October 2011 - Extemp Central

2011 Florida Blue Key: Des Moines Roosevelt Sweeps Both Extemp Categories; Calder Wins the Round Robin

On October 31, 2011

Last weekend, the Florida Blue Key held its annual speech and debate tournament. Des Moines Roosevelt High School in Iowa swept both extemp categories, as Lily Nellans won United States Extemp and Nathan Leys won International Extemp. Nellans and Leys were also the only two extempers in the tournament that finaled in both extemp categories. In the Round Robin, Joe Calder, who came into the tournament as the second highest ranked extemper in the National Points Race, from Cary Academy in North Carolina came out on top. The tournament was a fifth tier tournament in the National Points Race, so like St. Mark’s calculations will need to be made based on where all finalists placed.

We still need the tab sheets from the Blue Key tournament so that we can evaluate the quarter-finalists, semi-finalists, and finalists and render a judgment for which six extempers will earn National Points Race points. If you have this tab sheet, please e-mail it to me at [email protected].

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of October 31st-November 4th, 2011 (Short Answer Version)

By geniao44446

On October 31, 2011

In Quiz

Here is this week’s short answer version of the Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of October 31st-November 4th, 2011 (Multiple Choice Version)

By geniao44446

On October 31, 2011

In Quiz

Here is this week’s multiple choice version of the Extemp Central news quiz. Pick well and good luck!

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of October 25th-31st, 2011

By geniao44446

On October 26, 2011

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

1. Is Obama putting too much pressure on Bashar al-Assad?
2. Why is Netflix seeing a significant decline in its stock value?
3. Ten years after its debt: What is the legacy of the iPod?
4. Why are “ultrasound” abortion laws unconstitutional?
5. Can President Obama’s student-debt plan give a much needed jolt to the economy?
6. Are the “occupy” protests running out of steam?
7. Have recent events in Libya made the 2012 presidential election a referendum on the economy?
8. Is it impossible to make consumers pay for news online?
9. To what extent should the U.S. intervene in the EU debt crisis?
10. Is Perry’s tax plan better than Cain’s?

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Extemp Central News Quiz Answers for the Week of October 24th-28th, 2011

By geniao44446

On October 26, 2011

In Quiz

Here are the answers to this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of October 25th-31st, 2011

By geniao44446

On October 25, 2011

In International Extemp, Weekly Questions

1. How can the world ensure enough food to feed the world’s hungry?
2. What does Japan need to do to forge a closer bond with South Korea?
3. Is there enough time in the EU’s “political clock” to solve its financial crisis?
4. Would the world be a better place without WikiLeaks?
5. Why is the Swiss right in retreat?
6. What should Bashar al-Assad do to ensure that he does not become the next Gaddafi?
7. Has the Arab Spring disappointed liberal reformers?
8. What will Kirchner’s priorities be in her second term?
9. Will the euro zone crisis provide a boon for the American or Chinese economy?
10. Should the international community worry about the new Libyan government?

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Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of October 24th-28th, 2011 (Short Answer Version)

By geniao44446

On October 24, 2011

In Quiz

Here is this week’s short answer Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of October 24th-28th, 2011 (Multiple Choice Version)

By geniao44446

On October 24, 2011

In Quiz

Here is this week’s multiple choice Extemp Central news quiz. Pick well and good luck!

2011-2012 Extemp Central National Points Race: St. Mark’s Calculations

By geniao44446

On October 22, 2011

In National Points Race

Since the St. Mark’s Heart of Texas Invitational allows extempers to do International and United States Extemp, Extemp Central combines extemper’s finishes in each category to prevent counting both as separate tournaments and giving extempers who attended St. Mark’s an advantage over other competitors in the National Points Race. Prior to St. Mark’s, Extemp Central announced how it would determine which extempers would receive National Points Race points. At St. Mark’s, extempers received points based on their finishes in International and United States Extemp. The six extempers with the lowest point totals were awarded National Points Race points.

Here is a quick rehash of that system:

2011 St. Mark’s Heart of Texas Invitational: Stone and Leys Exchange Finishes; Leys Becomes First Non-Texas Extemper to Win an Extemp Category Since 2007

By geniao44446

On October 22, 2011

In National Circuit Results

Last week, the St. Mark’s Heart of Texas Invitational took place in Dallas, Texas. The tournament allows extempers to participate in United States and International Extemp and Zachary Stone of Plano West High School in Texas and Nathan Leys of Des Moines Roosevelt Senior High School in Iowa exchanged finishes in those categories. Stone won International Extemp, while lays won U.S. Extemp. Leys is the first non-Texan to win an extemp category at St. Mark’s since 2007, when Mark Kozlowski of New Trier High School in Illinois won U.S. extemp.

Calculations will be made to determine which six extempers will receive National Points Race points, but since both extemp categories had more than forty extempers, all of the extempers who reached the semi-finals and beyond in each category earned bids to the 2012 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC)

Here are the full results (which can be accessed online here):

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of October 18th-24th, 2011

By geniao44446

On October 19, 2011

In International Extemp, Weekly Questions

1. Has the international community failed to establish a strong democratic culture in Afghanistan?
2. Is Mexico’s drug war a regional more than a Mexican national security issue?
3. Should the French Socialist Party have gone younger for the 2012 presidential election?
4. Will Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf win the Liberian runoff election?
5. Is Kosovo on the verge of a new round of ethnic violence?
6. Will the “Chinese century” be a short one?
7. Is Tymoshenko’s jailing the final nail in the coffin for the Orange Revolution?
8. Will Kenya’s decision to send troops to Somalia backfire?
9. How should Saudi Arabia respond to the reported assassination plot hatched by Iran?
10. Did Israel give up too much for Shalit?

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Extemp Central News Quiz Answers for the Week of October 17th-21st, 2011

By geniao44446

On October 19, 2011

In Quiz

Here is are the answers to this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of October 18th-24th, 2011

By geniao44446

On October 18, 2011

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

1. Is it important that the Occupy Wall Street movement unifies around a single message?
2. How will recent reports that Hugo Chavez’s cancer is terminal impact U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America?
3. Is the U.S. doing enough to help Libya move forward?
4. Should the CLASS Act be repealed?
5. Are high stakes tests for college admissions creatin a cheating problem?
6. Should lying about military medals that you did not earn be a crime?
7. What can the Democratic Party do to bolster enthusiasm prior to the 2012 elections?
8. Is it Romney or bust for the GOP in 2012?
9. Does the U.S. have a significant national security interest in Central Africa?
10. Is President Obama making a bad political decision by supporting the Occupy Wall Street protests?

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