Welcome to the first installment of Editor’s Corner, which will become a regular column in The Ex Files. In this column, I will devote time to discuss trends in extemporaneous speaking, strategies, and issues that impact that extemporaneous speaking community at large. If extempers have any suggestions for future editions of Editor’s Corner, please e-mail them to me at [email protected].
The subject of this month’s column will be the “Grand Slam” of extemporaneous speaking. Chances are that there are not many people out there who know anything about a Grand Slam of extemporaneous speaking. The phrase was coined back in the 2004-2005 season, when Kevin Troy of Eagan High School in Minnesota went on the most amazing winning streak that arguably any extemporaneous speaker has ever had. Troy, who had captured the 2003 NFL United States Extemporaneous Speaking title in his sophomore year, tore through the national circuit his senior season and won four notable tournaments: the Montgomery Bell Extemporaneous Speaking Round Robin, the Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions, the Catholic Forensic League national championship, and the National Forensic League International Extemp championship. The victories at the TOC and at NFL were also highly significant. In the case of the TOC, Troy successfully defended his championship and is the only person to ever win the event twice. The NFL victory was also historically significant because it was the first, and only time since, that an extemporaneous speaker has captured both the United States and International championships in their career. Shortly after Troy’s victory at NFL, the victorybriefs.net website declared that Troy had achieved a “Grand Slam” during the season.
Some sports, notably golf and tennis, have major tournaments. In the case of the PGA Tour golf circuit and the WTA and WTP tennis circuits there are four tournaments each season that are considered more important than the others. This special designation makes them “major” championships and some of the greatest who have played those sports have preserved their legacy by winning those championships. Without a major, you are seen as someone who is lacking something significant, something that makes you stand out from among the rest.
So the question becomes, does extemp have major championships? Better yet, does it have a clear four major championships to make up a Grand Slam?