Shahid Ahmed competed for Plano Senior High School in Plano, Texas.  Last year Shahid was the ninth place finisher in International Extemp at the NFL National Tournament, placed third at the Harvard, was a participant in the Montgomery Bell Extemp Round Robin, and made finals in United States and International Extemp at St. Marks.  Shahid was also a top fifteen finisher in last year’s Extemp Central National Points Race.  Shahid currently attends Texas A&M and is majoring in economics and international studies.

The St. Marks Heart of Texas Invitational is the premier extemporaneous speaking tournament in Texas. I first went to St. Marks my junior year participating in Congress (ughhhhhhhh). It wasn’t until my senior year that I competed in extemp at St. Marks. While St. Marks is not Harvard or Yale or NFLs, it has a vast pool of seasoned competitors from a plethora of powerhouse schools from many different states. St. Marks, for the most part is similar to most other national tournaments, though there are some striking differences. I have some pointers for general extempers and for those specifically attending St. Marks.

St. Marks Specific

First, to clear the air of the glaring difference between Marks and other national tournaments. If any of you who are not from Texas have seen the Joy of Tournaments webpage for St. Marks, you’ll notice St. Marks is the only national circuit tournament to have both DX and FX pools. And if you look at the schedule, it’s rigorous. I say anyone who can survive St. Marks can survive MBA not analytically but just by sheer physical endurance. Based on what I have seen, competitors in both will be potentially competing 12 rounds of extemp in 2 days. That’s a beating for any competitor. Staying hydrated and well-fed seems like second nature, but you’ll be surprised how many competitors fall by the wayside because they are just exhausted. Granted, I’ve heard that they may scrap the quarters round of DX and FX (as they did last year) because of a lack of numbers. Assuming an individual is in FX and DX, that’s still 10 rounds. My advice to those doing both is to manage time wisely in between rounds. Review any articles in your tubs that are uncut before rounds, eat quickly and always show up to draw on time.

Second the round themes at St. Marks are already announced for you (yippee!!!) but the one round that seemingly produces odd results is the Hot Topics round of DX. Think of ANYTHING of relative importance and I guarantee you will see it. I recall last year in that round I drew topics about the Catholic church being bankrupt in the US, the newspaper industry needing a bailout and Creigh Deed’s campaign in Virginia. When I say anything, I mean ANYTHING. The equivalent of the Hot Topics round for FX is the lovely finals round. On Joy of Tournaments, it reads “International Organizations”. Translated that means ANYTHING. I drew topics about Latvia’s economy, the Catholic Church allowing gays to become priests, and something about the UN pursuing a retroviral drug for AIDS. As you can tell, really one of those is an “organization”. The point: In finals, be ready for anything, organization or not.

Third, you will speak in hotel rooms because St. Marks extemp is held in a very nice lavish hotel. A good friend of mine who will not be named has become infamous for actually sitting (and lying) on the bed while giving a speech. Don’t be that guy. Be this guy: accommodate your speaking movements and patterns to very confined areas. Semis and Finals are held in conference rooms, but you will have at least 6 rounds in very small hotel rooms.

Fourth, judging is quite standard. While there are former seasoned competitors (who will write awesome ballots), some University students from SMU and UTD, coaches and he who shall not be named (Adam Johnson) in the judging pool, a large portion of your judges will be parents and non-speech people. While I don’t advocate abandoning complex or in depth analysis, presentation is very important. If you get involved in explaining the anomaly of the Federal Reserve’s overnight rate and the impact it has on the housing market, you better explain it well to a judge who may or may not know what you are talking about.

Fifth and perhaps a rather miscellaneous fact, the front desk people are quite nice and if you make friends with them, they allow you to use their printer to print out unlimited cuts anytime for free. Just remember that.

For Extempers in General

Set reasonable goals. St Marks is no walk in the park and there is loads of competition. If this is one of your tournaments, not breaking out of prelims isn’t a bad thing. Watch out rounds where you will witness some great speeches and learn a lot about analysis, structuring and good speaking patterns. If you are a seasoned competitor, aim for Semis or even Finals.

Prepare for the tournament like you want to win it. Each of the rounds has potential for you to stand out based on your preparation.  But also, in preparing for the tournament, cut a lot of topic and region specific articles. It impresses a judge when you cite the “Inter American Dialogue” in a Latin America speech or “the Africa Report” in an Africa round. I’ve always said that practice is the key to success. At least two-three practice speeches are a must for extempers who want to be successful on the national level. Your coach is the best resource you have. If you are afraid of giving a speech to your coach, trust me, your coach was never as intimidating as mine. If you consistently print and practice, success will come.

Have fun. It’s an awesome tournament. I met awesome people. I learned a lot of things.

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