- Will Donald Trump’s second term as president be less chaotic than the first?
- Who will be the next Supreme Court justice to retire?
- Were economic or cultural issues more influential in determining the outcome of the 2024 presidential election?
- Will Lee Zeldin be an effective administrator of the EPA?
- Should the Department of Education be abolished?
- Will the U.S. Senate confirm all of Trump’s cabinet appointees?
- What does Trump’s selection of Robert Kennedy, Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services mean for America’s pharmaceutical industry?
- Is Donald Trump making a mistake by not giving Nikki Haley a cabinet position?
- What role, if any, should AI play in the use of nuclear weapons?
- Should there be greater federal regulation of social media content?
New standings for the 2024-2025 Extemp Central National Points Race are have been posted to reflect the results of the Florida Blue Key. Check them out by clicking here or the “Natl Points Race” tab above.
Robert Zhang of Elkins High School (TX) still leads the competition but his lead has been trimmed considerably after Al Zaidi of Holy Trinity Episcopal School (FL) finished runner-up at the Blue Key.
The next National Points Race event will be the Glenbrooks, taking place next weekend. It will be the first third tier tournament in this year’s National Points Race, awarding 100 points to its winner and points to all extempers who reach the quarter-final round.
This year’s Florida Blue Key, held on November 1-3 on the campus of the University of Florida, drew a field of 68 extempers. Most attendees were from Florida but extempers from North Carolina, Texas, New York, California, and Ohio made the trip for the second fourth tier tournament in this year’s National Points Race.
Sven Stumbauer of Christopher Columbus High School (FL) won a very divided final round, defeating #6 Al Zaidi of Holy Trinity Episcopal School (FL) by two ranks to claim the title. Stumbauer took one first place rank in finals, as did Zaidi. That made secondary ranks important as Stumbauer took two second place ranks while Zaidi, pulled two third place ranks.
Kate Liu of Plano West Senior High School (TX) was the highest finishing non-Floridian, taking third place. She finished four ranks back of Stumbauer and two of Zaidi, taking the other available first place rank in the final round.
Of the three remaining finalists, #5 Sahana Srikanth of Mason High School (OH) was most notable because of reaching a third National Points Race final round this year, more than any other competitor to this point in the season. Srikanth took sixth, seven ranks back of Shriya Dharmapurikar of Durham Academy (NC) and two back of Rohan Dash of Pine View School (NC).
There were several notable extempers in the field who did not reach the final round. #8 Charlotte Reitman of NSU University School (FL) was defending champion but dropped in quarter-finals. #7 Daphne Kalir-Starr of the College Preparatory School (CA) and #16 Kai Forbach of Durham made it to semi-finals.
Jonah Downs of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) was the winner of the Blue Key Round Robin held before the tournament. Downs defeated Pranav Gorty of Plano East Senior High School (TX) by two ranks after four rounds of competition. Gorty would reach quarter-finals of the general tournament while Downs did not clear out of preliminaries.
This year’s Blue Key was upgraded to fourth tier status so all extempers who reached semi-finals will earn National Points Race points. Stumbauer earns 70 points as the winner. No credit is awarded for the Blue Key Round Robin. New National Points Race standings will be released tomorrow night.
Here are the results of the 2024 Florida Blue Key (Click here for tab sheet):
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
- Why did Trump win?
- Does Vice President Harris still have a role to play in American politics?
- How will the result of the 2024 presidential election affect the future of the U.S. Supreme Court?
- Does Jerome Powell deserve another term as Federal Reserve Chairman?
- Were the 2024 elections an electoral realignment?
- What was the most shocking congressional result of the 2024 elections?
- To what degree is President Biden responsible for Vice President Harris’ defeat?
- How bad was the recent U.S. jobs report?
- Has the White House AI order delivered on its promises?
- Will the results of the Japanese parliamentary elections affect the U.S.-Japanese security alliance?
- Will the result of the U.S. presidential election destroy NATO?
- Is Morena trying to turn Mexico into a one-party state?
- Should Scholz immediately hold a no-confidence vote?
- Would it be wise for the Brazilian government to keep Venezuela at a distance?
- Is the AI industry a threat to climate change mitigation efforts?
- Will Qatar’s decision to end mediation of the Israeli-Hamas war hasten its end?
- Was the Moldova presidential election result a blow to Russia’s geopolitical goals?
- How can Pakistan best combat its smog crisis?
- What will the new Japanese government look like?
