Category: Extemp TOC

2011 Extemp TOC: The Qual Board is Updated!

On December 17, 2010

The qualification board for the 2011 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions has been updated to reflect the results of the Alief Taylor High School Tournament, the Dowling Catholic Paradigm,and the Western Kentucky University Hilltopper Classic. We have also obtained the non-finalist elimination round participants from the George Armstrong Heart of Illinois Tournament, so those results have been keyed into the system. However, we still need the names of the non-finalist elimination round participants at Alief Taylor and we need complete results from the Isidore Newman School Tournament. Any help the community could provide in getting us these results is appreciated.

Eight extempers qualified for the TOC last week, which means that 167 extempers have now qualified for this year’s tournament. Texas added four qualifiers and continued to increase its lead among the states. Texas has 38 qualifiers. Iowa added three qualifiers and now has four. Thirty extempers gained their first qualifying leg last week, bringing the number needing another elimination round appearance to qualify to 142.

[fblike] [twitter]

2011 Extemp TOC: Qual Board is Updated!

By geniao44446

On December 9, 2010

In Extemp TOC

The qualification board for the 2011 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions has been updated to reflect the results of George Mason, Princeton, Bradley, and the University of Texas at Austin. We still need the names of any non-finalist elimination round participants from the George Armstrong Heart of Illinois Tournament (Bradley), so if you have those please send them our way.

Last weekend, twenty-one extempers qualified for the Extemp TOC. This brings the tally of extempers who have now qualified to 159. Texas added nine qualifiers to increase its qualifier lead to seventeen over Florida and Kansas. 120 extempers now have one qualifying leg and need another elimination round appearance to become a qualifier.

This weekend four tournaments host Extemp TOC qualifiers: the Dowling Catholic Paradigm in Iowa, the Alief Elsik High School Tournament in Texas, the Isidore Newman School Tournament in Louisiana, and the Western Kentucky University Hilltopper Classic in Kentucky. As always, if you have any results from these tournaments forward them our way so we can make sure our TOC qual board is as accurate as possible.

[fblike] [twitter]

Extemp Central Recognized at the Extemp TOC!

By geniao44446

On May 17, 2010

In Extemp TOC, Site News

Yesterday, Extemp Central was recognized at the Extemp TOC awards ceremony for its role in assisting the high school extemp community. Although the TOC Service Award was awarded to me, I would like to say that the award should be shared with Corey Alderdice, our website manager, as well as everyone who has worked for the site since it came online in the summer of 2006: Michael Garson, Colin West, Hunter Kendrick, Sebastian Pyrek, Adam Johnson, Stacey Chen, Mark Royce, Ian Panchevre, Omar Qureshi, Akshar Rambachan, Nicholas Cugini, Max Webster, David Tannenwald, Bill Thompson, Rob Warchol, Sarah Anand, Matt Arons, and Evan Larson.

Also, thank you to everyone who has helped spread the word about Extemp Central. It continues to grow and it is good to know that many programs and students have found it useful over the last several years. Without your support, this website would not exist. Look for the return of R&D (based on CFL/NFL topic areas) starting late Monday evening, the wrap up of this year’s National Points Race, topic area brief books for CFL & NFL Nats, and other resources in the run up to NFL Nationals in Kansas City!

Extemp Central thanks the Extemp TOC and its staff for the recognition.

-Logan Scisco

Live from the Extemp TOC: Zewail Earns Convincing Victory; San Marino (CA) & L.C. Anderson High School (TX) Place Two in Finals

By geniao44446

On May 17, 2010

In Extemp TOC, National Circuit Results

After two intense days of competition, the eighth annual Extemp Tournament of Champions has concluded at Northwestern University. On a day that began with the announcement of the 24 participants in quarter-finals, Nabeel Zewail of San Marino High School in California, a finalist at Yale, the California Invitational at Berkeley, and the Exhibition Round champion at this year’s Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin, marched through the tournament and won each of his elimination rounds to become the champion. Zewail was joined in the final by San Marino teammate Oscar Wang, who made his second national circuit final appearance of the season. L.C. Anderson High School in Texas also had a strong showing, with Haydn Forrest placing second and Shaan Heng Devan placing fifth in his second consecutive TOC final round appearance. Mirza Germovic of Des Moines Roosevelt High School in Iowa, MBA participant and George Mason finalist, and Valerie Shen of James Madison Memorial High School in Wisconsin rounded out the final. (More after the jump)

Live from the Extemp TOC: How Pairings Unfolded

By geniao44446

On May 17, 2010

In Extemp TOC, National Circuit News

Unfortunately, the lack of a wireless connection prohibited live coverage from yesterday’s elimination rounds at the TOC. Despite that, this post contains the pairings for the quarter-final, semi-final, and final rounds so everyone can see how the tournament developed. The number in parenthesis is the seeding of the extemper based on preliminary results. It took a cumulative score of 32 across 11 ballots (the lowest rank of each extemper was dropped in prelims) to break to quarter-finals.

