Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. Are Israel’s demands for a Gaza ceasefire unreasonable?
2. Will anti-government protests in Bangladesh force the creation of a caretaker government?
3. Have Germany’s anti-Nazi laws failed to achieve their purpose?
4. Will Imran Khan’s forces win the next Pakistani general election?
5. After its recent counteroffensive, should the Ukrainian government sue for peace?
6. Are women’s rights backsliding in China?
7. Is the world economy headed for a sudden fall?
8. How will the Taliban crackdown on opium cultivation affect the global drug trade?
9. Is global cooperation on AI regulations achieveable in the long run?
10. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey: Who is best situated to negotiate a peace between Israel and Hamas?
1. How can President Biden generate strong African American turnout for his re-election campaign?
2. Should the UAW make Tesla its next target?
3. Are college protests over the Israeli-Hamas war getting out of control?
4. Could any type of new assault weapons ban pass Congress before the next election?
5. Who will win the Kentucky gubernatorial election?
6. To what extent are businesses’ pricing practices responsible for high inflation in the U.S.?
7. Should states require a proficiency test to earn a high school diploma?
8. How can the Democratic Party win back rural voters?
9. Should President Biden reshuffle his foreign policy team?
10. How should cities handle large homeless encampments?
Updated standings for the 2023-2024 Extemp Central National Points Race have been released. Check them out by clicking here or the “Natl Points Race” tab above.
While there was not a lot of movement created by the New York City Invitational and the Florida Blue Key, the Glenbrooks promises a shakeup in the standings. Glenbrooks will be the season’s first third tier competition, awarding 100 points to its winner and points to the extempers that reach quarter-finals.
The National Points Race resumed on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville last weekend for the 40th edition of the Florida Blue Key Speech and Debate Tournament. 76 extempers from eight states battled it out over three days of competition, which included five preliminary rounds and three elimination rounds.
Charlotte Reitman of the University School (FL) won her second career National Points Race tournament, edging out last year’s George Mason University Patriot Games winner Taylor Burris of the Potomac School (VA) by one rank.
Burris was a sixth place finisher in last year’s Blue Key.
The three-judge panel for finals each gave their first place ranking to different competitors and rarely agreed, creating a situation where all of the final round competitors from Reitman to sixth place finisher Chloe Leng of the Hawken School (OH) were separated by one rank.
#9 Ronak Patel of the American Heritage School – Broward (FL) was the only ranked extemper to reach the Blue Key final round. Patel placed fourth.
Third place was earned by Robert Zhang of Elkins High School (TX) and fifth place was awarded to Kate Liu of Plano East Senior High School (TX).
#5 Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA) was in the field but dropped in quarter-finals. Cheng was trying to get back to finals as he placed third at last year’s event.
Siddharth Sudhakar of Nova High School (FL), who finished fourth last year, was also eliminated in the quarter-final round.
All of the extempers who reached the final round will earn National Points Race points. Since Blue Key was a fifth tier tournament, Reitman will earn 40 points for her win. New standings will be posted on our website this weekend.
Here are the results of the 2023 Florida Blue Key Speech and Debate Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):
Here is this week’s news quiz. Good luck!
1. Should the U.S. launch a military operation to rescue its hostages held by Hamas?
2. Is Meta in violation of the Child Online Protection Act?
3. Has the Biden administration been too friendly toward Iran?
4. Should U.S. states refuse federal education funding?
5. Which GOP presidential candidate will most benefit from former Vice President Mike Pence’s withdrawal from the race?
6. Can Representative Dean Phillips mount a competitive primary bid against President Biden?
7. Why are existing gun laws failing to stop mass shooting incidents?
8. Are sports betting companies doing enough to keep teenagers from using their platforms?
9. Did the UAW win its strike?
10. What does the elevation of Representative Mike Johnson to Speaker of the House say about the current state of the House Republican caucus?
1. Who will win the Argentinian presidential runoff?
2. Should an international coalition fight Hamas?
3. How much of a threat does Marine Le Pen pose to the European Union?
4. Can Hezbollah politically afford to aid Hamas in its war with Israel?
5. Would it be in China’s best interest to have President Biden win re-election next year?
6. How will Africa’s younger population affect geopolitics in the next 50 years?
7. Has the EAC’s military mission in Eastern Congo been a failure?
8. Are global sanctions on Russia working?
9. Will Venezuela’s opposition parties be able to oust Nicholas Maduro?
10. How much longer will the Russo-Ukrainian War last?
Here is this week’s news quiz. Good luck!
