NRD New Orleans to Attend "Hurricane Bowl" 2012

NEW ORLEANS (NNS) -- Navy Recruiting District (NRD) New Orleans recruiters will attend the Central Gulf Coast Regional Ocean Sciences Bowl (ROSB) at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, Miss., Feb. 4.

The ROSB, also known as the "Hurricane Bowl," is a regional competition that tests high school students' knowledge of marine sciences including subjects in biology, chemistry, physics and geology.

For Navy recruiters, this is an opportunity to show the Navy's support of academic achievement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related fields.

"Men and women who are proficient in STEM are important to the future of the United States and to our Navy," said Cmdr. David Weller, NRD New Orleans commanding officer. "Attending the Hurricane Bowl is a great opportunity to show these students that the Navy supports them in their pursuit of academic success."

This year, high school teams from Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and Arkansas will compete at the Hurricane Bowl for a chance to win prizes. The winning high school team will advance for an opportunity to compete at the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) April 19-20 in Baltimore, Md.

During the Hurricane Bowl, the Navy Flight Simulator, a recruiting asset from Navy Recruiting Command, will accompany recruiters to give students a firsthand, interactive experience of the Navy's "Global Force for Good" mission.

According to the NOSB website (www.nosb.org), the NOSB and ROSB competitions were created in 1998, to expand ocean sciences education and enhance public understanding of the oceans. Each year approximately 2,000 students from across the U.S. compete in regional competitions from 25 different locations.

Winners from those regional competitions advance to the national finals competition held in a different location each year. Winners from the national competition are awarded a trip to various marine research locations around the world. Past national winners visited locations such as California, Bermuda, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Michigan and Florida.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Navy Recruiting District New Orleans, visit www.navy.mil/local/nrdno/.