Extemp Central

This year marked the 25th edition of the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin in Nashville, Tennessee. Sixteen of the best extempers in the country were invited for the first major championship of the year, which was won once again by #1 McKinley Palzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ).

Paltzik captured her third major championship by a 20-rank margin. In her run through the cumulative event, Paltzik only earned one rank below a three among the thirty ballots available. She is the second MBA winner to defend their title. The last extemper to do it was Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA), who won three MBA crowns between 2012 and 2014.

Paltzik will receive 150 points in the National Points Race for winning as MBA is one of the few second tier tournaments in the rankings.

The battle for second place was much closer. #14 Phoena Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX) defeated teammate and IX Longhorn Classic winner #4 Kyle Letterer by two ranks to finish runner-up.

#3 Theodore Gercken of the College Preparatory School (CA) claimed fourth place, finishing five ranks ahead of fifth place and four ranks behind Letterer.

Another close fight at the tournament for fifth place. #6 Gabriel Bo gave Plano West an impressive three-for-three mark in getting exempers into the top five, edging out #12 Jonathan Tubb of St. Mary’s Hall (TX) and #2 Sruti Peddi of BASIS Scottsdale (AZ) by one rank.

The tie between Tubb and Peddi for sixth was broken in Tubb’s favor. Tubb, who finished second at Yale in October, will receive sixth place points in the National Points, which is the cut off for points awarded at the tournament.

Here are the results of the 2023 Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin:

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1. Should more countries impose COVID testing rules on Chinese travelers?
2. Have anti-government protests in Iran run out of steam?
3. Will Israel’s new right-wing government spark another intifada?
4. Should Ukraine try to take Crimea?
5. What impact will growing inflation have on Justin Trudeau’s government?
6. Was India right to postpone its census?
7. What needs to happen to get Sudan’s democratic transition back on track?
8. Are tensions between Germany and Poland weakening NATO?
9. Will there be a major global recession in 2023?
10. What lessons about drone warfare can the world glean from the Russia-Ukrainian conflict?

1. Will there be a debt ceiling crisis in 2023?
2. Has the bruising battle over Speaker of the House done lasting damage to the Republican Party going into 2024?
3. Does the Biden administration need to crackdown more on illegal border crossings?
4. Is the growing prevalence of sports betting bad for America?
5. How can Republicans win Michigan’s Senate seat in 2024?
6. Will there be more adjunct faculty strikes in the U.S. this year?
7. Should progressives make a campaign finance reform amendment to the U.S. Constitution a priority?
8. Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders a future presidential candidate?
9. Are bump stocks bans constitutional?
10. What steps should the federal government take to protect aquifers in the Midwest?

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

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1. Would greater regulation prevent another Southwest-like situation from affecting air travelers?
2. Should the U.S. abandon sanctions as a foreign policy tool?
3. If Kevin McCarthy does not become Speaker of the House, what does that say about the current state of the GOP?
4. Will Donald Trump end his presidential campaign before the end of 2023?
5. Is the U.S. economy headed for a severe recession in 2023?
6. Should Elon Musk take Twitter public again?
7. How should the Biden administration approach Israel’s new government?
8. Should the U.S. end ethanol subsidies?
9. Will the Supreme Court keep Title 42 later this year?
10. How is “work from home” changing communities throughout the United States?

1. Should Lula’s government pursue a criminal investigation of Bolsanaro?
2. Will 2023 see an end to the war in Ukraine?
3. How will greater defense spending by Japan affect its East Asian neighbors?
4. Will Vladimir Putin still lead Russia by the end of 2023?
5. What grade does Olaf Scholz’s coalition government deserve after its first year in office?
6. Does the Catholic Church need to continue the path paved by Pope Francis or revert to that of Pope Benedict XVI?
7. To what degree should international aid organizations continue to work with the Taliban despite increased restrictions on women?
8. Does Mexico need to erect greater immigration restrictions?
9. Should Belarus continue to align itself with Russia?
10. Why did Juan Guaido fail?

During the first weekend in December, the University of Texas-Austin hosted its 24th annual Longhorn Classic. The tournament featured the typical Texas division of extemp into International and United States sections. 99 extempers entered International Extemp and 100 entered United States Extemp.

In International Extemp, #11 Kyle Letterer of Plano West Senior High School (TX) earned a two-rank victory over #2 Sruti Peddi of BASIS Scottsdale (AZ) in a tournament final that had remarkable consistency across judges’ ballots. Letterer took two of the three available first place ranks and the judges were uniform in ranking the fourth, fifth, and sixth place speakers. His win marks the third straight year an extemper from Plano West has won IX at the Longhorn.

Letterer’s victory gives him wins in both categories at the Longhorn, as he won United States Extemp at last year’s competition.

Letterer’s teammate, Gabriel Bo, took third place, following by #10 Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA), who reached his second National Points Race final round of the year, having placed third at Florida Blue Key earlier in the season.

Fifth place in IX went to Lance Brightmire of Booker T. Washington High School (OK) and sixth was earned by Suhawni Narang of W.B. Ray High School (TX). The final round appearance was the first for each competitor this season.

Other notables in International Extemp included #5 Theodore Gercken, who was eliminated in semi-finals, and National Season Opener winner #3 Charlotte Reitman of the University School (FL), who was eliminated in quarter-finals.

The United States Extemp portion of the tournament was also won by Plano West as Bo took the title over Peddi by one rank in a split tournament final where three different speakers earned a first place rank. Bo earned one, Peddi earned another, and Phoena Lin of Plano West took the other. Lin placed fourth after earning a fourth and sixth place rank from the other two judges.

Bo’s win also made him the best performing extemper at the tournament across both categories.

Gercken improved his performance from International Extemp, earning third, and ending up three ranks behind Bo.

