Month: January 2019 Page 1 of 2

Extempers converged on Atlanta, Georgia last weekend for the Barkley Forum, a fourth tier event in the National Points Race that typically attracts top competitors throughout the South. However, this year it was a Northeast extemper, Christopher Maximos of the Delbarton School (NJ), who blew through the competition and won the tournament title, going straight 1’s across the final round’s panel of five judges. Maximos became the first Northeastern extemper to win the Barkley Forum since Aaron Mattis of Scarsdale High School (NY) won the tournament in 2008.

Maximos was the third place finisher at the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin earlier in the month and his victory was his first at a National Points Race event this season.

While Maximos swept all of the first place ranks in the final, the ranks were less uniform for the other five competitors. Nikolas Kirk of Brophy College Preparatory (AZ), coming off the heels of a victory in international extemp at the James Logan MLK Invitational, was the runner-up, finishing eleven ranks behind Maximos. Saskia Reford of Saint Mary’s Hall (TX) and Jake Pellett of Berkeley Carroll School (NY) tied for third with a total of eighteen ranks, with Reford receiving third place due to a judges’ preference tiebreaker.

The final round was rounded out by Lauren Huttner of Kent Denver School (CO), who placed fifth, and Meghana Vattigunta of Ardrey Kell High School (NC), who finished sixth.

All of the extempers that made it to the semi-final round at the Barkley Forum will receive points in the National Points Race. New standings that encompass the results of Barkley, the MLK Invitational, and the Marshall Speech Spectacular will be released late tomorrow evening.

Here are the results of the 2019 Barkley Forum (Click here for tab sheet):

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This was Wu’s first National Points Race final round and championship this season. The final round was also Brachio’s first at a National Points Race event, who was a quarter-finalist at Glenbrooks in November.

Mo Marks of Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA) was the highest ranked competitor in the final round. Marks captured one of the five available first place ranks in the last round of the tournament but was unable to accumulate enough ranks to defeat Wu, finishing five ranks behind her and four ranks ahead of fourth place finisher Seamus Duffy of O’Gorman High School (SD). Nevertheless, Marks notched her first top three finish in her sixth National Points Race final round showing this year, and the points earned her helped her trim the National Points Race lead that is currently held by Kay Rollins of the Potomac School (VA).

Minnesota extempers Sam Padmanabhan of East Ridge High School and Alli Hering of Eastview High School were the fifth and sixth place finishers, respectively.

Since the Marshall Speech Spectacular was a fifth tier event in the National Points Race, Wu earned forty points for her victory. All of the competitors in the final round earned points.

Here are the results for the 2019 Marshall Speech Spectacular (Click here for tab sheet):

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1. Is globalization to blame for the various discontents we see in the modern world?
2. Should Germany become a permanent member of the UN Security Council?
3. Is Russian influence growing in Latin America?
4. Can Benjamin Netanyahu win the Israeli legislative elections if he is under indictment?
5. Are global health organizations winning the struggle against Ebola?
6. How can South Africa pursue land reform without causing significant internal strife?
7. Is the future of Tunisia’s democracy in jeopardy?
8. Would reduced gun control measures make Brazilians safer?
9. Will Canada win its struggle with China?
10. What does the murder of Pawel Adamowicz say about the state of Polish politics?

1. Has Kamala Harris become the Democratic Party’s frontrunner for 2020?
2. Will there be another government shutdown by the spring?
3. Did the Covington Catholic episode deal another blow to the credibility of America’s mainstream media outlets?
4. How involved should the U.S. be in Venezuela’s ongoing political struggle?
5. Does the world need American leadership?
6. If Taiwan were attacked by China, how should the U.S. react?
7. Could Pete Buttigieg win the Democratic presidential nomination?
8. Has President Trump been more successful in domestic or foreign policy?
9. Should Harvard end its restrictions on single-sex organizations?
10. How should teachers’ unions respond to growing demands for school choice?

Last weekend James Logan High School in Union City, California hosted its MLK Invitational, the first West Coast tournament in this year’s National Points Race. The tournament usually features a vast array of California competitors with a few out of state extempers sprinkled in and this year one of those extempers, Nikolas Kirk of Brophy College Preparatory (AZ), captured its international extemp championship. Kirk defeated Rubin Roy of Monte Vista High School (CA) by two cumulative ranks, a margin helped by Kirk’s five rank victory in the final round. Nicholas Panyanouvong of James Enochs High School (CA) placed third.

