This is the first news quiz of the 2023-2024 season! Note that news quizzes will be posted each week on Tuesday afternoon or evening. They will run through the last week of April, which is when most state tournaments are completed. Good luck on this week’s questions!
Note: The first Extemp Central news quiz of the 2023-2024 competitive year will be posted on Tuesday evening!
1. Is Nikki Haley becoming the candidate anti-Trump forces should rally behind?
2. Will President Biden’s foreign policy be an asset or liability in 2024?
3. How long will the Hollywood strikes last?
4. Who should lead Senate Republicans after Mitch McConnell?
5. Should the U.S. press aggressively for a negotiated settlement in Ukraine?
6. Would the closing of the “gun show loophole” significantly reduce gun violence?
7. Should U.S. schools go to four-day school weeks?
8. Does the U.S need to reimagine the way that it spends money on national defense?
9. How should the Biden administration respond to the BRICS expansion?
10. Does the 14th Amendment bar former President Trump from running in 2024?
Note: The first Extemp Central news quiz of the 2023-2024 competitive year will be posted on Tuesday evening!
1. How can the African Union stop a “contagion of autocracy” in West Africa?
2. Is Scotland the key to the British Labour Party regaining power?
3. How can South Korea improve its birthrate?
4. Should future recovery of Titanic artifacts be prohibited?
5. Were Zimbabwe’s elections fair?
6. Can an expanded BRICS be an effective counterweight to the West?
7. Should Germany use its closed nuclear power plants?
8. Are AI technologies a threat to global democracy?
9. Should Mexico welcome a possible U.S. military mission to fight drug cartels?
10. Should Benjamin Netanyahu prioritize a Saudi peace deal over the survival of his government?
1. Should Saudi Arabia join the BRICS?
2. What does the election of Bernardo Arevalo mean for Guatemala’s future?
3. Has the West undermined the promise of Ukraine’s counteroffensive?
4. How will the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin affect the future of the Wagner Group?
5. Should more petrostates embrace “sportswashing”?
6. Is the AfD a significant threat to German democracy?
7. Can Srettha Thavisin reduce the political temperature of Thai politics?
8. Is Xi Jinping’s growing power in China a cause of its economic woes?
9. Should Japan be allowed to release radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant?
10. Who will win the Ecuadorian presidential runoff?
1. Will high gas prices drive the U.S. economy into recession?
2. Is it wise for GOP presidential candidates to support a national abortion ban?
3. Will the BG.5. COVID variant cause a resumption of mask mandates across the country?
4. Does the U.S. need to do more to support Mexico’s war on drug cartels?
5. Should the U.S. Department of Education be abolished?
6. If the BRICS expand, how should the U.S. react?
7. Will private equity ownership be bad for Subway?
8. Could Mark Thompson fix CNN?
9. Would a legal conviction constitutionally bar former President Trump from office?
10. How can organized labor revive sagging membership?
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Visit prepd.in to sign up by the end of August and secure your 25% discount. If your team is already using Prepd, make sure to renew this month to benefit of the reduced price.
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Daniel Kind competed for Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Florida. He was the 2022 NCFL national champion, 2022 NSDA national runner-up, Florida state champion, 2022 Extemp Central Points Race champion, while also breaking the single-season record for single-season wins (7), top-three finishes (12), and final round appearances (12). Daniel is attending the University of Chicago, where he studies public policy and urban studies.
Editor’s Note: This interview happened in the fall of 2022 but we decided to embargo it until the start of the 2023-2024 season.
