1. Will the FBI’s raid in Mar-a-Lago significantly imperil Donald Trump’s chances of winning the Republican nomination in 2024?
2. Is the GOP blowing their opportunity to recapture the Senate?
3. Will the Federal Reserve have to crush the U.S. economy in order to tame inflation?
4. Should more states embrace open primaries?
5. What revisions should be made to privacy laws to prevent unwanted intrusions by Big Tech?
6. Why did Representative Ilhan Omar come so close to losing her primary?
7. How should colleges respond to declining attendance numbers?
8. What should U.S. economic engagement with the African continent look like?
9. Is panic about polio in New York City overblown?
10. How will the megadrought in the West affect agricultural markets?
1. Did Hamas make a wise choice staying out of Islamic Jihad’s recent fight with Israel?
2. Is the West’s drive for green energy accelerating environmental damage to developing countries?
3. If Ukraine were to recapture Crimea, how would that change its war with Russia?
4. Does Turkey need a strong relationship with the United States?
5. What changes should the West make to its counterterrorism strategies in the 2020s?
6. Is Central America drifting into authoritarianism?
7. Will de-globalization be one of the lasting legacies of the COVID-19 pandemic?
8. Is Bolsonaro planning a coup?
9. Can Xi Jinping politically afford to not “liberate” Taiwan?
10. Will Western Europe suffer an energy crisis this winter?
Cameron Roberts competed for Jack C Hays High School in Kyle, Texas. She was the 2022 Extemp TOC Champion, two-time ETOC finalist, two-time Texas state champion winning in both TFA and UIL, 2020 NSDA finalist, and a 2022 MBA invitee. Cameron will be attending New York University in the fall, where she will be studying international relations with a focus on refugees and migration policy.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.
1. Will the UN deal with Russia and Ukraine help alleviate projected global food problems?
2. What does the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri mean for the future of al-Qaeda?
3. Will the finding of Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul make it more difficult for the Taliban to eliminate Western sanctions against its rule?
4. Are Israel and Hamas headed toward another war in Gaza?
5. Will NATO have to intervene to calm tensions between Serbia and Kosovo?
6. Is ISIS rising again?
7. Why is al-Shabab attacking Ethiopia?
8. Can Sergio Massa fix Argentina’s economy?
9. Should Germany make a U-turn on nuclear power?
10. What does the Haitian government need to do to control rising gang violence?
1. How can the U.S. prevent going to war with China over Taiwan?
2. Should Congress create regulations for NIL in college athletics?
3. Is it too late for the Democrats to win the House?
4. Can the U.S. do anything to halt Central America’s slide toward dictatorship?
5. Is the declining unemployment rate the best signal of America’s economic health?
6. Will the U.S. see another surge of COVID-19 this winter?
7. Is the Alex Jones verdict a significant victory in the fight against fake news?
8. How much aid should the U.S. continue to give to Ukraine?
9. Can Charlie Crist win Florida’s gubernatorial race?
10. What lessons should pro-life forces learn from the electoral failure in Kansas?
Ananth Veluvali competed for Edina High School in Edina, Minnesota. He was the 2021 NCFL National Champion and, in 2022, was the runner-up at the MBA Round Robin, Extemp Tournament of Champions, and NCFL Nationals; he is also a two-time NSDA National Finalist, finishing in 3rd place this past year. This fall, Ananth plans on attending Stanford University, where he intends on studying computer science and economics.
Ananth agreed to an interview with Extemp Central to discuss the biggest lessons he learned while competing in extemporaneous speaking, while also providing advice for how future competitors can achieve his level of success.
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.
1. Should Speaker Nancy Pelosi visit Taiwan?
2. Is the U.S. economy in recession?
3. What steps should news organizations in their reporting of monkeypox so as not to stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community?
4. Is former President Trump making it harder for Republicans to win control of the Senate this fall?
5. Should President Biden announce his 2024 intentions the day after the midterm elections?
6. Is the era of mask mandates over?
7. Should the U.S. invest more in nuclear energy?
8. Will the Manchin-Schumer deal reduce the federal deficit?
9. Did the Uvalde school shooting mark a turning point in the debate about gun violence in America?
10. Is Google guilty of anti-trust violations?
1. What should Russia demand for the return of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan?
2. Can the West do more to alleviate the emerging food crises in the developing world?
3. Should ASEAN suspend Myanmar’s membership?
4. Will Liz Truss be Britain’s next prime minister?
5. Is Turkey the best party to broker a larger peace deal between Russia and Ukraine?
6. Should China launch a military takeover of Taiwan?
7. How will Germany’s energy crisis affect the country’s Green Party?
8. Is Pakistan the next Sri Lanka?
9. Who will form Iraq’s next government?
10. Should Latin American governments end energy subsidies?
The 2021-2022 national speech and debate season was brought to a close a few weeks ago in Louisville, Kentucky at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament. This season, like the academic year, had its complications because of the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, but some parts of the country resumed in-person competitions and there were steps back to “normalcy.” And, whether online or in-person, the national circuit continued its operations and the Extemp Central National Points Race came back.
To review the year, Extemp Central compiled the top seven stories from the national circuit, which we hope our readers will enjoy.
Final standings for the 2021-2022 Extemp Central National Points Race have been posted! You can find them by clicking on the “National Points Race” tab at the top of the page or by clicking here.
The new standings reflect the results of the season-ending National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky.
