Tag: Extemp Central site news Page 1 of 2

Site News: Summer Updates

With the 2023-2024 season in the books, Extemp Central will be doing some summer maintenance before it kicks off the next season with new question on Monday, August 5.  New news quizzes will begin appearing on Monday, September 1.

As part of our summer updates we will be curating our state champion lists for the past season.  If you know of state championship results in your state, please send them to [email protected] so those champions can be recorded.  We will also be doing some calendar updates for the 2024-2025 season so if you have dates for the tournament we have on our existing calendar, send them our way!

Due to the migration of the website here from speechgeek.com/extemp we will also be going through our archives and redirecting posts to the categories they belong in for better navigation.

In August, we will reveal some information about next year’s National Points Race (which will include new tournaments) and provide pre-season rankings.

Enjoy the off-season!

Site News: Check Out the 2021-2022 Tournament Calendar!

Since we are less than seven days away from the 2021-2022 national circuit season kicking off at the National Season Opener at the University of Kentucky, Extemp Central has finalized the tournament calendar for the 2021-2022 competitive year.  You can look at the calendar by clicking here or in the menu above.

Due to the unpredictable nature of where the COVID-19 pandemic will take us, some tournaments have not released their dates or exact information yet.  If you see a tournament on the calendar that we do not have a date for (or last year’s results), please send them to us at [email protected] so we can correct the calendar.

Information about this season’s National Points Race will be revealed on Thursday, but extempers can expect us to keep the structure of previous years without substantial adjustment.  Look out for new weekly questions tomorrow!

Site News: Extemp Central Content Schedule for the 2021-2022 Season

The last two speech seasons have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the cancellation of the 2020 NCFL Grand National Tournament and made last year an online-only year for teams across the country.  Hopefully this season begins the transition back to in-person competitions, but regardless of the format of this competition year Extemp Central hopes to provide resources for those doing extemporaneous speaking across the country.

In keeping with that mission, we do plan to revive the Extemp Central National Points Race as well as provide more recaps of national circuit and local competitions.  As always, we appreciate our readers providing results so we can post them.  Aside from following results, other past bits of Extemp Central’s content will be making a comeback as well, namely news quizzes and R&Ds.  Here is the content schedule that can be expected for this season.

Mondays:  HotTopics International and United States Extemp questions
Tuesdays:  Recaps of local results and/or results from national circuit competitions.  This may also be a time for the posting of specialty columns on upcoming tournaments and/or interview pieces.
Wednesdays:  News quiz posting in short answer format (spoiler tags will hide the answers)
Thursdays:  Recap of any local results and/or national news not posted on Tuesdays.  This may also be a time for the posting of specialty columns on upcoming tournaments and/or interview pieces.  The revived National Points Race will also feature columns on this day.
Fridays:  Weekly R&D about a pertinent, newsworthy topic

Extemp Central will soon be doing interviews with NSDA national winners Pranav Pattatathunaduvil and Laurel Holley, which we will hope to have posted in the coming weeks.  We will also be assembling the tournament calendar for 2021-2022 in time for the beginning of the national circuit season in September.

Calling for Some Help for the 2019-2020 Season!

buzzWhile last season started off with the best of intentions, work, health issues, and getting married prevented me from doing much aside from posting questions for extempers on this website during the 2018-2019 competition year.  What made Extemp Central a great place was write ups of tournament results and a place to get resources, as well as community news.

For 2019-2020, I can continue to do the weekly practice questions that competitors and coaches have told me are helpful in their efforts to prepare for tournaments on the local, regional, and national levels.  I also plan to contact a few competitors for interviews to recap last season.  However, I need some help with the following:

*Results Correspondents:  Ideally, it would be nice to have a few correspondents that attend (or follow) national circuit competitions to send me results for these competitions, typing up where competitors place (and where they are from) and a few paragraphs that summarize the events at that tournament.  I can provide a template for this, but I need others to shoulder some of this responsibility as my time to research, type, and post results has become limited over the years.  It would be great to have one correspondent for each region of the country (e.g. South, West, Northeast, Midwest, Southwest) to send these results so we can post what is going on with the national circuit.  This would also help update the 2019-2020 National Points Race.