Kirk’s victory was his second at a National Points Race event this season as he was credited with a victory for being the best overall extemper at the University of Texas Longhorn Classic last month. That makes he and Kay Rollins of the Potomac School (VA) as the only extempers with more than one National Points Race victory in 2018-2019. Kirk earned forty points for winning the MLK, moving him into fifth place in the National Points Race.

In the United States Extemp portion of the tournament, Roy triumphed over teammate Arham Habib, who was a semi-finalist at the Glenbrooks in November, by one rank despite losing the final round by six ranks. Habib won the final round with two first place ranks but an errant fourth place rank put him one behind Roy when the cumulative ranks were tallied. Arshia Mehta of Dougherty Valley High School (CA) was the third place finisher.

The top six finishers in each extemp category earned National Points Race points and Roy was credited with a victory in USX, giving him his first points of the season. However, he will not receive points from the IX portion of the tournament to prevent double counting in the standings.

Here are the results of the 2019 James Logan MLK Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

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1. Should Democrats accept President Trump’s compromise to end the government shutdown?
2. Did Beto O’Rourke’s Washington Post interview sink his presidential hopes?
3. Should the U.S. implement economic ideas in keeping with modern monetary theory?
4. Are U.S. corporations too vulernable to higher interest rates?
5. Is it wise for the U.S. to continue its military operations against al-Shabaab?
6. Have scientific developments called Roe v. Wade into question?
7. Has the Democratic Party embraced a neo-liberal foreign policy outlook?
8. Should the U.S. entertain an exit from NATO?
9. How should the Supreme Court rule in Carpenter v. Murphy?
10. Should the FDA ban all e-cigarettes?

1. Can the Democratic Republic of the Congo resolve its electoral impasse?
2. Will China’s persecution of the Uighur’s produce a backlash that will threaten its national security?
3. Have international efforts to create a democratic Africa failed?
4. After her massive defeat in the House of Commons, should Theresa May resign?
5. Is populism holding back Indonesia’s economic growth?
6. Are “the Troubles” returning to Northern Ireland?
7. Should Cuba extradite ELN rebels to Colombia?
8. Is Evo Morales becoming an autocrat?
9. What steps can Mongolia take to better combat corruption?
10. Under what circumstances should the EU admit Serbia?

The 2018-2019 National Points Race standings have been updated to reflect the results of the Sunvitational.  To access the standings, you can click on the National Points Race tab on the right of the main page or click here.

This week’s James Logan MLK Invitational in Union City, California will be the next National Points Race event.  The MLK Invitational is a fifth tier tournament that will award the winner of international and United States extemp categories forty points since extempers cannot do both.  All finalists will receive National Points Race points, marking the first of three opportunities for our friends in California to earn credit in this year’s competition.

Last weekend, the NSU University School in Davie, Florida hosted eighty extempers as part of its annual Sunvitational. The tournament is a fourth tier event in the Extemp Central National Points Race due to its regional reputation, and in this year’s competition Joseph Mullen of Cypress Bay High School (FL) demolished the final round, going straight 1’s to secure the championship. Mullen defeated teammates Jose Quinones, Susana Davis, and Tristan Wertanzl in the final round, with Quinones taking second, Davis finishing fourth, and Wertanzl placing fifth.

The only non-Floridian in the final round was Avi Gulati of the Harker School (CA), who placed third.

Marco Munoz of A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts (FL) rounded out the final round field in sixth place.

Mullen will earn seventy points in the National Points Race for his victory and all extempers who finished in the semi-final rounds and beyond will earn points. The biggest mover after the tournament was Quinones, who now occupies the third position in the National Points Race behind Kay Rollins of the Potomac School (VA) and Mo Marks of Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA).  Updated National Points Race standings will be released near the end of the week.

Here are the results of the 2019 Sunvitational (Click here for tab sheet):

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1. Should more Latin American states recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful president?
2. Is Zimbabwe stumbling towards another economic crisis?
3. Should Gulf states seek to rehabilitate Bashar al-Assad?
4. Has the Syrian Civil War bolstered Iran’a position in the Middle East?
5. What will the post-American world economy look like?
6. Is Imran Khan failing to bridge the gap between promises and reality in Pakistan?
7. If Belarus forms a closer relationship with the West, how should Russia react?
8. Should Latin American nations demand reparations from the United States in exchange for stopping migrant caravans?
9. Will recent protests force Omar al-Bashir from power?
10. Is there a West-East split in the EU?