Extemp Central congratulates Daniel Kind of Lake Highland Preparatory School (FL) on his record-breaking season that enabled him to become the 2021-2022 Extemp Central National Points Race Champion! He will receive a customary glass trophy for his win.
Last weekend, Louisville, Kentucky hosted the National Speech and Debate Association (NDSA) National Tournament. This was the first time that Kentucky hosted NSDA since 1957. It was also the first in-person NSDA national tournament in three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
International Extemp ended up as a race between the two extempers who were near the top of the National Points Race all season. #3 McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ) won her second major championship, defeating #1 Daniel Kind of Lake Highland Preparatory School (FL) by twenty ranks. #22 Majid Shabbeer of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA) finished third.
Kind, who won this year’s National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) national championship, was trying to become the first extemper to win the NCFL and NSDA titles in the same year since 2011. He led going into the final round by ten ranks, but Paltzik captured an impressive nine first place ranks from the thirteen available judges in the final round. That allowed her to vault ahead of this year’s National Points Race winner, claim the title, and become the first Arizona extemper to win International Extemp.
Paltzik’s victory also completed a perfect conversion rate when she reached the final rounds of National Points Race tournaments this year, winning five titles in five final round appearances.
In United States Extemp, #12 Peter Alisky of Smoky Hill High School (CO) mounted a furious charge in the final round, going from fifth to first after taking eight first place ranks. Alisky defeated Kush Narang of Bellarmine College Preparatory, who entered the final round with a seven-rank advantage over last year’s NCFL national champion Ananth Veluvali of Edina High School (MN). Veluvali ended the tournament in third place to cap off a season where he finished in the top three of each of the four major tournaments.
Alisky is the first Colorado extemper to win a national championship at NSDA since 2006, when Colin West and Spencer Rockwell claimed titles in USX and IX.
For the National Points Race, Alisky will earn 250 points for his victory, as well as an additional 50 points for winning the final round because USX earned the bonus for having the most competitors within the top twenty-five in its field. Paltzik will earn 200 points for her victory, as well as an additional 40 points for winning the final round. All extempers that reached elimination rounds will earn National Points Race points, with final standings scheduled to be released by the end of the week.
The final rounds, as well as semi-final rounds, featured a lot of non-senior competitors, all of whom earn an automatic qualification to next year’s national tournament. This includes Ajay Gupta of Hinsdale Central High School (IL), #20 Jack Ververis of Trinity Preparatory School (FL), and #14 Gabriel Bo of Plano West Senior High School (TX) in International Extemp, and #13 Kyle Letterer of Plano West Senior High School (TX) and #9 Dev Ahuja of Solon High School (OH) in United States Extemp. All extempers who were not seniors and who achieved an automatic qualification to next year’s nationals are indicated in the results listing in blue.
In terms of Tournament of Champions (TOC) qualifications for next year, all quarter-finalists in their respective categories earn a bid leg to the Extemp TOC at Northwestern University, while all finalists and semi-finalists earn an automatic qualification to next year’s University of Kentucky TOC.
Here are the results of the 2022 National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):
Updated standings for the 2021-2022 Extemp Central National Points Race have been posted! You can find them by clicking on the “National Points Race” tab at the top of the page or by clicking here.
The new standings reflect the results of the National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) Grand National Tournament. The winner, Daniel Kind of Lake Highland Preparatory (FL), earned 150 points and clinched this year’s competition.
The next National Points Race event will take place this weekend in Louisville, Kentucky when the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) hosts its national tournament. The extemp category with the most participants in the top twenty-five of the National Points Race will receive a fifty point weighted bonus. In addition, the winner of the final round of each extemp category will receive bonus points. So in total, the winner of the weighted extemp category could receive up to 300 points for winning the tournament and that category’s final round.
Two weeks ago in Washington, D.C. the National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) held its first in-person national tournament since May 2019. #1 Daniel Kind of Lake Highland Preparatory (FL) won the national championship by eight cumulative ranks, thwarting #4 Ananth Veluvali‘s attempt to become the first back-to-back winner of the NCFL National Championship since 2011.
Kind’s victory is his first major championship, and it marks his seventh win at a National Points Race event this season. His win also clinches the National Points Race, the first time that title has been secured prior to NSDA Nationals in the competition’s history.
Veluvali, who competes for Edina High School, continued his impressive run in this year’s major championships. His runner-up finish at CFL goes with runner-up finishes at the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin and the Tournament of Champions of Extemporaneous Speaking this season.
Another Minnesotan joined Veluvali in the final round. That was Rhea Rajvansh of Eastview High School. Rajvansh finished two ranks behind Veluvali and took third.
#17 Mukta Dharmapurikar of Durham Academy (NC), a past winner of the Extemp TOC, reached the final round. She finished sixth after a three-way tie for fourth was broken between she and fourth place finisher Siri Ural of Shrewsbury High School (MA) and fifth place finisher Rishika Bansal of Scarsdale High School (NY).
Some notable finishers in elimination rounds included #23 Iesh Gujral of Eden Prairie High School (MN), who went out in semi-finals, and #19 Kevin Li of Ridge High School (NJ), who was knocked out in quarter-finals.
All of the elimination round participants will receive National Points Race points. All semi-finalists and finalists earn automatic qualifications to next year’s University of Kentucky TOC, and all those extempers who reached quarter-finals and beyond earn a bid leg to the 2023 Extemp TOC.
Here were the results of the 2022 National Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):