1. Will mortgage rates continue to climb by the end of the year?
2. Why does former President Trump lead GOP polls despite his legal woes?
3. How can cities best turn vacant lots into new housing?
4. Should U.S. schools ban cell phone use on campus?
5. How can the growing cost of higher education be curtailed?
6. Is former President Trump making a mistake not participating in the first GOP presidential debate?
7. Has the AI boom ended?
8. To what extent is the Biden administration responsible for high levels of inflation in recent years?
9. What changes need to be made to the U.S. Postal Service?
10. How can the DEA best combat Tranq?
1. How would a Javier Milei presidency change Argentina?
2. Is Russia conducting ecocide against Ukraine?
3. What are the chances that a diplomatic pact can be brokered between Saudi Arabia and Israel?
4. Is it still in China’s interests to protect North Korea?
5. Why is Syria’s Civil War in a never-ending endgame?
6. How can Germany guarantee that its green energy ambitions do not disrupt the country’s manufacturing sector?
7. Is the world on the cusp of another space race?
8. Has China become too risky for foreign investment?
9. Are Western moves toward drug legalization making Latin American nations more unstable?
10. Is Ethiopia heading back toward civil war?
1. Is Ukraine’s counteroffensive failing?
2. Does globalization make the world safer?
3. Is the era of high economic growth in China over?
4. Why are ISIS outfits succeeding in West Africa?
5. Is Netanyahu becoming an autocrat?
6. What steps does Ecuador need to take to bolster public safety?
7. How can Latin American nations benefit from the next commodities boom?
8. Is Kenya the right nation to lead a multinational force to stabilize Haiti?
9. Could NATO effectively operate without the United States?
10. Is Modi’s government responsible for recent sectarian violence in Manipur?
1. Should Glenn Youngkin enter the 2024 Republican primary?
2. How much of a threat are legal proceedings against Hunter Biden to President Biden’s re-election bid?
3. If Iran were to successfully test a nuclear weapon, how should the U.S. react?
4. How much longer should the U.S. fund Ukrainian military efforts against Russia?
5. Will studios or unions win the Hollywood strikes?
6. How should the DNC respond if New Hampshire holds its primary before South Carolina?
7. What adjustments, if any, should the U.S. make in its foreign policy with Turkey?
8. Should corporations be allowed to purchase single-family homes?
9. What would be the best “No Labels” ticket for 2024?
10. Should the Biden administration designate Travis King as a prisoner of war?
Note: These are the first extemp questions for the 2023-2024 school year. Throughout August, the primary content that will appear here will be questions. We will also be updating the tournament calendar, updating state champion lists, and doing other maintenance. News quiz content will start the week of Labor Day in September and run through the end of April.
1. Will former President Trump drop his 2024 bid as part of a legal plea bargain?
2. What is the best use of artificial intelligence in the classroom?
3. Is the August GOP presidential debate a “make or break” moment for Ron DeSantis?
4. Has the Federal Reserve tamed inflation?
5. Does the Supreme Court need an ethics overhaul?
6. Should the U.S. Congress pass the Protecting Athletes, Schools, and Sports Act?
7. Which of former President Trump’s indictments is the biggest threat to his political career?
8. Does the U.S. have any leverage remaining to deter North Korea’s nuclear ambitions?
9. Is “tipflation” bad for the U.S. economy?
10. How will the end of affirmative action affect the college admissions process going forward?
1. If Spain holds an election repeat, what should the People’s Party do to get a governing majority?
2. Is Russia’s military machine crumbling?
3. Should West African nations mount a military intervention in Niger?
4. Is Pakistan’s election delay unwise?
5. Should NATO consider expansion beyond Europe?
6. Will Italy regret its decision to leave the Belt and Road Initiative?
7. Should the LDP consider Taro Yamamoto a threat to its political standing?
8. Does Canada need to increase its military spending?
9. How should Poland respond to Wagner fighters on its border with Belarus?
10. Have the benefits of Nayib Bukele’s gang crackdown outweighed the negatives?
Final standings for the 2022-2023 Extemp Central National Points Race have been released! These results reflect the results of the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament. You can find them by clicking on the “National Points Race” tab at the top of the page or by clicking here.
We thank everyone for reading and following along with this year’s competition and we look forward to hosting it again for 2023-2024. In August we will provide a breakdown for next year’s structure and a small season preview.
As a reminder, new questions, quizzes, and other content will be rolled out for the 2023-2024 season beginning on Monday, August 7. If you haven’t already make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @extemp so you can receive content updates during the season!
Two weeks ago the 2022-2023 season concluded at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. More than 400 extempers competed for national titles in United States and International Extemp.
History was made as #1 McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ) captured her third national championship and successfully defended her national championship in International Extemp. Paltzik took six first place ranks in the final round, defeating #5 Phoena Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX). She is the first extemper to win International Extemp twice.