1. Will the government shutdown create a significant fissure between President Trump and the Republican Party?
2. Should the GOP see Rick Scott as a future presidential candidate?
3. Have the Oscars become too political?
4. Can New York City afford its “healthcare for all” initiative?
5. How high should America’s tax rates be?
6. Can the U.S. resolve the Qatar diplomatic crisis?
7. Should America’s divorce laws be overhauled?
8. Could identity politics make it difficult for Democrats to unify for the 2020 presidential election?
9. What legal actions should California take against the Pacific Gas & Electric Company?
10. How can the U.S. best protect its innovation advantage relative to the rest of the world?

The 2018-2019 National Points Race standings have been updated to reflect the results of the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin.  To access the standings, you can click on the National Points Race tab on the right of the main page or click here.

This weekend’s Sunvitational tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida will be the next National Points Race event.  The Sunvitational is a fourth tier tournament, so the winner will receive seventy points and all competitors who reach the semi-final round and beyond will receive points.

Sixteen of the nation’s best extempers, including a good number of the top ten extempers in this year’s Extemp Central National Points Race, converged on Nashville, Tennessee as part of the twenty-first edition of the Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) Extemp Round Robin. The Round Robin features ten rounds of competition with extempers paired off into four rooms of four. The tournament is staggered so that each competitor gets two rounds against another and each round features three minute cross-examination.

When the tournament finished on Sunday evening, reigning National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) United States Extemp National Champion Jacqueline Wei of Plano West Senior High School (TX) defeated National Points Race leader Kay Rollins of the Potomac School (VA) by six ranks. Wei’s victory, her second major championship, keeps the title in Plano as her teammate, Nikhil Ramaswamy, triumphed in last year’s tournament. This is the third time that Plano West has walked away with the Round Robin title, matching Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA) and Milton Academy (MA) for the most victories at the prestigious competition.

MBA only recognizes the top six competitors at awards, with the others receiving participation trophies. Christopher Maximos of the Delbarton School (NJ), who finaled at the Yale Invitational in September, took third, while Mo Marks of Theodore Roosevelt High School (IA) was credited with her fifth National Points Race final round appearance this season by placing fourth. Nikolas Kirk of Brophy College Preparatory (AZ), who shared first place points in the National Points Race with Vivian Zhao of Plano Senior High School (TX) at the University of Texas Longhorn Classic, was fifth. Yale semi-finalist Jack Silvers of Scarsdale High School (NY) also surprised national circuit observers with a sixth place finish.

Wei will receive 150 points for her victory in the Round Robin, which was the first of three second tier tournaments during the second semester. National Points Race standings will be updated near the end of the week so extempers know where they stand heading into the Sunvitational.

Here are the results of the 2019 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin:

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1. Should Democrats seek to implement Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal”?
2. Will Donald Trump face a serious primary challenge in 2020?
3. Should writers and journalists be forced to sign morality clauses as a condition of employment?
4. Will Nancy Pelosi do a better job controlling her majority than Paul Ryan was able to do during his tenure as Speaker of the House?
5. Are the Kurds America’s best ally in the Middle East?
6. How will the government shutdown be solved?
7. Does President Trump have the legal authority to remove the head of the Federal Reserve?
8. Will Gavin Newsom maintain California’s budget surplus?
9. Should states increase gas taxes?
10. Will the increasing number of streaming services prove to be hurtful to consumers?

1. What is the worst Brexit option?
2. Are neoliberal policies to blame for many of Latin America’s economic woes?
3. Is the world witnessing a new “Scramble for Africa”?
4. Should Europe embrace blasphemy laws?
5. Would a Guyana-Venezuela war lead to downfall of the Maduro regime?
6. Has Europe done a better job guarding against jihadist terrorist attacks?
7. Are ethnic tensions re-emerging in the Balkans?
8. Would greater privatization of state owned assets and industries bolster Brazil’s economy?
9. Is Thailand’s king becoming the political power center of the country?
10. To what degree can international institutions protect the integrity of democratic elections around the world?