by Aaron Lutkowitz

Aaron Lutkowitz competed for Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to victories at the 2008 George Mason tournament and the 2009 Yale tournament, Aaron finished in 3rd place at the 2010 Southern Bell Forum and went undefeated in the preliminary rounds of the 2009 George Mason Round Robin.  He was also a top ten finisher in last year’s National Points Race.  Aaron co-attends the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University with plans to major in business and political science.

While Wake was always my first tournament of the year for three consecutive years (with diminishing returns each year), Yale was my one-hit wonder. It wasn’t even on my radar until a few months before senior year, but I’m extremely glad that I ventured up north to see friends and dip my competitive feet into the deeper end of quality extemp. I have a few tips, both for tournaments in general and for the Yale tournament specifically.

1. Have fun. While this step should always be a top priority at any tournament, Yale especially can be an amazing social experience. All of my camp friends went to the tournament last year, and we enjoyed exploring the campus and the nicer (and frankly, the less nice) parts of New Haven. The tournament is big and prestigious enough to attract hoards of friendly people, but it doesn’t have the same overwhelming feeling of the Harvard tournament. On a side note, you should also check out the Yale Debate Association if you’re interested in Yale and/or college debate.

2. Prepare adequately. During the tournament, compete and enjoy yourself. But before the tournament, work tirelessly. Obviously, although everyone has the objective to win, not every competitor has the same realistic goal. So first, set a reasonable goal for yourself. If you’re a sophomore, maybe just breaking is an appropriate goal. If you’re a four-year senior, you probably want to set your sights on the victory trophy. Second, create and execute a plan to reach, if not exceed, this goal. After not breaking at Wake my senior year, I reflected on my preparation strategy and shifted focus. While I was reading for hours every night for Wake, I was giving few practice speeches and my files were outdated. Over the few weeks between Wake and Yale, I gave daily speeches, signed up for a local, and revamped my entire filing system just for Yale. For everybody, Yale is the first or second major tournament of the year. People will be severely underprepared, so taking the extra step will make even more of a difference. Also, make sure you’re not one of those underprepared people!

3. It’s just Yale. Because Yale is an Ivy, I came to the tournament with the assumption that judges, competitors, and topics would be extremely analytical and brilliant. While this is partially true (many judges, especially towards later rounds, are very knowledgeable; many competitors are very strong; and many topics in the tournament are thought-provoking), if I had not realized that the tournament was just like any other, I may have performed much more poorly. Many judges, especially in prelims, are parents, interp coaches, and teachers. Many competitors are either weak, or unprepared, or both. Many topics are simple and direct. Thanks to my coaches that prepared me for the reality of the tournament, I was able to shift my strategy away from being so analytical and towards being more rounded.

4. Yale-specific advice.

a. If you’re flying, pack tubs efficiently (this goes in step #2 about planning and executing).

b. Because the tournament tallies ranks from prelims to finals, every rank counts. Last year, I lost the final round, but thanks to being placed in a relatively less challenging semi-final round, my total ballot count had me winning by one rank. At most tournaments, I did not try as hard in prelims because I wanted to save my energy for later rounds, but I would not advocate that strategy at Yale.

c. While the intensity of my prelim rounds was greater at Yale than at most tournament, the actual speaking strategy was identical as any other tournament. Prelim rounds and even quarter-finals demand a much heavier focus on delivery than analysis. It was not until my semi-final and final round that I shifted back to an emphasis on analysis.

d. “If you cheat, you suck as a person.” Jason Warren’s advice applies to any extemp tournament and to life in general, but at Yale, they also have a source check to reinforce this philosophy with consequence. Usually, this occurs in semi-finals (or so I’ve been told). My year, the source check was in the finals. While I did not hear the other speeches to confirm or deny this claim, I was told by audience members that many of the other competitors reduced their source count in the final round. I think that’s a bad strategy. I kept my standard 9-10 sources and was rewarded for it. Do not let paranoia about the source check limit the number of sources you eventually decide to use or in any way alter your speech if you happen to make it that far.

Otherwise, enjoy the tournament and best of luck to everyone, especially GMIF and Team Tale!

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