*Article Contributors:  One of the big strengths of this site has been compiling articles from past competitors about “how to” do extemp at a high level.  We have not been able to add much in this department in recent years, but I welcome any contributions from past or active competitors.  If you have something to say, I would love to hear from you.

I cannot promise a great deal of pay for doing any of these things, but it would help to make this non-profit website better and allow us to do more than write questions each week.  If you are interested, please contact me at [email protected].

Good luck in 2019-2020!

Site News: Kicking Off the 2018-2019 Season

buzzWelcome to the 2018-2019 season at Extemp Central.  We have an updated look for the upcoming year, which will kickoff in a month’s time with the Grapevine Classic in Texas and the National Speech and Debate Season Opener at the University of Kentucky.

The site came back “online” in the second half of last season.  This year, Extemp Central will be providing the following content:

  • New International and United States Extemp questions will be posted every Monday.
  • A “news quiz” for extempers will come back but will only be posted once or twice a month depending upon when I am able to assemble one.  This will become a monthly feature and when it is posted it will go up on Wednesdays.
  • The weekly R&D feature will return, with tweets of 10-15 important articles provided for extempers’ files on Fridays.
  • Coverage of the national circuit will occur.  If you go to the “calendar” tab at the top of the page it will show you a season calendar that includes tournaments for the National Points Race, the University of Kentucky TOC, and the Extemp TOC.  This is still a work in progress as the dates for some tournaments are unknown.  Write ups of tournaments will be posted on Tuesdays or Thursdays.  We also welcome the delivery of local tournament results and wish to post those this season.  As always, if you have results of national circuit or local tournaments, please e-mail them to us because that is how we can have a timely delivery of them on the site.
  • The National Points Race will resume for 2018-2019.  The structure will remain the same and can be found at the National Points Race tab.
  • When tournament results come in, expect for there to be qualification boards for the UK TOC and Extemp TOC.  When we get into the national qualifiers portion of the schedule, there will be a qualification board for that as well.
  • Previews of “big tournaments” such as the MBA Round Robin and NSDA Nationals will return.

Providing all of this content will be free, but I do encourage readers to donate to us via PayPal by clicking on the PayPal donation button to the side of the page or embeded into various posts.  Give what you can, whether it is $1 or $100, but all donations are appreciated to keep the site going and content flowing.

I look forward to what the 2018-2019 season will bring and wish all extempers and coaches the best of luck.

-Logan Scisco

Site News: Information on Tomorrow’s “Reboot”

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buzzTomorrow will start the “reboot” of Extemp Central. One thing that readers will see is the release of ten new International and United States extemp questions. These questions will always be posted on Monday as most readers said that was something that they used the most.

The schedule for other things such as quizzes, R&Ds, and the release of local/national results will take place on an as needed (or as able) basis. If you have local results, feel free to send them to me at [email protected]. My aim is to have a weekly column devoted to results at the local level. When sending results, put the name of the tournament, the names of the finalists and their placing, and what school they are from. This makes it very easy to get these results on the site. With this weekend’s Sunvitational, I am also hoping to get something typed up about that tournament, so when results are finalized if someone can send me those I would appreciate it. I am also looking into calculating the standings for the National Points Race and releasing that in the coming weeks as well, possibly by the Barkley Forum in a couple of weeks.

Finally, readers will see a PayPal donation button like the one below affixed to tomorrow’s questions. There is also a donation page that is on the right sidebar as well. If you click this button, you can donate funds to keep this website operating. The more money we raise, the more content can be included on the site. All funds go back into the site in terms of time for resources, the cost of purchasing subscriptions for news content, and the trophy for the National Points Race. My initial aim for Extemp Central was to provide resources for free so I am not keen on putting things behind a paywall. As always, contributions of any amount are appreciated.

Site News: Rebooting Soon….

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buzzSince the 2017-2018 season kicked off, and a little bit before, I received a great deal of e-mails asking for Extemp Central to return due to its provision of practice resources for extempers and teams across the country.  I have also been asked at many tournaments about the site’s “closure” (although our page remained active for the past year).  As a result, I have decided to “reboot” Extemp Central and a new rollout of content will occur next week.

