- What will be President-elect Trump’s first legislative priority when he takes office?
- If Canada were to join the United States as one state or a collection of states, how would it transform the U.S. economy?
- Was President Biden wise to block the U.S. Steel-Nippon Steel merger?
- Should Americans be optimistic about the U.S. economy going into 2025?
- Is the U.S. prepared for a large-scale bird flu pandemic?
- How will the terror attack in New Orleans affect the confirmation of the next FBI director?
- What should America’s living and future presidents learn from Jimmy Carter?
- Does the U.S. economy need more tax relief?
- Will Mike Johnson be the Speaker of the House until the 2026 midterms?
- Should the Trump administration continue the Biden administration’s “hostage diplomacy”?
- Which nation is winning the AI race?
- Will 2025 see a further weakening of Iran’s strategic position in the Middle East?
- Should Denmark sell Greenland to the United States?
- Are there still risks of escalation in the Russia-Ukrainian War?
- Is there any way for the Social Democratic Party to avoid a thrashing in the German general elections?
- Will China’s infrastructure plans for its western provinces lead to an economic boom?
- Is the Schengen Area on borrowed time?
- Could rising authoritarianism in Latin America give day to a “Latin American Spring”?
- Is growing skepticism about the effectiveness of international institutions justified?
- Should the European Union think of adding nations beyond Europe’s continental footprint?
New standings for the 2024-2025 Extemp Central National Points Race are have been posted to reflect the results of the early December tournaments that included the University of Texas-Austin Longhorn Classic, the Princeton Classic, and the George Mason University Patriot Games. Check them out by clicking here or the “Natl Points Race” tab above.
As was noted in the Longhorn Classic recap, Robert Zhang of Elkins High School (TX) regained the National Points Race lead as a result of winning International Extemp.
This weekend will feature the first major tournament of the season as Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) in Nashville, Tennessee hosts its annual Extemp Round Robin, inviting what it deems to be the best 16 extempers in the country. Points will be given to the top six finishers. The winner will receive 150 points.
The last National Points Race tournament that took place the first weekend of December was the George Mason University Patriot Games, held on December 7-8 in Fairfax, Virginia. 66 extempers competed, eleven more than the previous year.
The tournament was won by #13 Kajal Parmar of Cary Academy (NC). Parmar, who was appearing in her second National Points Race final round, defeated #10 Aparna Iyer of Ridge High School (NJ), who was making her third National Points Race final round appearance of the semester, by three ranks. Meredith Vorndran of the Potomac School (VA) tied Iyer for second but lost on a judges preference tiebreaker.
Parmar is the first North Carolina extemper to win the Patriot Games since 2010. That year saw Nathaniel Donahue of Durham Academy win the title.
#7 Daphne Kalir-Starr of the College Preparatory School (CA), a fourth place finisher at the New York City Invitational earlier in the season, finished fourth. Kalir-Starr was four ranks back of Vorndran and two ahead of Eva Chen of Ridge and Shretsa Antil of Ridge, who tied for fifth place. Chen defeated Antil for the position by judges’ preference.
The GMU final round had seven competitors, with seventh going to Anna Benjamin of Cary Academy.
Since the Patriot Games was a fifth tier event, only the top six finalists earned points. Parmar will receive 40 points for her victory.
Here are the results of the 2024 George Mason University Patriot Games (Click here for tab sheet):
This was the first season that the Princeton Classic, held on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey from December 6-8, was a National Points Race event. A field of 81 extempers attended, mostly drawn from Northeast, although other extempers came from Ohio and Florida.
#16 Anthony Babu of Concord-Carlisle High School (MA) was the highest ranked competitor in the field and the reigning NSDA International Extemp National Champion lived up to the billing, winning the cumulative tournament by four ranks. Babu took four of the five available first place ranks in the final round, defeating Arya Goyal of Scardsale High School (NY). It is Babu’s first National Points Race tournament win of the season and his second final round appearance. He placed second at the New York City Invitational in October.
