view worthy of this award. The award was presented to Langham Creek High School, Houston, Texas by Dr. Michael Kassner of ONR. Everyone stood and applauded this award.
     Dr. Gagosian then gave a few closing remarks and introduced the photographers, who had been busy throughout the competitions. They had produced a short video of the competitions and presented this as the closing act. It was received with great applause and the 13th annual National Ocean Sciences Bowl came to an end!