Do note that the “rebooted” website will not have the constant content updates on a daily basis that veteran readers might be accustomed to.  This is due to my work commitments and I do not want to stretch myself too thin or make promises that cannot be kept.  The weekly IX/USX questions, which were a staple of the website from its inception back in the summer of 2006, will remain, but I do welcome feedback on what other features people would like to see.  You can comment here, comment on our Facebook page, or comment on Twitter.

I will make a post on the weekend about a new content schedule for the rest of the 2017-2018 season and explain some ways that my running of this site can be made better with the help of the speech and debate community.  One thing that you will see is a PayPal button on our weekly questions postings where people can donate funds to the site, which is appreciated for the work that goes on here (and for paying for a National Points Race trophy – and yes, that might return for 2018 assuming that I can gather enough results).  For now, I have spent my post-MBA Round Robin Monday acquiring results for the national title, national circuit, and major championship pages from 2016-2017 and from this year so far.  If anyone has any state tournament results from 2016-2017 (I just need champions), please e-mail them to me at [email protected].

Site News: Closing Our Doors

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buzzOver the last several weeks I have given significant thought to the future of Extemp Central.  As our regular readers know, I have had to curtail several content features to start the 2016-2017 season.  News quizzes were suspended part of the way through first semester, news about circuit results were not posted, and no standings were released for the National Points Race.  All of this is due to the fact that I simply have not had the time in light of existing work commitments – which have me teaching three separate AP history courses and other extracurricular duties – and while I like posting questions and R&Ds, I am not currently satisfied with the content that has been released this year.

I thought of trying to rearrange the content schedule to get news quizzes back into the rotation and then try to get our circuit results updated, but every time that I thought about doing so I simply could not find a way that I could rearrange the schedule so that this content could be delivered in a timely manner and with quality.  Anyone who knows me understands that I am someone that prefers to do things the right way and to the best of my abilities and not being able to do a project to my standards is why I have made the decision to end Extemp Central.

This website has had a good run and has hopefully assisted many extempers and teams across the country.  If I could have made a living chronicling the extemp circuit, I would have gladly done it but such a goal is not feasible.  I hate to close down something of educational value, but if history is any indication something will one day rise and take the place of this site.  Prior to Extemp Central there were other significant websites such as forensicsonline.net, individualevents.org, and extemp.net.  Those sites served as an inspiration for this one and more will probably emerge in the future.  If one does, I hope that they will make use of the records that this site has maintained and continues to add to them.

I thank anyone who has contributed to this site over the years, visited, or spoke highly of it to people they have interacted with on the circuit or at conferences.  It is a tough decision to walk away, but I feel that it is for the best.  I hope the rest of the 2016-2017 competitive year goes well and I wish everyone the best on the road to their respective state tournaments and NCFL and NSDA nationals.

-Logan Scisco

Site News: The 2016-2017 Season Begins!

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buzzToday marks the beginning of August and with it the beginning of the 2016-2017 season here at Extemp Central.  Much of the posting calendar will stay the same as previous years, with the biggest change taking place with premium content.  No premium content will be offered during 2016-2017 so that the site can provide more coverage of local and national events on the circuit.

In the coming weeks, Extemp Central will be updating the 2016-2017 tournament calendar, the TOC qualification boards for 2016-2017, and will provide the breakdown of the 2016-2017 National Points Race, which will kick off at the Wake Forest National Early Bird next month.

Here is what the daily schedule of content will be like during the 2016-2017 year:

Monday:  United States and International Extemp Questions
Tuesday:  Topic-specific R&D
Wednesday:  News quiz
Thursday:  Topic-specific R&D
Friday:  Weekly R&D that mixes U.S. and International Extemp issues

In addition to this posting schedule, there will be posts about national and local results, qualification board updates, and National Points Race updates as the season moves along.

Site News: Summer Schedule

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buzzDue to a personal vacation, there will be no updates on Extemp Central this week. The exception to this is that the final standings for the National Points Race will be released late on Friday.

During the summer, Extemp Central will be updating our state champions list, putting together the qualification board for the 2017 University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC) and the 2017 Extemp TOC, and will still release practice questions on Monday’s.

Regular content will resume on August 1, which is the official beginning of the 2016-2017 season.

