2015 National Ocean Sciences Bowl Finals Ocean Springs, MS April 23-26, 2015

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1 The NOSB Finals competition in Ocean Springs, MS, April 23-26, 2015 is quickly approaching! The 1 st step in preparation is to complete and send in all forms included in the online packet. The 2 nd step is assisting the NOSB travel coordinator, Julie Farver, in making your travel arrangements. Please read through the NOSB Travel Policy located in this packet. March 16 th : Volunteer info, surveys and Annual Bowl Reports DUE March 25 th : Program, Finals Forms, etc. DUE (Please see 2015 Competition Wrap-up Check List for more information) In this packet ( ) you will find the following documents: NOSB Travel Policy Preliminary Schedule for RCs RC Medical Form RC Responsibility Form RC Competition Wrap-up Check List On the RC Login site, you will find the following: Finals Participation Forms o RC Medical Form o RC Responsibility Form Medical & Responsibility Forms Field Trip Descriptions & Form (*please send completed field trip forms to Amanda Holloway at aholloway@oceanleadership.org) Please send the required forms to the address below: National Ocean Sciences Bowl c/o Amanda Holloway Consortium for Ocean Leadership 1201 New York Avenue NW, 4 th floor Washington, DC Or fax the forms to: ; c/o Amanda Holloway For general questions and form information, contact the NOSB Program Associate: Amanda Holloway, , aholloway@oceanleadership.org For questions related to travel, contact: Julie Farver, Travel & Meeting Manager; ; jfarver@oceanleadership.org Sincerely, Kristen Yarincik, Director, NOSB

2 Travel Policy Specific information regarding the details of your trip is included below. Please read carefully. The Consortium for Ocean Leadership will cover the following pre-arranged travel: airfare, ground transportation, overnight accommodations, and meals for ONE Regional Coordinator (RC) from each region. RCs are expected to be present for ALL activities from Thursday, April 23 until after the awards ceremony Sunday, April 26. Ocean Leadership will not cover items not outlined in this Travel Policy. The competition will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 25-26, 2015 at Ocean Springs High School, 6701 Old Spanish Trail, Ocean Springs, MS. AIRLINE RESERVATIONS: Please contact Julie Farver, NOSB Travel & Meeting Planner, to arrange your airline reservations. NOTE: Wednesday, April 1, 2015 is the absolute last date any airline reservations will be made. Any person or team(s) booking travel after April 1, 2015 may be held responsible for the costs of their airline tickets. Please provide Julie with your desired departure times and departure airports, as well as a list of those individuals that will be traveling and dates of birth of all travelers. When providing a list of travelers please use full names as exactly they appear on the traveler s government-issued identification (no nicknames) to avoid trouble with airport security. Julie will assist you in getting a proposed itinerary from Inglewood Travel for your approval. Once you have reviewed and approved the itinerary the tickets will be purchased and will be non-refundable. **Please ensure you double check your itinerary carefully, paying close attention to details such as names. Once an itinerary is approved, the traveler will be held responsible for any additional charges for changes made to the initial reservation. It is essential that you review your itinerary and approve by return to Julie Farver within 24- hours of receiving the itinerary, as airline tickets MUST be issued within 24-hours of being put on hold. In most cases, if not all, airline reservations will have all participants arriving into the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT) on Thursday, April 23 and departing on Sunday, April 26. If necessary, due to limited flights, certain teams may need to depart the morning of Monday, April 27. If a team member, coach or regional coordinator desires to arrive earlier or stay later for sightseeing or personal reasons they will be responsible for arranging and covering the costs associated with these extra days. To begin the travel process, or if you have any questions or concerns, contact Julie Farver, NOSB Travel & Meeting Manager at (202) or jfarver@oceanleadership.org.

