Extemp Central

Pop pundit Stephen Colbert came to the rescue of The Economist on Wednesday night after the New York Times criticized the periodical’s use of Photoshop in creating a photo illustration for the magazine’s cover. Editors at The Economist argue that it’s not a big deal. After all, Colbert asserts: “The Economist is always dumbing down their content for their idiot readers.” Extempers would totally agree die from the suggestive irony. Full video is the segment can be found below.

Stumbled across something on the interwebs worthy of an AGD post? Send an email to thegeek@speechgeek.com and maybe we’ll share it on the site.

Last week the National Junior Forensic League and International Debate Education Association National Middle School Forensics Tournament was held in Des Moines, Iowa and Gregory Ross of Sidney Lanier Middle School in Texas outlasted thirty-one other competitors to win his second consecutive NJFL extemporaneous speaking national championship.  Ross had the same cumulative score as Lilly Nellans of Callanan Middle School in Iowa but won because of judges preference.  Sidney Lanier had half of the participants in the final round.

Final results are listed below. A more complete listing can be found here.
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With the end of NFL Nationals, the brief offseason has arrived for extempers across the nation.  As per usual, Extemp Central will not regularly update content during this period.  Over the next month, Extemp Central will piece together a roll call of state champions and put together a “year in review” piece for the site.

Check back on Monday, August 2nd for the start of the 2010-2011 season at Extemp Central with new R&D columns, new quizzes, new questions, and other resources.  A Wake Forest edition of the Ex Files will also be released at the end of August and will have interviews with Jacob Baker (2009-2010 National Points Race champion and NFL IX national champion) and Tyler Fabbri (NFL USX national champion).

Are there any features that you would like to see on Extemp Central?  If so, e-mail your suggestions to logan.scisco@wku.edu.  Have a good offseason!

by Logan Scisco

The Extemp Central National Points Race is a competition designed to reward extempers for placing high at selected national circuit competitions throughout the year. Tournaments are placed into five tiers based on their level of prestige and each tier awards a different amount of points towards the top six finishers (CFL and NFL Nationals award points for semi-finalists). To find out what point value tournaments are worth, check out the first issue of The Ex Files on the tab above. At the end of the season, the winner of the National Points Race will receive a customary glass trophy recognizing their achievement courtesy of Extemp Central.

Extemp Central also sponsors a National Team Points Race competition. When extempers compete and place highly at selected tournaments they earn points for themselves and their school. In the case of a tie, the number of finalists schools have had throughout the year is used as a tiebreaker.

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Last night, the 2010 National Forensic League (NFL) national tournament concluded in Kansas City, Missouri.  Earlier in the day, the top six competitors in International and United States extemp battled it out and when the smoke cleared, Jacob Baker of Bellarmine College Prep (California) and Tyler Fabbri of Chesterton High School (Indiana) emerged victorious.  This was the second consecutive final round appearance for both extempers.  Baker’s victory is the second consecutive year that Bellarmine College Prep has left NFL Nationals with an extemporaneous speaking national championship.  Fabbri’s victory is the first by an Indiana extemper in United States extemp and he becomes the second extemper from Chesterton to win an extemp national championship at NFL since the USX/IX division was created in 1985.  Although Catholic Forensic League national champion Dylan Slinger of Lakeville South High School (Minnesota) was not able to obtain a sweep at NFL, he managed to finish second behind Fabbri and won the final round national championship.  Baker edged James Mohan of Danville High School (Kentucky) by judges preference in the International final round.

Final results are listed below.  A more complete listing can be found here.

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After three days of competition, the final rounds for International and United States extemporaneous speaking are set for NFL Nationals.  Of those in the National Points Race, James Mohan of Danville High School (Kentucky), Jacob Baker of Bellarmine College Prep (California), and Steven Elliott of Lakeville North High School (Minnesota) are in the International Extemp final.  In United States extemp, CFL national champion Dylan Slinger of Lakeville South High School (Minnesota) and Oscar Wang of San Marino High School (California) are still alive.  National Points Race leader Dillon Huff dropped in the quarter-final round of International extemp and that has given all of the extempers listed above an opportunity to walk away with the National Points Race trophy tomorrow evening.  Nabeel Zewail and Aaron Lutkowitz, where were ranked behind Huff in the National Points Race, were eliminated from the IX octofinal and quarter-final rounds, respectively.

Based on  the fact that the finalists listed above need to accumulate 320 points to pass Dillon Huff and take the National Points Race title, Extemp Central has broken down what placings the extempers in those rounds will need to do that.  The number listed beside the placing is what their point total will look like if they achieve that position.  The number in parenthesis is the amount of points they will earn if they earn that placing and win the final round.
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International Extemp

Shahid Ahmed
Jacob F Baker
Gabriela Barahona
Michael Barton
Rohan Bhargava
Steven Ebensberger
Steven Elliott
Jane Kessner
Teagan Alexander Lende
Jonathan A Lewallen
James Mohan
Asheshananda Rambachan
Lauren Tonti
Sesenu Woldemariam

United States Extemp

Susan Czaikowski
Alexis Elliott
Tyler D Fabbri
Frank Liang
Jared Odessky
Krishnan Ramanujan
Forrest Richardson
Bari Saltman
Dylan Slinger
Remi Sun
Meera Sury
Oscar Wang
Haley Wheat
Kevin Ye

Here are your answers for this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck at NFL to those attending.

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The National Forensic League national tournament next week in Kansas City, Missouri will decide this year’s Extemp Central National Points Race and National Team Points Race.  NFL Nationals is the only first tier tournament in the National Points Race and unlike last year, the title is not clinched prior to the tournament.  The fourteen extempers who make the semi-final round will be battling for the 200 points that will go to the tournament champion.  Extempers will then earn points on a graduate scale from 200 to 25 based on their finish from first through fourteenth place.  To see how points are awarded in the National Points Race, check out the Wake Forest edition of the Ex Files for this season by clicking on the Ex Files tab at the top of the page.

Based on the fact that extempers can only earn a maximum of 225 points at NFL Nationals, all extempers who have less than 125 points in the National Points Race are mathematically eliminated from winning the championship.  The following extempers have a mathematical chance of winning the title:
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