I. Introduction
Welcome!
We are thrilled to announce that the 21st Tournament of Champions will be held May 3-5 on the Northwestern campus!
We look forward to seeing you all once again for this celebration of extemp, forensics, and its competitors.
Sincerely,
The Northwestern Speech Team
II. Tournament Details
Extemp Overview
Standard NSDA rules for extemporaneous speaking, available on the NSDA website, will apply: contestants will have thirty minutes to prepare and seven minutes to deliver a speech addressing one of three topics. Each round will be themed; topic areas will be posted to the TOC Extemp website in April 2024.
All questions will be taken from newspaper, magazine, and think tank articles published between January 1, 2024, and the day of the event. Internet access will be allowed. However, students may not use the internet to gain help from coaches, other students, or any person, such that it would prevent the speech from being the original work of the competitor.
Students are prohibited from accessing outlines and speeches that have been written prior to their draw time. The TOC Extemp reserves the right to disqualify any student that is found in violation of these rules.
Source Checking
Please be aware that representatives from the tournament will be watching rounds at random points throughout the event to record and verify sources. Any student found to be using a source inaccurately in order to manipulate the audience will be disqualified from the tournament.
Preliminary Rounds (Extemp)
Competitors are guaranteed six preliminary rounds. Rounds I through III will be randomly assigned, while rounds IV through VI will be seeded. Each round will be evaluated by two judges, each of whom will rank competitors 1st through 5th. The lowest ranking for each contestant will be dropped, and the top contestants will advance to elimination rounds. Advancement will be based on (1) best cumulative rankings and (2) reciprocals.
Elimination Rounds (Extemp)
Those contestants advancing to the first elimination round will be announced on Sunday morning. Elimination rounds will be seeded, and sectioning will not be broken to avoid placement of contestants from the same school in the same rounds. The tournament will include cross-examination in elimination rounds. Quarterfinals and semifinals will be evaluated by five judges each. The top three contestants in each section will advance to the next round. Advancement will be based on (1) best cumulative rankings (2) judges’ preference (3) reciprocals (4) preliminary rankings. Each break is clean; no previous results will be considered except in the case of an otherwise unbreakable tie. The final round will be evaluated by seven judges.
Impromptu Overview
Impromptu speakers will prepare and deliver a speech on a predetermined topic in no more than seven minutes. Advancement will be based on (1) best cumulative rankings (2) judges’ preference (3) reciprocals (4) preliminary rankings. Each break is clean; no previous results will be considered except in the case of an otherwise unbreakable tie. The final round will be evaluated by seven judges.
III. Schedule
SCHEDULE
All times are CT
May 3, 2024
7:00 PM Registration and Opening Ceremony
May 4, 2024
8:30 AM Extemp Round I Draw
9:00 AM Extemp Round I
10:00 AM Extemp Round II Draw
10:30 AM Extemp Round II
11:30 AM Extemp Round III Draw
12:00 PM Extemp Round III
1:00 PM Lunch Break
2:00 PM Extemp Round IV Draw
2:30 PM Extemp Round IV
3:45 PM Extemp Round V Draw
4:15 PM Extemp Round V
5:30 PM Extemp Round VI Draw
6:00 PM Extemp Round VI
May 5, 2024
8:00 AM Quarterfinals Postings
8:30 AM Quarterfinals Draw
9:00 AM Quarterfinals
10:15 AM Impromptu Round I
11:15 AM Impromptu Round 2
11:45AM Lunch (available until 1:30pm)
12:00 PM Extemp Semifinals Draw
12:30 PM Extemp Semifinals
1:45 PM Impromptu Finals
2:30 PM Extemp Finals Draw
3:00 PM Extemp Finals
ASAP Awards Ceremony
Qualification Procedures
There are four ways to qualify for the 2024 Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking:
1. Broke Into Out Rounds at 2023 Tournament of Champions
Any high school student who broke to quarterfinals or later for the 2023 Tournament of Champions is automatically qualified for the 2024 Tournament of Champions.
2. State Finals
Students that advance to the final round of the open division of their qualifying state tournament in extemporaneous speaking will automatically qualify for the TOC Extemp. Because many states hold their state tournament after our entry deadline, please note the following rule: “Qualifying state tournaments” are defined as (a) any 2024 state tournament prior to the TOC Extemp entry deadline, or (b) any 2023 state tournament that occurred after April 21, 2023.
3. Qualifying Tournaments
Please see the list below for specific qualification levels for each tournament. Students must earn qualifications at a minimum of two of the following:
Quarter-Final Level Bids
Berkeley (CA)
Florida Blue Key (FL)
George Mason University (VA)
Glenbrooks (IL)
Harvard (MA)
NSDA National Tournament 2021
CFL National Tournament 2021
Yale (CT)
University of Texas- Austin (TX)
Semi-Final Level Bids
Emory University (GA)
James Logan HS (CA)
Palm Classic (CA)
Arizona State University (AZ)
Plano West (TX)
Sunvitational (FL)
Spring Woods (TX)
Downers Grove South (IL)
Princeton (NJ)
Sharen B Althoff Rotary (OH)
University of Pennsylvania (PA)
Villiger – St. Joseph’s University (PA)
Final Level Bids
Westwood Bowl (TX)
Saint Mary’s (TX)
Winter Wonder CCHS (CO)
Canton McKinley (OH)
Cypress Bay (FL)
Sylvania Rotary Invitational (OH)
Marshall Speech Spectacular (MN)
Durham (NC)
George Washington Patriot Games (CO)
Mentor (OH)
Lakeville North (MN)
Nova (FL)
Star Tribune (MN)
Top 3 Bids
Isidore Newman (LA)
Solon (OH)
Apple Valley (MN)
Hoover NC Rotary (OH)
Denver East (CO)
Dowling (IA)
Lamar (TX)
STRIVE Prep Speech Showdown (CO)
4.Bid Application Acceptance
Any student who does not or cannot qualify through one of the above methods may submit an at large TOC bid application. Bid applications will be reviewed upon acceptance, and while we will try to get responses back as soon as possible, we guarantee we will respond to all applications by April 15, 2024. Please have the applicants coach submit a Bid Application to toc@u.northwestern.edu by April 1, 2024.
IV. ENTRY PROCEDURES & FEES
Tournament Entry/Registration
- Coaches may submit all school and competitor entry information via speechwire.com beginning March 15, 2024, when the application goes live. The registration will be under the tournament on speechwire.com, where you can mark qualifying tournaments for competitors.
- Registration will be open until April 25, 2024.
- Please make out checks to Northwestern University, and mention TOC/Speech Team in the memo. Checks can be sent to Norris University Center, Attn: Cashiers Office; 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208
- We will also have an online payment portal available by April 25, 2024.
Entry Fees
Extemp Entry Fee: $125
Uncovered Extemp Entry Fee: $200
Entries dropped after April 30th, 2024, and missed judge ballots will incur a $50 penalty.
V. JUDGING REQUIREMENTS
Judging Commitments
Judges are expected to be available to judge throughout the entire tournament, even after their students are eliminated. Schools with odd numbers of competitors will not be allowed to share judges. Every judge is only allowed to cover a maximum of 2 entries. Any uncovered slots will incur fees as described in the fee schedule above. This will be used to pay additional hired judges.
Contact Information
For any additional questions or concerns, please reach out to the TOC Extemp email.
toc@u.northwestern.edu