Extemp Central

Here is this week’s news quiz.  Good luck!

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Two weeks ago, the Barkley Forum on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia drew one of the largest extemp fields of the year. 91 extempers dueled it out for this year’s championship, which culminated in a showdown of highly ranked extempers in this year’s National Points Race.

And just like at the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin at the beginning of the month, #1 McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ) kept her season-long unbeaten streak intact, defeating #21 Jack Ververis of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) by seven ranks in the final round. It marks Paltzik’s fifth victory at a National Points Race event this season.

It would not be a national circuit extemp event without Plano West Senior High School (TX) getting some of its competitors through to the final round. This time, it got two extempers through to the last round and #6 Gabriel Bo took third and #3 Kyle Letterer took fourth.

#2 Theodore Gercken of the College Preparatory School (CA) notched his fifth final round at a National Points Race event of the year. He finished in fifth place.

Faye Zhang of Eastview High School (MN), an MBA invitee last season, was the sixth place finisher.

Notable extempers that were eliminated in semi-finals included #8 Pierce McDade of the University School (IL) and #13 Charlotte Reitman of the University School (FL). Notables that went out in quarter-finalists included #4 Phoena Lin of Plano West, #5 Sruti Peddi of BASIS Scottsdale (AZ), and #12 Sydney Carroll of Battle Ground Academy (TN).

Paltzik is the first extemper from Arizona to win the Barkley Forum at least as far back as 2000, which is how far Extemp Central’s history of the tournament goes.

All of the extempers who reached the semi-final round and beyond earn National Points Race points. Paltzik earns 70 points for her victory.

All of the semi-finalists at the tournament earned a bid leg to this year’s Extemp TOC at Northwestern University. They also earn a bid leg to the University of Kentucky TOC.

Here are the results from the 2023 Barkley Forum (Click here for tab sheet):’

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1. Did the Biden administration appropriately respond to the Chinese spy balloon?
2. Should the U.S. provide fighter jets to Ukraine?
3. Will the DNC’s alterations to its primary calendar cost it New Hampshire in 2024?
4. Should Karine Jean-Pierre be replaced as White House Press Secretary?
5. How could Nikki Haley capture the 2024 Republican presidential nomination?
6. Will the mainstream American media ever regain the trust of the public?
7. To what degree did Governor Ron DeSantis win his fight with the College Board over AP African American Studies?
8. Should entertainment awards continue to divide acting categories by gender?
9. How will artificial intelligence affect the lives of Americans over the next decade?
10. Should the U.S. put more money into nuclear fusion research?

1. What signal was China sending to the U.S. with its spy balloon?
2. Should the British Conservative Party roll back Brexit?
3. Why has Argentina failed to tame its inflation crisis?
4. Will Pope Francis’ African visits provide a boost for LGBTQ+ rights across Africa?
5. Should Australia become a republic?
6. Are neighboring countries making Peru’s democratic crisis worse?
7. Have Western oil sanctions on Russia failed?
8. What should be Pervez Musharraf’s legacy?
9. Has Myanmar’s junta lost control of the country?
10. Is the EAC’s intervention in Eastern Congo falling short of expectations?

Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

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1. Should the British government withdraw from the Northern Ireland Protocol?
2. Could the Wagner Group become a threat to Vladimir Putin’s hold on power?
3. Will 2023 be a year of disorder across Central Asia?
4. Does Bangladesh need to loosen restrictions on Rohingya refugees?
5. What steps should the new Brazilian government take to better protect the Amazon?
6. Can India provide significant counter-terrorism assistance to African nations?
7. Should Peru move its elections forward?
8. Are Egypt’s economic difficulties a threat to al-Sisi’s regime?
9. Should Mercosur seek a free trade agreement with China?
10. Who is winning the “shadow war” between Iran and Israel?

1. To what extent will the horrific death of Tyre Nichols impact the debate over police reform?
2. Does Kyrsten Sinema have a path to return to the Senate in 2024?
3. Is the U.S. dangerously escalating the Russia-Ukraine War?
4. Can the Federal Reserve tame inflation without creating a recession?
5. Is the GOP’s FairTax Act a big gift to Democrats?
6. How can the U.S. enhance electric vehicle adoption while simultaneously reducing negative environmental impacts such a policy would have on developing nations?
7. Should Joe Manchin run for president in 2024?
8. Does the U.S. need to alter its present relationship with Ethiopia?
9. Should Congress abolish the debt ceiling?
10. What will be the most important governor’s race of the 2024 cycle?

Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

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Last week the Maine Forensic Association hosted its annual State Championship Tournament at Bangor High School. The tournament drew a field of six extempers, who competed across four rounds.

Grant Lapierre of Cape Elizabeth High School won the championship by ten ranks over Carly McCabe of Showhegan Area High School. The win is the first for Cape Elizabeth in the category in five years.

Lawrence High School had two finalists as Stella-moon Devie and Ryder Bernie took third and fourth place.

As per Extemp TOC guidelines, all of the top six finishers earn an automatic qualification to this year’s tournament.

Here are the results from the Maine Forensic Association State Championship (Click here for tab sheet):

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1. Will the placing of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert on the House Oversight Committee hurt the GOP’s 2024 electoral prospects?
2. What is the most important case that the Supreme Court will hear in its next term?
3. Has the Biden administration responded poorly to his mishandling of classified documents?
4. Are criminal charges against Alec Baldwin a case of prosecutorial overreach?
5. Have discipline policies become too lax in America’s schools?
6. Will George Santos serve his full term?
7. To what extent is U.S. inflation driven by corporate profits?
8. How far should the U.S. go in assisting Somalia’s fight against al-Shabab?
9. Should the U.S. begin to treat Mexican cartel leaders the same as terrorists?
10. How would a President DeSantis change American education policy?

1. How much longer will the Syrian Civil War last?
2. Does the world need a new global convention about the moon?
3. Is South Africa’s “developmental state” policy failing?
4. How can Chris Hipkins steer New Zealand’s Labour Party to victory later this year?
5. Is Peru’s state of emergency making its political situation worse?
6. Should Chinese policymakers worry about its shrinking population?
7. Why has the international community found it difficult to curtail North Korea’s nuclear program?
8. What would a post-globalization world look like?
9. Is Germany’s approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict misguided?
10. Should Saudi Arabia cease its funding of LIV Golf?

At last week’s James Logan MLK Invitational, 54 extempers battled in International Extemp, as did 45 others in United States Extemp in the first West Coast tournament of this year’s National Points Race.

#3 Theodore Gercken of the College Preparatory School (CA), coming off of a top five finish at the Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin, swept both categories, winning International Extemp by two cumulative ranks over Isaiah Sohn of Redlands High School (CA) and United States Extemp by eight ranks over Kashish Priyam of the Harker School (CA).

Third place in International Extemp went to Gordy Sun of the Harker School, who won a final round tiebreaker over Michelle Giovinazzo of Miramonte High School (CA) after both of them deadlocked at 41 total ranks.

Francis Olakangil of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA), who won last year’s tournament in International Extemp, reached the final round but finished sixth. Olakangil’s teammate, Shamit D’Souza, took fifth in the category.

Eshaan Rawat of James Logan placed third in United States Extemp, narrowly beating Arnav Aggarwal of Bellarmine College Preparatory by one rank for the honor.

Fifth place in United States Extemp went to #21 Lauren Kim of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA) and Ethan Chen of Monte Vista High School (CA) finished sixth.

James Logan allowed seven extempers into the final round, but only the top six will earn National Points Race points. Narrowly missing points for the tournament were Rudy Mahajan of Davis Senior High School (CA) in International Extemp and #8 Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Preparatory in United States Extemp.

#19 Raghav Ramki of Plano East Senior High School (TX) competed as an independent entry in United States Extemp but dropped in the semi-final round. Ramki finished the tournament in eighth place with a better cumulative rank total than any of the other semi-finalists.

To prevent double counting in the National Points Race, an extemper’s top finish will count toward this year’s standings. That means Gercken will net 40 points for winning his first National Points Race tournament of the season.

All of the finalists in each extemp category earn a bid leg to this year’s UK TOC in April. The Extemp TOC does not award any bids for the event.

Here are the results from the 2023 James Logan MLK Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

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Here is this week’s news quiz.  Good luck!

Read More