Bainbridge High will send two teams to the 16th annual Orca Bowl, the state’s marine science competition that is held each year at the University of Washington.

This year, the rapid-fire academic competition has attracted 20 teams representing 13 high schools from across the state. The winning team will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Milwaukee in April to compete against 24 other regional champions in the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. Students in Washington state’s competition all receive prizes and can also qualify for scholarships and internships.

Orca Bowl takes place at the UW campus in Seattle on  Saturday, Feb. 23. Teams will face challenging questions about the biology, chemistry, geology, physics, history and economics of the ocean. The competition is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the UW’s Fishery Sciences Building, 1122 N.E. Boat St.

Orca Bowl is hosted by Washington Sea Grant and the UW College of the Environment.

More information is available at http://www.wsg.washington.edu/education/events/orca.html.

The National Ocean Sciences Bowl is a program of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, based in Washington, D.C. About 2,000 students from more than 300 high schools are expected to participate in regional competitions this year.

Based in the College of the Environment at the University of Washington, Washington Sea Grant provides statewide marine research, outreach, and education services. The National Sea Grant College Program is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.