International Extemporaneous International Extemp (IX) is a speech about current international events. You are given 30 minutes to write a 7 minute speech about a topic that you pull from an envelope. It is usually about how to deal with a problem, or just what is going on in another country. Examples: What will be Kofi Annan’s legacy be? What will be the result of sanctions against North Korea?
Domestic Extemporaneous Domestic Extemp (DX) is the exact same as International Extemp, but it uses domestic topics. Questions are usually about our President, or current events that we are hearing about on the news. Examples: Has Puerto Rico recovered from Hurricane Harvey? Will Mollie Tibbits reframe the immigration debate?
Congress In Congress, you are put into either the Senate or House of Representatives. From there you debate congressional legislation in the form of parliamentary procedure. The topics are usually brought up by schools before tournaments, and we submit bills for it. There is plenty of time to prepare. In Congress, you debate the passage of a law. First there is an opening speech, then a pro speech, then a con speech, you end with a vote on whether the bill should pass or fail.
Big Questions Debate Resolved: Humans are primarily driven by self-interest. Students can compete as individuals or as a team, this means rounds can be 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, or 1 vs. 2. Affirmative Constructive – 5 minutes Affirmative Consolidation – 3 minutes Negative Constructive – 5 minutes Negative Consolidation – 3 minutes Question Segment – 3 minutes Affirmative Rationale – 3 minutes Affirmative Rebuttal – 4 minutes Negative Rationale – 3 minutes Negative Rebuttal – 4 minutes Question Segment – 3 minutes
Impromptu Impromptu is a speech that is no longer offered at every tournament. It may be at some as a consolation event if you do not break to finals. You have 5 minutes to create a speech that is 5 minutes long. Topics can be things like quotes, or an object.