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Adam Johnson, tournament director of the Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin, also known as the Billy Tate Memorial Southern Bell Forum Extemporaneous Speaking Round Robin, has just released the field for this year’s tournament. The competition will take place on the campus of Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee over three days from January 3rd-5th and will feature sixteen of the best extempers in the country. This year’s field features five returning participants, three of which made last year’s Exhibition Round. The field also features six finalists from last year’s NFL National Tournament and includes the defending United States Extemp National Champion, Arel Rende of Booker T. Washington High School (OK).
Extempers are invited to compete based on their results at national circuit events since last year’s tournament and their performance at CFL and NFL Nationals. This year’s tournament will be the first held since the passing of Billy Tate, the head coach of Montgomery Bell Academy, National Forensic League Hall of Famer, and President of the NFL from 1998-2012.
Extemp Central will provide its annual live coverage of the event and will break down the field in the coming weeks. The Round Robin is the first “major” tournament on the extemp calendar and is the first leg of the Grand Slam of extemporaneous speaking, which includes MBA, the Extemp TOC, CFL Nationals, and NFL Nationals. Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA) is the two-time defending champion and if she successfully defends her title she will tie Kevin Troy’s record for most career major titles with six. Troy, who competed for Eagan High School (MN), is the only extemper to win the Grand Slam. He accomplished that feat in 2005.
Here is this year’s field (* indicates returning participant):
*Brian Anderson (LaRue County High School, Kentucky)
*Vaikunth Balaji (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Rohan Dhoopar (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Jack Glaser (George Washington High School, Colorado)
*Jad Hamdan (Jackson High School, Ohio)*
*Chase Harrison (Millburn High School, New Jersey)*
*Christopher Jordan (Brophy College Preparatory, Arizona)
*Lyubov Kapko (Tempe Preparatory, Arizona)
*Davis Larkin (Parish Episcopal School, Texas)
*Lily Nellans (Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Iowa)*
*Jasper Primack (Newton South High School, Massachusetts)
*Arel Rende (Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma)
*Miles Saffran (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)*
*Gabe Slater (Denver East High School, Colorado)
*Will Walker (Fullerton Joint Union High School, California)
*Josh Wartel (Lake Braddock Secondary School, Virginia)*