1. Will Venezuela’s election deal allow for a fair presidential race in 2024?
2. How can Donald Tusk keep Poland’s liberal coalition together?
3. Will real estate become a significant drag on China’s economy over the next five years?
4. How can governments reduce the impact of anti-carbon policies on working people?
5. Has containment of North Korea’s nuclear program ended?
6. Should Spain amnesty Catalan separatists?
7. Can Israel destroy Hamas?
8. Should South Africa modify its Black Economic Empowerment policy?
9. Will Israel’s war against Hamas jeopardize Saudi plans for wider global investments outside of the energy sector?
10. Are India’s relations with Pakistan getting worse?
1. If Hezbollah attacks Israel, should the U.S. get directly involved in the conflict?
2. Should Mike Pence end his presidential bid?
3. How will General C.Q. Brown change the U.S. military?
4. Can the U.S. afford to aid Ukraine and Israel in simultaneous foreign wars?
5. Will Ohio voters approve of Issue 1?
6. Should President Biden propose tax increases to corral inflation?
7. Is Israel’s war against Gaza splintering the Democratic Party?
8. Should U.S. cities tax land value?
9. Can greater use of AI resolve racial inequities in healthcare?
10. Should Patrick McHenry have his powers expanded as Speaker Pro Tempore?
The season’s third National Points Race tournament took place last weekend in New York City when the Bronx High School of Science hosted its annual New York City Invitational. 53 extempers attended this year’s competition, which was won by Eshaal Ubaid of Stuyvesant High School (NY).
The tournament was cumulative from preliminary rounds through the final round, which cost #5 Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA) a victory. Ubaid won the cumulative assessment of the tournament by one rank but Cheng won the final round by five ranks.
This is the second runner-up finish for Cheng at a National Points Race tournament this season as he finished runner-up at the University of Kentucky National Speech and Debate Season Opener last month.
Third place was earned by Charlotte Reitman of the University School (FL), who finished two ranks behind Ubaid. Reitman was one of the top seeds after preliminary rounds. She finished 18th in the National Points Race last season and this was her first National Points Race earning performance of the year.
Lishore Kumar of Tumball Memorial High School (TX) finished fourth and Valerie Gu of Milton Academy (MA) placed fifth. Kumar finished ahead of Gu by one rank.
#8 Akshaya Karanam of Mount Saint Mary Academy (NJ), who finished sixth at the Yale Invitational, took the same placing at this tournament.
Since the New York City Invitational was a fifth tier event, all of the extempers that reached the final round earned points. Ubaid earns 40 points for winning.
An update to the National Points Race will occur after the Florida Blue Key as New York City Invitational produced little movement in the standings.
Here are the results of the 2023 New York City Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):
Here is this week’s news quiz! Good luck!
1. How can the U.S. avoid becoming militarily involved in Israel’s war on Hamas?
2. What should the DNC do if New Hampshire refuses to move its presidential primary?
3. Which GOP presidential contender needs to end their campaign?
4. Does the Department of Education have the constitutional authority to enact broad sweeping student debt relief?
5. What will be Kevin McCarthy’s future in Republican politics?
6. Does the U.S. budget need a dose of austerity?
7. Should U.S. towns ban influencers?
8. What does Governor Doug Burgum need to do to improve his standing in GOP presidential polls?
9. Is political polarizaiton harming U.S. national security?
10. Can the U.S. afford Medicare for All?
1. Have Hamas’ attacks on Israel closed the door on an Israeli peace deal with Saudi Arabia?
2. How should German conservatives deal with the AfD?
3. In the aftermath of Hamas’ attacks, is Netanyahu’s government on borrowed time?
4. Can the winner of Ecuador’s presidential election substantially improve the nation’s security?
5. Should Rwanda become Africa’s policeman?
6. How should Asian nations handle their ageing crises?
7. What should NATO do if Russia pulls out of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?
8. Has global support for Ukraine peaked?
9. Why did Australian voters reject the indigenous ‘voice’ referendum?
10. Will Pakistan’s expulsion of Afghan refugees worsen its relationship with Afghanistan’s Taliban government?