Live from the Extemp TOC: Day One is Complete, Bad News About Updates

By geniao44446

On May 15, 2010

In Extemp TOC, National Circuit News

The first day of competition at the Extemp TOC has concluded. There were a few drops, which reduced the field to 67 competitors. Quarter-finals is scheduled to go off tomorrow at 8 a.m., with an announcement of the 24 quarter-final participants scheduled at 7:30 a.m. Unfortunately, Northwestern University wasn’t very accomodating with their wireless passwords for guests across the entire campus so the live updates we had planned will likely not be able to take place. If anything changes, Extemp Central will let you know but results will be posted around 2 or 3 in the morning on Monday.

Some of the notable people competing in this year’s TOC include: Nabeel Zewail, Oscar Wang, Nathaniel Donahue, Mirza Germovic, Shaan Heng-Devan, Haydn Forrest, Audrey Denis, Emily Martin, Amelia Martin, and Kat Leung. There are others in the field, but these were some that were spotted at registration/early this morning.

Live from the Extemp TOC: Tournament Registration is Finalized

By geniao44446

On May 14, 2010

In Extemp TOC, National Circuit News

Registration for the Extemp TOC concluded several hours ago and Extemp Central can provide some information about this year’s eighth annual Extemp Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. This year’s tournament has 69 competitors, which is twenty more than last year’s competition. Tournament directors are attributing this to increased Texas participation in this year’s field and the lack of swine flu scares. The expanded field will allow the tournament to break to quarter-finals on Sunday. Also, unlike last year’s competition, all rounds will be held at Northwestern’s campus tomorrow and Sunday.

For those unfamiliar with the TOC, the tournament has six preliminary rounds of competition. Each round has two judges and competitors have their lowest prelim rank dropped. The first four preliminary rounds are preset and the last two are power matched. In elimination rounds, the tournament utilizes five judge panels (seven for finals) and open cross-examination. For competitors who do not make elimination rounds, there is a supplemental impromptu competition that they can enter.

Extemp Tournament of Champions (TOC): Extemp Topic Areas

By geniao44446

On April 28, 2010

In Extemp TOC, National Circuit News

The Extemp TOC, a third tier tourament in the Extemp Central National Points Race, is a little over two weeks away. Thanks to the tournament staff of the TOC, Extemp Central has procured what the nine topic areas will be for the event. For extempers who are attending and would like to have this information here you go:

*Domestic Politics
*Domestic Social Issues
*Domestic Economy
*US Foreign Policy
*Russia & Europe
*Asia & Middle East
*South America & Africa
*International Organizations & International Economy
*Hotspots

If all goes well, Extemp Central plans to do some live coverage of the tournament from Northwestern University’s campus. So if you can’t attend the TOC we hope that you can follow the action of the tournament right here at Extemp Central in two weeks.

2010 Extemp Tournament of Champions (TOC): Registration is Posted

By geniao44446

On March 26, 2010

In Extemp TOC, National Circuit News

For those interested in competing in one of the more unique tournaments of the year, the Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions at Northwestern University, the registration form has been posted online at the TOC’s website. The Extemp TOC has existed since 2003 and offers one of the more competitive fields of the season. Last year, the top three competitors in the National Points Race: Stacey Chen, Dillon Huff, and Matt Arons fought it out in the final round. This year’s TOC is a third tier tournament in the Extemp Central National Points Race and it will award 100 points to the winner.

The tournament also boasts one of the stronger judging fields in the nation with former extempers and recognized high school and collegiate coaches evaluating extempers performances. Extempers are guaranteed six preliminary rounds and for those that do not break to elimination rounds there is a supplemental impromptu competition that they can enter.

The cost per covered entry is $125 (one judge may cover two entries) and there is a $40 entry processing fee. Extempers can look at the invitation for the tournament on the TOC”s website to see if they meet the eligibilty requirements. The deadline for registering for the tournament and paying these fees is May 7th.

If you do not meet the eligibility requirements, you can submit a bid application. The deadline for this is April 1st. The cost of a bid application is $25.

Extemp Central plans to do some live blogging from the tournament this year so those that cannot make the tournament will receive updated information about pairings/results/etc. However, it is hoped that extempers around the country plan to attend this year’s TOC.