Extemp Central thanks all of our readers for 2015-2016 and we look forward to covering another great season in several months!

Site News: 2016 NSDA Nationals Coverage & Website Updates

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SLC NationsDue to our coverage of this week’s National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament, our weekly content schedule will be changed.  Questions will not be posted, but they will return the following week (the week of June 20).  Quizzes and R&Ds will resume on August 1.

Here is the content schedule for this week:

Monday:  Random NSDA Updates (if they arise)
Tuesday: Release of Octofinalists & Quarterfinalists
Wednesday: Release of Semifinalists & Finalists
Thursday: Final Round Preview Pieces for IX & USX
Friday: IX & USX Final Round Recaps
Saturday: NSDA Tournament Results Write-Up

Site News: Schedule Change for Website

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buzzTo best accommodate elements of my work schedule, the content releases for this point going forward will be the following:

Monday:  International and United States Extemp questions
Tuesday: R&D from Prepd; Weekly news quiz
Wednesday: Premium content topic brief & premium R&D
Thursday: R&D from Prepd
Friday: Weekly R&D from Prepd

Extemp Central will also be posting some brief pieces this week to highlight this year’s National Points Race tournaments and structure, a pre-season top 25, and will gradually work to update the 2015-2016 tournament calendar.

Site News: Off-Season Schedule

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buzzWith the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament in the books, Extemp Central will head into its off-season posting schedule until August.  During this time, questions will still be uploaded on Mondays (for any extemp camps that may want to use them or for competitors that want to do some off-season prep) and quizzes will still be posted on Wednesdays.  However, premium topic briefs and R&Ds will not return until August 4 and 5, respectively.  Extemp Central will make a post when the SpeechGeek Market makes 2015-2016 seasons subscriptions available.

We will also finalize our posting of state tournament results in the coming weeks, as well as do a year-end wrap-up pieces to chronicle all of the big stories on the national circuit.  Additionally, a National Points Race write up and standings sheet that encompasses all of this year’s ranked competitors will be released near the end of the week.

Finally, Extemp Central has secured interviews with some of the season’s top competitors.  Interviews with NSDA International and United States Extemp Champions Brian Anderson and Brian Yu, NCFL Grand National Champion Yijia Liang, and MBA Extemp Round Robin and Extemp TOC winner Josh Wartel will be posted in August.  Extemp Central also hopes to do another “season preview” piece by gathering information about some of the competitors to watch next season.

Site News: 2013-2014 Season Kicks off Monday; Introduction of Premium Content

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buzzOn Monday, Extemp Central will kick off a daily roll out of content for the 2013-2014 competitive year.  This will include questions, national circuit news, national circuit and local extemp results, news quizzes, R&D, the return of the National Points Race, updates to the Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) qualification board, and updating our Twitter feed of top articles throughout the day.

In addition to the free content above, the 2013-2014 season will also see the introduction of premium content on Extemp Central.  Each Tuesday, a topic brief will be posted that will be available to those that subscribe to our premium content.  Every other Wednesday a strategy piece will also be placed on the site that will be available only to premium subscribers.  Subscribers will not only have regular access to these materials, but will also have access to the entire archive of HotTopics topic briefs from 2008-2009, which are in addition to those that are already available for free on the website.  Select strategy pieces from this same period will also be available to subscribers.

A subscription can be purchased via SpeechGeek Market for the low price of $25 for the season prior to September 1st.  After September 1st, the price will increase to $30.  Subscribers will be given a username and password to access premium materials.  Subscription access lasts through July 31, 2014, and topic briefs and strategy pieces will be updated through that period.  This equates to roughly 48 cents per brief for the year.  Click on the link in this paragraph to be routed to SpeechGeek Market to obtain a subscription.  The first premium topic brief will be posted on August 6th and the first premium strategy piece will be posted on August 14th.

Here is the content schedule that you can expect to see during the 2013-2014 year:

Site News: Summer Updates at Extemp Central

In the past, Extemp Central has gone dormant during the six weeks between the end of NFL Nationals and the first full week of August, but since there are many extempers that keep working after their season ends we have decided to continue updating content during the summer months.

There are two features of the site that will be continually updated during the six weeks of the off-season, before the kick-off of more continual content updates the first week of August:

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