CFL Extemp Results

[KY_Extemper]

Looks like a good set of questions for a national final round, although some look like obvious softballs (ex. North Korea) and I'm not too thrilled with the opinionated question "how does the United States abuse its influence in the world arena" because its politically slanted. However, I can see how all of these questions can lay down a good foundation for the round where its obvious who knows their stuff and can provide a lot of depth versus someone who just touches the surface. I guess I have too many flashbacks to two years ago where the NCFL final round topic area was "Religion & Philosophy" and that was a little odd.

Congrats to all the finalists and to winner Kevin Troy. Good luck @ NFL to all!

[jdcongresscapt]

I was thinking just that while watching.
Religion and Philosophy was Prelim IV. I'm guessing finals topic was "Terrorism and Peacekeeping"

[jdcongresscapt]

Good news, everybody. I found my finals critiques. I will omit Mr. McGeary's, seeing as how I already gave it.

Charlie Alderman
I'll be honest. I was very surpised when I saw him walking down to the front of the room. I did not know he was that good. His intro was canned, but since he acknowledged that he used it earlier, it was only sort of canned, so to speak. HIs answer (U.S. should take a somehwat firm stance in support of Taiwan) seemed logical. His first point, that China stifles democracy, was well-built, but I would have liked a better explanation of why the U.S. should fight for democratic ideals. His second point stated how U.S. should not be too brazen. I couldn't find too much wrong with this. I particularly liked his explanation of how it would affect Chinese trading partners like Venezuela. His thrid point, that the U.S. will be symbolic in its support, was kind of vague. He used the most soucres, ten, out of all of the finalists. That said, of the finalists, he seemed the most nervous, and there were moments when he looked too stiff and uncomfortable up there. As a fellow sophomore, I would be too, but nevertheless. Overall, while he was impressive, I don't think he did anything that truly made him stand out.

Kevin Troy
Prior to this tournament, I had heard much about this young man and his successes. Indeed, when I saw his name in the booklet, I nearly threw up in horror. My prep table was pretty close to his, and just looking at all seven of his boxes made me shiver. I watched him enter the finals room, expecting greatness. I was not disappointed. His intro about organizations and bodies with ironic names was extremely funny and fit nicely with the rest of the speech. His answer, that the U.N. should become more involved to no extent, made me raise an eyebrow, but his analysis brought it down again. HIs first point, how UN peacekeepers exacerbate rather than fix the problem was extremely detailed, mentioning Bangladesh, the Congo, and Haiti. His second point about the lack of hope for reform made sense. His third point about alternative actors being more effective (AU in Darfur, NATO in Afghanistan) sealed the deal. He used seven sources to great effect. He was easily the most comfortable and fluid in the room. THe only complaints I have were that his conclusion took a little too long, and that (and this is something I've noticed in the prep room, when he was speaking, when he was talking to friends, and when he was on stage) he never smiles. A small smile (particualrly with that intro) would have been nice, but ultimately, I'm not complaining.

Gautam Thapar
Mr. Thapar's intro, concerning the philosophical ideals of Spider-Man and Goerge Bush, seemed effective, but felt too long-winded. His first point mentioned how America disregards international law. Nothing special here. His second point on how America scapes on multinational agreements (NATO in Kosovo) seemed logical. His third point was definitely his best, how America imposes its ideology on everyone(Cuba, WOlfowitz and Bolton nominations). He only used six sources. I noticed he also has a habit of repeating words like"indeed," which got annoying after the fourth time he used it. Overall, pretty good.

Deepa Cherla
Ms. Cherla seemed pleasant enough walking in. Her intro, about how there exist conflicting views on issues (Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan debate the merits of weight loss) was good, but long-winded and unfortunately, had a weak connection with the topic matter. Her answer was "no." I immediately became curious as to how she would explain this, as my view is to the contrary. Her first point stated that the U.S. lacked troops. She mentioned Abu Ghraib in this point, but never really explained how the Abu Ghraib scandal affects numbers of troops. Her second point, how the U.S. lacks money, was probably her best, although I would have liked a stronger connection with little money/resources to the Axis of Evi. Her last point, that the U.S. lacks power on the world stage, seemed to answer the question, but was poorly thought out. SHe alluded to the fact that the EU threatens the U.S., which I did not quite understand. She too used only 6 sources. Other than that, she had a natural style to her, although I think she overused her hand gestures a bit.

Jonathan Voss
Having necer seen or heard of Mr. Voss, I did not know what to expect. His intro about how a rolling snowball will gain size and momentum seemed fitting, although he made a pretty big deal of it. His answer, that NK is the greatest threat at present, seemed right, and a little obvious. His first point concerned NK nuclear policy, and how NK is furthering research. NOthing special, nothing wrong. His second point made logical sense, that NK had rejected diplomacy (multilateral talks). His third point, how NK is furthering the nuclear policies of many rogues states, I felt, was waaay too similar to his first point. Eight sources were used well. Presentation-wise, he had a very quiet voice. Plus as it is calming and soothing, minus as some people in the back might not have heard him. I liked his means of transition between points. One thing I noticed (and it may have been just me, I could be misinformed) that he continually seemed to mispronounce "Pyongyang." Then again, maybe I'm wrong.

That's pretty much it. My personal rankings are as follows:
1-Kevin Troy, 5182 (7:06)
2-Justin A. McGeary, 5066 (7:07)
3-Gautam Thapar, 5215 (7:07)
4-Jonathan Voss, 5122 (6:48 )
5-Charlie Alderman, 5080 (7:20)
6-Deepa Cherla, 5083 (7:02)

Awesome round. COngrats to all.

[J Mack]

Does anyone else have a critique of the round? My ballots offered no explanation for why I was ranked the way I was...especially the six (Wha?)
I would just like to get a little more advice over what I need to work on before Philly, PA.

Thanks.

[Estabrook]

Justin--

Your flow and command was very impressive. I thought you did an extremely good job using sources and facts and I thought your intro was creative and effective. If you could refresh me (that is if you remember) on your three points I might be able to remember specifics. The two things that I noticed, again, were that you did mention your intro many times, which jd already said. The other glaring thing was you overused transitions, specifically the word "moreover" which I think I heard 5 or 6 times. Besides that, I really thought you did a good job.

By the way, are you a senior?

[sta7]

jman, what intro did you use. Yankees? US Image abroad? Sounds so 2003.

[jdcongresscapt]

He talked about how the most hated ball team in America is the NYY. IN Baltimore, whenever the Yankees show up, effigees of George Steinbrenner are burned. In Tronoto and many other places, when the Yankees visit, a cry emanates from the fans: "GO HOME YANKS! GO HOME YANKS!" J-MacGizzle tied that in to the general sentiment towards the U.S.

[J Mack]

Brian, when the intro idea works...you use it. But I only used it once...this the first time. So, thank you for the idea. At least I didn't have to say anything about Mars rovers in an intro.

Anyways, thanks for the critiques everyone.

By the way, I am a senior.

[sta7]

You know I'm just messing around bro. I used that whole theme in my second ever LD round this year and totally hoed someone with it.

Good luck at NFLs.