3 LODGING: Regional Coordinators will be housed at the Hampton Inn Biloxi/Ocean Springs, Big Ridge Road, Biloxi, MS Registration for you (and teams) will be held at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, 703 East Beach Drive, Ocean Springs, MS Lodging is covered by NOSB for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights only, except in cases of flight availability. Transportation will be provided between the hotel and Lab. Single rooms will be reserved and you may elect to share to help cover room charges for additional RCs that choose to travel, but additional RCs not covered by Ocean Leadership are expected to make travel arrangements on their own and inform Julie Farver. Provide Julie Farver, NOSB Travel & Meeting Manager, with your full name(s) and she will make room assignments with the hotel. Do not contact the hotel directly for reservations. NOSB Finals Schedule & Meals Summary Every RC is expected to arrive into Gulfport by 4:00pm on Thursday, April 23, This should allow you enough time to check-in at the hotel, then be shuttled to the Lab for registration and to grab dinner (on your own) at the Lab s cafeteria. At 8:00 pm, all RCs are required to attend a meeting at the Lab s cafeteria. First thing Friday morning, participants will eat breakfast at the Lab s cafeteria before they depart for their designated field trips. Participants will either pick up boxed lunches before boarding the buses or upon arriving at the first field trip location. Upon returning from the field trips, participants will have a chance to clean up. Transportation will be provided to take participants to the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum for the Opening Ceremony and dinner. On Saturday, RCs will have breakfast, participate in a volunteer meeting and begin the competitions at the Ocean Springs High School. Teams will have an SEB discussion immediately following the last round. RCs are welcome to participate, but are not required. For dinner that evening, it is our understanding that the Lab is hosting everyone for dinner at its facility. If this changes, we will let you know and make some type of arrangement for dinner on your own in Ocean Springs. On Sunday, RCs will check out of the hotel BEFORE the competition begins, bring their luggage to Ocean Springs High School and place it in a designated area. Participants will remain at the Ocean Springs High School for the Final Competitions and awards ceremonies. The buses will pick-up the participants at high school and take them to Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT) or back to the Lab to wait for later buses. RCs for whom we are unable to get flights out on Sunday will remain at the hotel and will be on their own for dinner.

4 On Monday, the remainder of the RCs and participants will be shuttled back to the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT) for their flights home. Teams and RCs will be on their own for breakfast (we are asking that the cafeteria be open). DRESS CODE REMINDER: The dress code for Friday night s Opening Ceremony AND the Sunday competitions and Award Ceremony is business casual (NO jeans, cargo pants or shorts). Gentleman should wear a pair of dress slacks/khakis and a polo or button down shirt. For the ladies, a dress, skirt, pair of dress pants/khakis and nice top/blouse are appropriate. GROUND TRANSPORTATION: NOSB is arranging bus service from the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT) to and from the hotel. Julie Farver will coordinate this with you and the teams when booking travel and will pre-pay these buses. In the event a bus or shuttle cannot be coordinated in advance by NOSB, and a coach or RC has to arrange transportation on their own, an itemized receipt should be saved for submittal for reimbursement after the meeting. If you desire to arrive earlier, or stay later, you must arrange those pre-and post-nights at your own expense. The hotel offers the NOSB rates for 3 days before and after the competition, if rooms are available. NOSB will reimburse transportation costs, including taxi fees to/from your airport of departure, airport parking fees and gas mileage. Please note that mileage driven to and from your airport of departure, as well as parking fees at your home airport for the days of the competition weekend, will be reimbursed by Ocean Leadership via your travel expense report up to the designated amount. Please be sure to save all itemized receipts to include with this report upon completion of the competition. SUBMITTING YOUR EXPENSE REPORT FOR REIMBURSEMENT: Please send original, itemized receipts to the Ocean Leadership travel office for any travel and meal expenses not covered by the conference. Do not fax receipts or submit photocopies, only itemized originals will be valid for reimbursement. A credit card receipt is NOT acceptable. It is a good idea to keep a photocopy of the receipts and a print out of your form until you receive your reimbursement. If you have any questions, please contact the Ocean Leadership Travel Office at (202) or jfarver@oceanleadership.org. Travel expense forms and original receipts must be submitted to Julie Farver at Ocean Leadership no later than June 30, Ocean Leadership will not guarantee that expenses will be reimbursed if reports are submitted after that date.

5 INFORMATION FOR Co-RCs (or additional RCs attending Finals): Reminder: Ocean Leadership does not cover any costs associated with a second/additional RC attending Finals. Additional RCs may share a room with an RC of the same sex, but will be responsible for making those arrangements on their own. While attending Finals, additional RCs will be placed on field trips IF space is available. They will be expected to act as competition room officials or help with general logistics (and are therefore welcome to provided meals during the competition). INFORMATION FOR FRIENDS & FAMILY: Ocean Springs is a wonderful place to visit and we hope that friends and family members will be able to join the team at the 2015 NOSB Finals Competition. For anyone who would like to attend, the hotel may have additional rooms; however, rooms cannot be taken out of the confirmed NOSB block. We have only reserved enough for regional coordinators. Also, NO meal tickets will be offered this year for friends and families attending Finals. Families will need to find local cafes or restaurants for lunch on Saturday and Sunday. A recommendation list will be available at registration.