Unlike the University of Texas-Austin Longhorn Classic, there was more spacing in the placing of competitors at Princeton. John Germak of Regis High School (NY) was third, nine ranks back of Babu and five of Goyal. But seven ranks separated Germak from fourth place finisher Daniela Holden of the Berkeley Carroll School (NY). There was also a four rank gap between Shane Quadras of Regis and Manuela Mejia-Fanjul of the Convent of the Sacred Heart (NY) for fifth place.
Scarsdale High School had the best showing as a team, placing five extempers in elimination rounds.
Princeton was selected as a fourth tier event to begin the season so Babu will receive 70 points for his victory. All competitors who reached the semi-final round will receive points.
Here are the results of the 2024 Princeton Classic (Click here for tab sheet):
Another sizeable field from the state of Texas, coupled with a few out of state extempers, was drawn to the silver anniversary of the University of Texas at Austin’s Longhorn Classic, which took place from December 6-8 in Austin, Texas. The tournament allowed extempers to double in each category and this year’s tournament was dominated entirely by Texans as no out of state competitor reached a final or semi-final round.
International Extemp was won by an extemper from Plano West Senior High School for the third consecutive year as Abraham Zhang earned a two rank victory over Pranav Gorty of Plano East Senior High School (TX). Arya Gurumukhi of Plano East took third, finishing four ranks behind Zhang and two behind Gorty. Zhang’s victory was powered by earning two of the three available first place ranks in the final round.
The only nationally ranked competitor that made the International Extemp final was #6 Rowan Seipp of A&M Consolidated High School (TX), who was coming off a Glenbrooks second place finish last month. Seipp took sixth place.
Seipp did better in United States Extemp, notching a second place finish by a mere rank behind #3 Robert Zhang of Elkins High School (TX), who will regain the National Points Race lead after relinquishing it at the Glenbrooks. Zhang earned his third National Points Race victory of the season in final round three appearances in a split final round where winning required a seven rank composite score. Seipp’s title hopes were dashed by a fifth place rank from one of the three final round judges but he was the highest placing extemper across both categories at this year’s tournament.
#17 Lindsey Zhao of Plano Senior High School (TX) took fourth place in U.S. Extemp, placing one rank behind Ishika Kothari of Plano East. In an illustration of how close the final round of U.S. Extemp was, there was only a one rank difference in each placing from Zhang to fifth place finisher Pranav Kothur of Tompkins High School (TX).
Other notable finishers at the Longhorn included #12 Alexandre Morel of Plano West, who was a quarter-finalist in International Extemp, and #21 Joy Hu of the Harker School (CA) and #21 Eric Qian of Plano West, who were a quarter-finalists in United States Extemp.
The Longhorn Classic was a third tier tournament so all extempers who reached elimination rounds will earn points. To avoid double counting, an extemper’s highest finish will be credited to the National Points Race. So, for example, Seipp’s runner-up finish will be logged for 85 points but not his sixth place finish in United States Extemp for 33 points. Abraham Zhang and Robert Zhang will receive 100 points for their wins.
Here are the results of the 2024 University of Texas at Austin Longhorn Classic (Click here for tab sheet):
Note: There will not be a news quiz for the next two weeks because of the winter holiday. The next news quiz will be posted on Wednesday, January 8.
Here is this week’s news quiz! Good luck!
Note that these will be the last questions for the next two weeks due to the winter holiday. Questions will resume on Monday, January 6.
1. Is a “hands off” approach to the situation in Syria the best course of action for the United States?
2. Will president-elect Trump’s foreign policy make Latin America a bigger priority?
3. If you were the writer of president-elect Trump’s inaugural address, what points would you emphasize?
4. Is the Black Lives Matter movement getting weaker?
5. Should President Biden give Dr. Anthony Fauci a pre-emptive pardon?
6. Would the defeat of Peter Hegseth’s nomination embolden opposition to other Trump appointees?
7. Should the Social Security Fairness Act be passed?
8. Are the drone sightings in New Jersey a national security threat?
9. Should Ron DeSantis appoint Lara Trump to the U.S. Senate?
10. Why is the U.S. fertility rate in decline?
Note that these will be the last questions for the next two weeks due to the winter holiday. Questions will resume on Monday, January 6.