- Is Georgia the new Ukraine?
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
- Will the Japanese election results be a short-term or long-term setback for the LDP?
- Is Georgia guilty of “democratic backsliding”?
- Can Kemi Badenoch guide the British Conservative Party back to power?
- What should Sheinbaum do with Pemex?
- Has Milei’s cure killed the patient?
- Is lithium mining sustainable?
- What does the Sino-India border deal mean for the West?
- Will Spain’s storm disaster force Sanchez’s ouster?
- Should there be a new international treaty about Antarctica?
- How can a war between Ethiopia and Eritrea be avoided?
- What can the winner of the 2024 presidential election do to heal the country?
- Should newspapers continue to endorse political candidates?
- Does the United States have better long-term economic growth prospects compared to other Western nations?
- Are Israel’s strikes on its neighbors enhancing or undermining U.S. national security?
- Should the Supreme Court care about its approval rating?
- Does Elon Musk’s $1 million voter giveaway violate campaign finance law?
- Do American schools need more resources to teach students with exceptionalities?
- What is the biggest challenge facing rural America?
- Should progressives mobilize to call a new constitutional convention?
- Will the composition of the next Congress be favorable to entitlement reform?
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
- With a week to go, who wins the U.S. presidential election?
- Is the BRICS a threat to U.S. foreign policy goals?
- Will Republicans lose the Nebraska Senate race?
- If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidency but Republicans win the Senate what does that mean for her proposed policy agenda?
- Have Republicans become the party of the working class?
- How will the machinists strike at Boeing end?
- Will Democrats regain the House?
- Are there any constitutional restraints that the NCAA can impose on NIL?
- Should all state Medicaid programs cover weight loss drugs?
- Would a mass deportation of illegal immigrants do significant damage to the U.S. economy?
- How can Cuba’s government ensure the long-term stability of the nation’s energy grid?
- Is Israel’s assassination campaign against Hezbollah an effective national security strategy?
- How can the international sanction system become more effective?
- Is it fair to say that Vladimir Putin is a global pariah?
- How can Peru’s government restore public trust amid ongoing corruption scandals?
- Will Tinubu’s cabinet reshuffle lead to a significant change in policy?
- How will Russia’s pact with North Korea affect the future of North Korean-South Korean relations?
- Is populism the sign of a healthy or eroding democracy?
- Will a graying West shift geopolitical power to the Global South?
- Should Iran recalculate its foreign policy goals?
The first standings for the 2024-2025 Extemp Central National Points Race are up! Check them out by clicking here or the “Natl Points Race” tab above.
Robert Zhang of Elkins High School (TX) has the lead after winning two of the first three National Points Race tournaments. 17 extempers have earned points in this year’s competition.
The next National Points Race event will be the Florida Blue Key, hosted by the University of Florida in Gainesville. Blue Key was upgraded in the offseason, so this year it will be a fourth tier event, awarding points to finalists and semi-finalists. Charlotte Reitman of NSU University School (FL) will be defending champion.
63 extempers, mostly from the Northeast, entered the 54th edition of the New York City Invitational last weekend in New York City. The Bronx High School of Science hosted the event.
The tournament ended with a final round clash of defending national champions. Tea Shouldice of Half Hollow Hills High School East (NY), the defending National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) national champion in United States Extemp, defeated the defending NSDA International Extemp champion Anthony Babu of Concord-Carlisle High School (NY) by one rank. Shouldice and Babu each won two first place ranks among the five judge panel in finals and Babu won the final round by one rank. However, due to the tournament’s cumulative nature through preliminary rounds Shouldice was declared the winner.
Al Zaidi of Holy Trinity Episcopal School (FL), a semi-finalist at Yale, placed third. Zaidi finished five ranks back of Shouldice.
The only sophomore in the final round, Daphne Kalir-Starr of the College Preparatory School (CA), also a Yale semi-finalist, finished fourth. Kalir-Starr took the one first place rank in the final round that was not won by Shouldice and Babu, needing it to win a tiebreaker over Aparna Iyer of Ridge High School (NJ). Iyer was in their second National Points Race final of the year after finishing third at Yale.
Kai Forbach of Durham Academy (NC) finished sixth.
The tournament was a fifth tier event in the National Points Race so only those extempers who reached the final round will earn points. Shouldice will earn 40 points for her win. The first National Points Race standings of the season will be posted tomorrow evening.
Here are the results of the 2024 New York City Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):
It is time for this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!