2010 Extemp Tournament of Champions (TOC): Invitation is Posted!

By geniao44446

On February 3, 2010

In Extemp TOC, National Circuit News

The administrators of the Extemp Tournament of Champions have posted the invitation for the 2010 installment of their event on their website. The tournament offers a solid field of competition and has six preliminary rounds and three elimination rounds.

The tournament will be held from May 14-16, 2010 at Northwestern University and is a must attend event. The Extemp TOC is also a third tier tournament in this year’s National Points Race and will award 100 points to the winner.

To access the invitation to this year’s Extemp Tournament of Champions click here.

Extemp TOC Results: Chen Notches Third Victory of the Season

By geniao44446

On May 18, 2009

In Extemp TOC, National Circuit Results

Here are the results from the 2009 Extemp TOC @ Northwestern toc University:

Champion: Stacey Chen (North Allegheny Senior HS, Pennsylvania)
2nd: Dillon Huff (Southlake Carroll HS, Texas)
3rd: Matt Arons (Millburn HS, New Jersey)
4th: Amanda Johnson (Eagan HS, Minnesota)
5th: Dylan Slinger (Lakeville South HS, Minnesota)
6th: Shaan Heng-Devan (Anderson HS, Texas)

The round was judged by Steve Moss, Michael Garson, Jason Warren, Adam Johnson, Ryan Murphy, Logan Scisco, and Jon Carter. There was a tie between Huff and Arons for 2nd place that was broken on judges preference. Triad questions were used for the final round.

Other notable results:

Supplemental Impromptu Champion: Grant Dowling (Scarsdale HS, New York)
Extemp TOC Service Award: Adam Johnson (Montgomery Bell Academy, Tennessee)
Coaching Excellence in Extemporaneous Speaking: Diane Forbes (Southlake Carroll HS, Texas)

Ex Files Correction & TOC News

By geniao44446

On May 15, 2009

In Extemp TOC, National Circuit News, Site News

In the latest Ex Files the number of points given for the CFL National tournament were listed wrongly. The correct point values are as follows:

1st-150 pts.
2nd-125
3rd-100
4th-75
5th-65
6th-55
Semi-finalists: 25

———————–

Also, the Extemp TOC begins tomorrow morning at 8 AM at Northwestern University. Following prelims and as soon as breaks become available, Extemp Central will try to provide you with an update on semi-finalists.

There is a smaller field at the TOC than last year, possibly because of the swine flu scare and travel difficulties for the state of Texas. There are 45 competitors in the field.

Due to numbers, the TOC has decided that it will now break to semi-finals in elimination rounds and has made the decision that there will be two rounds of semi-finals like NFL Nationals. This is a great decision as it will allow maximum rotation in these semi-finals and still preserves the number of expected elimination rounds at the tournament.

Inside the Extemp TOC: An Interview with Michael Garson

By Logan Scisco

On May 11, 2009

In Extemp TOC, Interviews

Interview by Logan Scisco

Gearing up for its seventh installment, the Extemp TOC at Northwestern University has gradually established itself as one of the premier tournaments for extemporaneous speaking. Seeing its talent pool continue to increase in quality over those seven years, the Extemp TOC is now the place to be in early May prior to CFL and NFL Nationals. Michael Garson, former NFL IX finalist, Ex Files contributor, and current co-tournament director of the Extemp TOC sat down to discuss his experiences at the tournament, some changes the tournament is making for the 2009 edition, and what competitors can expect at Northwestern University this weekend.

Logan Scisco: Thanks for sitting down with us Michael to discuss the Extemp TOC. I think a question from those who may not know you is how long have you been involved in the Extemp TOC and what made you want to involved in running this special event?

Michael Garson: I first got involved back in March 2005, when I met Dr. Steve Moss at my NFL Districts tournament. It was there that Dr. Moss suggested that I “go national”. TOC Extemp was my first foray into top-notch competition. I haven’t checked the old tab sheets, but I think I finished somewhere around 42nd out of a pool of 47. Needless to say, it was a very humbling, and educational, experience. In 2006 I went if for no other reason than to visit Northwestern and finalize my college plans. At that time, I barely qualified for NFLs and was resigned to mediocrity. Through a combination of luck, attitude, and a style particularly well-suited to the TOC Extemp, I ended up finishing 4th.

Part of the reason I came to Northwestern was the TOC Extemp and the NU Speech Team. I have since stopped competing to pursue other endeavors, but I haven’t left the tournament. For everything that it gave me, I just can’t let it go.

Scisco: I think many observers could comment that each year the TOC field continues to get stronger and stronger. What efforts have Northwestern University made to make this tournament one of the premier events in the country?