1. Can Bayrou succeed where Bernier failed?
2. How will Assad’s fall impact the Middle East’s geopolitical situation?
3. Should Xi Jinping attend Donald Trump’s inauguration?
4. Is the Russian economy Vladimir Putin’s biggest weakness?
5. How powerful is Hezbollah in Latin America?
6. To what extent should nuclear armed nations integrate AI into their forces?
7. Can Papin fix Nissan?
8. Is South Korea’s political uncertainty hurting its economic prospects?
9. How will Georgescu perform in a re-running of the first round of Romania’s presidential election?
10. Has Arce failed to effectively handle Bolivia’s economic crisis?
Here is this week’s news quiz! Good luck!
The participant list for this year’s Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) Extemp Round Robin was revealed this afternoon by tournament director Adam Johnson. It is one of the stronger fields in recent memory, featuring two reigning national champions, last year’s National Points Race winner, and nine of the top ten competitors in this year’s National Points Race standings.
Congratulations to the following 16 extempers who will speak it out in the first major tournament of the season during the first weekend in January:
*Anthony Babu (Concord-Carlisle High School, Massachusetts)
*Brandon Cheng (Flintridge Preparatory School, California)
*Arya Goyal (Scarsdale High School, New York)
*Waleed Haider (Hendrickson High School, Texas)
*Aparna Iyer (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Daphne Kalir-Starr (The College Preparatory School, California)
*Kate Liu (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Kajal Parmar (Cary Academy, North Carolina)
*Charlotte Reitman (NSU University School, Florida)
*Rowan Seipp (A&M Consolidated High School, Texas)
*Tea Shouldice (Half Hollow Hills East High School, New York)
*Sahana Srikanth (Mason High School, Ohio)
*Ellie Sohn (Flintridge Preparatory School, California)
*Evelyn Tsoi (Arcadia High School, California)
*Al Zaidi (Holy Trinity Episcopal School, Florida)
*Robert Zhang (Elkins High School, Texas)
- Is Assad’s fall a major victory for Turkey?
- Should Yoon Suk Yeol resign after his brief martial law order?
- Can Fatah and Hamas cooperate enough to create a stable Palestinian government?
- What will the next Irish government look like?
- Should El Salvador lift its ban on gold mining?
- Is France’s budget deadlock a threat to the fiscal health of the EU?
- Will Netanyahu ever be tried by the ICC?
- Does Romania’s decision to re-run the nation’s presidential election enhance or hurt democracy?
- Will all EU member states ratify a new trade deal with Mercosur?
- Is Canada’s carbon tax living on borrowed time?
- To what degree will the Trump administration follow Project 2025?
- Should there be reforms to the presidential pardon power?
- Would it be a political mistake for Trump to fire Christopher Wray?
- Is Bluesky a real threat to X?
- Will the incoming Congress be more productive than the last?
- How can Democrats best engineer a “blue wave” in 2026?
- Will Senate Republicans abolish the filibuster?
- What is the role that America should play in combating illegal narcotics in Latin America?
- Is Assad’s fall a victory for U.S. foreign policy?
- Will the assassination of Brian Thompson prompt significant national discussions about the state of the American healthcare industry?
New standings for the 2024-2025 Extemp Central National Points Race are have been posted to reflect the results of the Florida Blue Key. Check them out by clicking here or the “Natl Points Race” tab above.
There is a new leader in the National Points Race as Al Zaidi of Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy (FL) grabbed the top spot after a third place finish at Glenbrooks.
This weekend features the first triple header in National Points Race history. The University of Texas-Austin’s Longhorn Classic, the Princeton Classic, and the George Mason University Patriot Games will close the first semester, offering points to extempers from different regions of the country. The Longhorn Classic will be a third tier event, the Princeton Classic will be a fourth tier event, and the Patriot Games will be a fifth tier event. The outcome of these tournaments has the potential to significantly shake up this year’s standings and will be the last chance for extempers to impress for bids to the 2025 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin.
The news quiz is back with 15 questions! Good luck!