Extemp Central

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!

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While the Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin was taking place two weeks ago in Nashville, Tennessee, NSU University School played host its to annual Sunvitational tournament, a fourth tier event in the National Points Race.

After seven rounds of competition, Isabel Mester-Colon of Lake Highland Preparatory School (FL) emerged victorious, winning by two ranks over Siddharth Sudhakar of Nova High School (FL).

There was a three-way tie for second place as Ece Sarioglu of Lake Highland Preparatory and Connor Ennis of Durham Academy ended up with the same nine rank composite score that Sudhakar finished with. The tie was broken via reciprocals, as Sudhakar’s 1.67 total beat Sarioglu’s 1.5 and Ennis’ 1.2.

Lake Highland also placed a third competitor in the final round, Kamal Elbabaa, who took sixth. Elbabaa finished five ranks behind fifth place finisher Zachary Pan of the Washington International School (D.C.).

Since most of the competitors in the National Points were at MBA, few of them competed at this year’s Sunvitational. The lone ranked competitor in the field, #12 Sydney Carroll of Battle Ground Academy (TN), reached the semi-final round.

All of the competitors who reached the semi-finals and beyond will earn National Points Race points.

Also, all competitors who reached the semi-final round earn a bid to the 2023 Extemp TOC. All of the finalists earn a bid to the UK TOC in April.

Here are the results of the 2023 Sunvitational (Click here for tab sheet):

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1. Should South Korea pursue its own nuclear program?
2. What should Lula da Silva do to restore calm after the “Bolsonarista” uprisings?
3. Is Turkey becoming a drone superpower?
4. Should Germany’s coalition government ban the AfD?
5. To what extent did the Iranian government win its battle with protesters?
6. Should the World Bank play a major role in funding nuclear power projects in the developing world?
7. Has the ANC become too corrupt to lead South Africa?
8. Does Great Britain need to make significant changes to the NHS?
9. Will Kishida Fumio still be Japan’s prime minister at the end of the year?
10. How can African countries become less dependent on Western aid?

1. What impact does the revelation of President Biden’s possession of classified documents have on the ongoing investigation of former President Trump about the same issue?
2. Should the U.S. expel Jair Bolsonaro?
3. What impact will the retirement of Debbie Stabenow have on the 2024 congressional elections?
4. Is there any ground for compromise between the Biden administration and House Republicans?
5. How long will it take U.S. schools to overcome the setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic?
6. Should U.S businesses be prohibited from enforcing non-compete clauses?
7. How will the House’s adoption of CUTGO rules impact future budget negotiations with the White House?
8. Should the U.S. replace its income tax with a national consumption tax?
9. To what extent should parents be held legally liable for the actions of their children in a school shooting?
10. Would closer economic ties to Latin American nations help the U.S. solve the Western Hemisphere’s migrant crisis?

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

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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?