To award points at this event, Extemp Central will combine extempers performance in U.S. and International Extemp categories. For each part of the tournament extempers will receive points based on their finish. The points awarded go as follows:
Month: October 2011
There are several updates for this year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) that have recently been added to the site. The Extemp TOC has made several changes to this year’s qualification process. The biggest is that legs at invitational tournaments will be based on the size of the field. To better understand this process, you can visit the Extemp TOC’s website or read our description, which is available when you click on the “TOC” tab above (don’t click on any of the submenus). Also, in an attempt to encourage more state champions to attend, all state champions of their 2011 state tournament (if held after April 15th last year) and all state champions of their state tournaments that happen prior to April 15, 2012 will receive an entry fee waiver to this year’s event.
The 2011-2012 Extemp TOC calendar has been updated. The dates for three tournaments, the Fayette Classic, the University of Pennsylvania Liberty Bell Classic, and the Northwestern Invitational could not be found. If you have these, please e-mail them to me at [email protected]. You can check out the updated TOC calendar by clicking here or by placing your mouse over the TOC tab and clicking one of the drop down menus.
Also, the TOC qualification board has been updated to reflect Wake Forest and Yale. Due to this year’s changes to the qualification process, it is VERY important that Extemp Central receive tab sheets OR accurate information about entries from all tournaments that are TOC qualifiers. Otherwise, it will make it difficult for us to keep the qualification board accurate. The new qualification board can be found by clicking here or by placing your mouse over the TOC tab and clicking one of the drop down menus.
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This year, there will not be a significant shake up in the Extemp Central National Points Race, which is heading into its fourth year. The five different tiers will remain and while new tournaments have been added and some have been shifted around, the points that are offered at the tournament will not be adjusted. Except for the case of a tournament that was just moved into the second tier, the same points structure that existed last year will remain intact.
The only major change is going to occur in how the National Team Points Race is tabulated. In the past, it was possible for one competitor to win the National Team Points Race for their squad. The most notable example of this is when Stacey Chen helped North Allegheny Senior High School defeat Bellarmine College Prep during the inaugural year of the National Points Race. This year, in an attempt to make the race more of a “team” event, an extemper’s top three finishes during a season will count towards their team total. Any finishes beyond this will not count toward their school. For example, if an extemper were to win NFL, MBA, GMU, Yale, and Wake Forest, their finishes at NFL, MBA, and GMU would be the only ones counted because those would be their top three finishes relative to the points they earn in the National Points Race.
Here is a quick overview of the tournaments in this year’s National Points Race.
1. What impact will Christie’s endorsement of Romney have on the GOP presidential race?
2. Will the Occupy Wall Street movement an effective liberal counter to the Tea Party?
3. Are U.S. comments on the euro zone crisis hypocritical?
4. Will Elizabeth Warren make Scott Brown a one term senator next November?
5. Who’s to blame for the gridlock in Washington?
6. How will the U.S. retaliate against Iran for an alleged assassination plot of the Saudi ambassador?
7. Has American bioterror security improved since the anthrax attacks ten years ago?
8. Does America need 9-9-9?
9. Will the “Fast and Furious” scandal force Eric Holder to resign?
10. Why are Republicans failing to gain traction in the Kentucky gubernatorial race?
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Here are the answers to this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.
1. Is the Chinese government doing enough to restore investor confidence in financial stocks?
2. Will Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner easily win re-election in two weeks?
3. Is another global oil crunch on the horizon?
4. Will China’s growing economic clout eventually make the “one China” policy a reality?
5. What economic reforms does Poland need?
6. Is it safe to say that democracy has failed in Russia?
7. Will new measures proposed by France and Germany resolve the euro debt crisis?
8. How can the Egyptian military reduce the country’s latest outbreak of sectarian violence?
9. Is democracy that best way to curb extremism in the Middle East?
10. How can Euroskeptics seize on the problems of the euro zone and win back powers that were once granted to the EU?
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Here is this week’s short answer Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
Here is this week’s multiple choice Extemp Central news quiz. Pick well and good luck!
1. Is the international community giving Meles Zenawi a pass on human rights violations?
2. Why have recent Bulgarian protests against the Roma broken out?
3. How can Brazil clean up its football federation?
4. Is the failure of the Dalai Lama to secure a visa from South Africa politically motivated?
5. Should Bashar al-Assad’s threats of retaliation if he is attacked by NATO be taken seriously?
6. What steps does David Cameron need to take to rescue the British economy?
7. Is the creation of a Eurasian Union a Russian foreign policy victory?
8. Should the Saudi government worry about recent outbreaks of sectarian violence?
9. Are al-Qaeda elements in Somalia still a potent force?
10. Why did Russia and China veto the recent UN resolution on Syria?
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Here are the answers to this week’s news quiz.
1. Why are banks moving towards monthly debit card fees?
2. Was the U.S. killing of Anwar al-Awlaki unconstitutional?
3. How should the RNC deal with Florida?
4. Should states embrace or limit early voting?
5. Do those who receive benefits under Medicaid have the right to go to court when a state tries to cut spending on the program?
6. Is Michelle Bachmann’s presidential campaign on its last legs?
7. How will the Occupying Wall Street movement impact American economic policy?
8. Should Congress unfreeze aid to the Palestinian Authority?
9. Will the Solyndra controversy resonate with voters in the 2012 presidential election?
10. Should President Obama declare a national jobs emergency?
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Here is your Extemp Central short answer news quiz for this week. Good luck!
Here is your Extemp Central multiple choice news quiz for this week. Pick well and good luck!