Kansas Forensics Coaches Invitational

2023 — Buhler, KS/US

• Invite
• Entries
• Judges
• Pairings
• Results

Extemporaneous

Event Description:

From the KSHSAA Manual

Sec. 1. The extemporaneous speech is a spontaneous, original oral expression of ideas on a given subject about which the speaker has had previous knowledge, preparation and planning. The speaker may or may not use a note card during presentation.

Topics:

The general subject for extemporaneous speech shall be “Current Affairs.” Topics shall cover both domestic and foreign affairs. Specifically, U.S. domestic and U.S. foreign policy (domestic affairs); and domestic affairs of foreign countries and the foreign affairs of all countries, including the United States (foreign affairs). The topics shall be worded in question form and be selected from a variety of print and non-print news sources. Topics shall be selected from issues published between December 1 and April 15 of the current school year.

A. The topics shall be used in regional and state speech and drama festivals and shall be supplied by the KSHSAA.

B. The topics shall be used in state speech championships and shall be supplied by the KSHSAA.

C. At regional and state speech and drama festivals, there shall be two general subject divisions: Foreign and Domestic. Students may draw from either subject division.

D. At state speech championships there shall be two general subject divisions: Foreign and Domestic. Potential topic areas for this draw event will be narrowed to five broad Foreign and Domestic categories each.

• One-half hour before the initial draw for each round, a category for that round’s questions will be determined by blind draw.

• All questions drawn for that round will come from that category only.

• After a category has been used, it cannot be used for a future round.

• Students may draw from either subject division depending upon the qualification requirements for their classification.

Sec. 2. Drawing: Each participant shall draw three topics, choose one and return the other two. The other participants shall draw in like manner, in the order of speaking, at intervals of ten minutes. A participant drawing a topic on which she/he has spoken previously in the tournament shall return it and draw again.

Sec. 3. Preparation: As soon as a topic is chosen, the participant shall withdraw and prepare a speech without consultation and without references to prepared notes. Students may consult originals or photocopies of published books, magazines, newspapers, journals, articles or unannotated indices.

If the host is able to offer guest wireless access to participants, then students may access the Internet during extemporaneous prep, subject to the following restrictions:

A. Students may not use the Internet to gain help from coaches, other students, or any other person, in a way that would prevent the speech from being the competitor’s original work.

B. Students are prohibited from accessing outlines and speeches that have been prepared prior to their draw time.

C. Tournament hosts are not responsible for tech support for participants who are unable to access the guest network.

If the host is unable to offer guest wireless access to participants, then the following electronic use rules will apply:

No electronic communication or Internet access is allowed in the extemporaneous prep room. Contestants may make use of electronic retrieval devices to store and to retrieve their subject files as long as wired or wireless connection devices are disabled and remain disabled while in the prep room. Contestants may retrieve extemporaneous files to read, but cannot write speeches or organize their thoughts on the electronic device.

A. Electronic devices may not be used to send or receive information from ANY source during the round, whether that source is inside or outside the room in which the competition occurs. Internet access, use of email, instant messaging of any sort, texting, or other means of receiving information from sources inside or outside the competition room is prohibited. It is the responsibility of the contestant to disable the communication ability of electronic devices.

B. Sanctions: Contestants found to have violated provision A above shall be disqualified from the tournament and shall forfeit all rounds, even those rounds previous to the violation.

C. Source materials: Students may consult a variety of news sources saved on their electronic retrieval device or present in hard copy form provided:

• There are no notations made within or on the saved article other than citation information.

• Any highlighting or underlining of the articles is done in only one color within each article. Bolding, italicizing or any other manipulation of the original text of sources (other than highlighting or underlining as previously stipulated) is prohibited.

• No other source materials will be allowed in the prep room other than stated above. Pre-written extemporaneous speeches, handbooks, briefs or outlines are prohibited from the prep room, whether stored electronically or present in hard copy form.

D. Contestants electing to use electronic devices are responsible for providing their own electronic device, batteries, extension cords and all other necessary accessories. Tournament hosts shall not be responsible for providing electronic devices, printers, software, paper, extension cords or specific facilities for contestants. Contestants choosing to use electronic devices accept the risk of equipment failure. No special consideration or accommodations, including no additional prep time, will be given to the contestant should equipment failure occur. The host school is not liable for damage or theft of contestants’ equipment.

By choosing to use electronic devices in the prep room, contestants are consenting to give tournament officials the right to search their files and any relevant software on the electronic device used. Contestants who do not wish to consent to a search should not use electronic devices in the prep room.

No other material shall be allowed in the extemporaneous prep room. Extemporaneous speeches, handbooks, briefs and outlines shall be barred from the extemporaneous prep room. Underlining or highlighting will be allowed if done in only one color on each article or copy. There shall be a full 30 minutes of preparation time for each student. Students are not allowed to consult other individuals and shall remain in the extemporaneous preparation room the full 30 minutes.

Sec. 4. Notes: During the speech, brief notes may be used but they must be on a single card no larger than a 4 x 6 note card. The judge is expected to enforce this rule. The ethics committee shall decide on the penalty of disqualification for the use of more copious notes.

Sec. 5. Time: The extemporaneous speech shall be no longer than seven (7) minutes.