Westview Wins Regional Science Bowl; Sunset Places 3rd
By Camden Maggard
Westview High School’s Science Bowl team placed first at the regional National Science Bowl (NSB) competition, which was held online last week. The team will advance to the nationwide NSB competition and will potentially travel to Washington, DC later this year if they progress further in the competition.
Zachary Zhang, a member of Westview’s Science Bowl team, observed that “this year [the Westview team] scored higher than last year” but noted that “the questions [seemed] easier” than they had in previous years. Zhang also shared, “Many of the other schools…[gave] more of a run for our money than last year.”
Sunset’s team — coached by biology teacher Tamsen Profit — placed third in the regional competition, advancing to the semifinals before being eliminated. The team did not qualify for the national competition. Mountain View was also competitive at the event.
The National Science Bowl is a contest organized by the U.S. Department of Energy where students are asked questions in both the natural sciences and mathematics. The competition — which started in 1991 — has had around 325,000 student competitors, and 796 high schools participated in 2021. National winners are awarded money for their high school’s science departments.
Last year, the NSB national competition was held digitally due to COVID-19 concerns. This year, plans are in place to hold the initial rounds of the national competition online, and the final rounds will be held in person in Washington, DC with vaccination or testing requirements in place for all competitors.