Lin was trying to return the International Extemp title to Plano West, which last won it in 2021. She trailed Paltzik by one rank going into the final round but capturing three first place ranks in the final round was not enough to overtake the National Points Race leader. Lin’s teammate #4 Gabriel Bo, who returned to the final round after a sixth place finish the year before, placed fourth.
The highest placing non-senior in International Extemp was #12 Rohit Vakkalagadda of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA). Vakkalagadda, who won the California Invitational in February, placed third.
Two other non-seniors rounded out International Extemp, with Siri Ural of Shrewsbury High School (MA) finishing fifth and Stephen Frank of Whitmer High School (OH) finishing sixth.
#20 Jack Ververis of Trinity Prepartory School (FL) placed seventh, missing out on the final round by four ranks.
Paltzik’s victory completes the best season an extemper has had since 2005. She was undefeated at all National Points Race tournaments that she attended, winning nine of them. And since the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin in March 2022 Paltzik won every tournament where she placed in the final round (or top six), establishing a 14-for-14 conversion rate. Paltzik also completed a calendar-year grand slam, last achieved by Kevin Troy of Eagan High School (MN) in 2005, and is the first extemper to win an NCFL and NSDA extemp national title in the same season since Dylan Slinger of Lakeville South High School (MN), who won both in 2011.
In United States Extemp, #8 Kyle Letterer of Plano West, who was the highest non-placing senior in last year’s event, became the second extemper from his school to win the NSDA U.S. Extemp National Championship in the last five years, defeating Faye Zhang of Eastview High School (MN) by 17 ranks. Letterer went into the final round with a five-rank lead and won the final round by ten ranks.
Zhang was a quarter-finalist last year and was trying to become the first Eastview extemper to win U.S. Extemp since James Hohmann, who won in 2005.
Like International Extemp, Plano West had two finalists. Letterer’s teammate #21 Katherine Lee entered the final round in second place but after the final round dropped back to sixth place.
#3 Theodore Gercken of the College Preparatory School (CA), who placed 14th last season, ended his career with a third place finish. It was the seventh time that Gercken reached a National Points Race final round this season, more than any extemper in the country besides Paltzik.
The highest placing non-senior in U.S. Extemp was Meghana Kunapareddy of Tompkins High School (TX). Kunapareddy entered the final round in sixth place and used it to improve their final round placing to fourth.
Nate Watts of Carlsbad High School (CA) was the second California extemper in the final round and placed fifth.
The break into the U.S. Extemp final was close as Srinath Hariharan of Woodbury High School (MN) finished a mere one rank behind Kunapareddy.
Dev Ahuja of Solon High School (OH), who placed fifth last season, also narrowly missed making it back to the final round, ending his run in eighth place.
21 of the top 25 of the National Points Race entered the NSDA National Tournament. Other notable finishes included semi-finalist showings by #13 Aidan Marks of Benilde-St. Margaret’s in International Extemp and #16 Jonathan Tubb of St. Mary’s Hall (TX) in U.S. Extemp; quarter-finalist placings for #9 Pierce McDade of University High School (IL), #15 Isaiah Sohn of Redlands High School (CA), and #25 Nathan Cai of Brophy College Preparatory (AZ) in International Extemp and #2 Sruti Peddi of BASIS Scottsdale (AZ), #17 Tyler Crivella of Seven Lakes High School (TX), and #19 Siddharth Sudhakar of Nova High School (FL) in United States Extemp; and octa-finalist finishes for #6 Amy Cao of Ridge High School (NJ), #7 Taylor Burris of the Potomac School (VA), #14 Charlotte Reitman of the University School (FL), and #22 Nirja Trivedi of Westview High School (CA) in International Extemp and #23 Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA) in United States Extemp.
International Extemp had more of the top 25 competing, so it will receive the 50 point bonus for National Points Race considerations. This means that Paltzik will receive 300 points for her victory in International Extemp from the overall competition and the final round. Letterer will receive 240 points for doing the same in U.S. Extemp. All competitors who reached outrounds will receive National Points Race points.
All of the non-senior extempers who reached the final and semi-final round earn automatic qualifications to next year’s national tournament. They also earn an automatic qualification to next year’s University of Kentucky TOC. They are indicated in blue in the results listing.
Those returning extempers who reach the quarter-final round also earn a bid leg to the 2024 Extemp TOC at Northwestern University.
Here are the results of the 2023 National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):