The other finalists in USX were Abraham Zhang of Jasper High School (TX), who finished fifth, and #8 Katherine Lee of Plano West, who was sixth.

National Points Race competitors who did not clear to finals included Cheng, whose run ended in semi-finals. Reitman was eliminated in quarters, as was #4 Tyler Crivella of Seven Lakes High School (TX).

For National Points Race tabulations, all extempers who reached the semi-final round of their respective category were eligible to receive points. To avoid double counting, an extemper’s highest finish will count for this year’s standings.

In terms of TOC bids, all extempers who reached the quarter-final round of their respective extemp category earned a bid leg to the 2023 TOC of Extemp at Northwestern University. Due to the sizeable number of entries in this year’s field, all of the extempers who reached semi-finals receive a bd leg to the UK TOC.

Here are the results of the 2022 University of Texas-Austin Longhorn Classic (Click here for tab sheet):

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In early December, George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia hosted its annual Patriot Games Tournament. After spending the last few years online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Patriot Games returned to being an in-person event and forty-one extempers gathered for a fourth tier tournament in the National Points Race.

Taylor Burris of the Potomac School (VA) captured this year’s championship, becoming the second winner from Potomac in the last five years. Burris took two of the three available first place ranks in the final round and defeated Sydney Carroll of Battle Ground High School (TN).

The next three placings were separated by one rank. #12 Pierce McDade of Normal University School (IL) notched his second National Points Race final round appearance of the season, placing third. Zane Holley of Riverside High School (SC) was fourth. And Lily Waehner of James River-Midlothian High School (VA) was fifth.

Ben Zajc of American Heritage School-Palm Beach (FL) was the sixth place finisher.

The Potomac School did the best of all institutions in the tournament in terms of extemp, placing three additional extempers in semi-finals.

Since George Mason was a fourth tier tournament, all extempers who reached the semi-final round will earn National Points Race points.

All extempers who reached quarter-finals earned a bid to the Tournament of Champions of Extemporaneous Speaking at Northwestern University in May. All finalists earned a bid to the University of Kentucky TOC in April.

Here are the results of the 2022 George Mason University Patriot Games (Click here for tab sheet):

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

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Note:  These will be the last questions for the next two weeks because of the winter holiday.  Check back on Monday, January 2 for new questions to kick off 2023!

1. What should Dina Boluarte do to ease political tensions in Peru?
2. Why is Mexico struggling to win its drug war?
3. Would greater foreign competition help Italy’s economy?
4. Should Jokowi sign Indonesia’s new penal code into law?
5. How can Cuba lessen its high migrant numbers?
6. Should Gulf nations embrace the U.S. or China?
7. Would it be unwise for Iran to form a stronger defense partnership with Russia?
8. Are economic problems a growing threat to Sheikh Hasina’s rule?
9. Will Cristina Fernandez’s legal woes keep her out of the next Argentinian presidential election?
10. Is right-wing extremism becoming a major national security problem for Germany?

Note:  These will be the last questions for the next two weeks because of the winter holiday.  Check back on Monday, January 2 for new questions to kick off 2023!

1. Did the Biden administration err by swapping Brittney Griner for Viktor Bout?
2. Should Republican midterm failures be chalked up more to poor candidate quality or poor messaging?
3. Are strikes by academic workers at U.C. Berkeley a sign of things to come in academia?
4. If Donald Trump fails to win the GOP nomination in 2024, will he run as an independent candidate?
5. Does the U.S. need a bigger defense budget?
6. Should more U.S. states embrace runoff elections?
7. How much will Senator Krysten Sinema’s departure from the Democratic Party shake up the Senate’s operations in 2023?
8. Does Congress need to provide greater funding to special education?
9. Is the U.S. being outplayed by other nations in climate negotiations?
10. Does the U.S. have a significant anti-Semitism problem?

Earlier this evening Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin tournament director Adam Johnson released the list of competitors who will participate in this year’s tournament.

The tournament will take place on MBA’s campus in Nashville, Tennessee on January 7-8.

MBA is the first major tournament of the season, awarding 150 National Points Race points to its winner.

This year’s field features competitors from eight states.  Texas has the most of any state with five.

McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ) will be seeking her third major championship.  She will try to become the first repeat winner since Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt (IA), who won three straight MBA titles between 2012-2014.

Congratulations to the following extempers for being invited to this year’s round robin!

*Dev Ahuja (Solon High School, Ohio)
*Gabriel Bo (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Taylor Burris (The Potomac School, Virginia)
*Theodore Gercken (The College Preparatory School, California)
*Michelle Jin (The Harker School, California)
*Kyle Letterer (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Kevin Li (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Phoena Lin (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Pierce McDade (University High School, Illinois)
*McKinley Paltzik (Phoenix Country Day School, Arizona)
*Sruti Peddi (BASIS Scottsdale, Arizona)
*Raghav Ramki (Plano East Senior High School, Texas)
*Vikram Sundaram (Solon High School, Ohio)
*Jonathan Tubb (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*Rohit Vakkalagadda (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Jack Ververis (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)

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

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1. How will the DNC’s move to make South Carolina the first primary in 2024 cause them to lose New Hampshire in the general election?
2. Will congressional probes into the Biden administration help or hinder Republican chances in 2024?
3. Why is the U.S. experiencing such a horrible flu season?
4. Will the U.S. stock market experience another rough year in 2023?
5. Should Microsoft be allowed to buy Activision Blizzard?
6. What should be done to combat the rise of youth suicide?
7. Should more cities embrace syringe exchange programs?
8. Is it time to end the monkeypox emergency declaration?
9. Should the Biden administration withdraw Eric Garcetti’s nomination for ambassador to India?
10. What impact will the latest U.S. jobs report have on monetary policy?