For the fifth consecutive year, The Extemper’s Bible is excited to host the National Points Race (NPR), a system designed to recognize the most consistent extemporaneous speaking competitors across a series of prestigious national tournaments. Building on the framework of the Extemp Central National Points Race, we will again use tiered rankings to assess the relative difficulty of tournaments nationwide.
The structure of the NPR remains largely the same as in the 2023-24 season, but we’re introducing a few key updates:
- The University of Texas (UT) is now a Tier 3 tournament.
- The Barkley Forum is now a Tier 3 tournament
- Harvard has been elevated to a Tier 1 tournament.
- The Extemp Tournament of Champions (TOC) is now classified as a Tier 3 event.
- Florida Blue Key’s Round Robin returns as a points-eligible tournament.
While additional adjustments to the NPR may occur throughout the season, we will always announce any changes to points or tiering before an event begins, ensuring full transparency.
Below, you’ll find the tiering system we’ll be using this season. We’d love to hear your feedback on the tournaments we’ve recognized, our tiering decisions, and points distribution. While we will not add or remove tournaments once the season starts, your input is invaluable to us as we strive to maintain fairness and competitiveness.
TIER 1 EVENTS: NSDA Nationals, Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin, Harvard National Forensics Tournament
These are the most well-known tournaments for high-level Extemp competition – the NSDA National Tournament in terms of pure recognition, and the MBA Round Robin as well as Harvard National Forensics Tournament in terms of judge pool and depth of competition.
| Placement | Points Earned |
| 1st | 1500 |
| 2nd | 1250 |
| 3rd | 1150 |
| 4th | 1000 |
| 5th | 900 |
| 6th | 800 |
| Semifinalist | 550 |
| Quarterfinalist | 400 |
| Octofinalist | 200 |
There will be no distinction made between IX and USX at NSDA Nationals in terms of points received. The final round winners in both categories will receive an additional 250 points as a bonus.
As the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin has a different format from traditional tournaments and is widely recognized as the most prestigious event on the national circuit, the point distribution for MBA competitors is different. Nonetheless, it is still considered a Tier 1 event.
Update: Originally, the MBA Round Robin point distribution tiered points among the competitors who placed as ‘participants.’ It has now changed to offer an equal amount.
| Placement | Points Earned |
| 1st | 1500 |
| 2nd | 1400 |
| 3rd | 1300 |
| 4th | 1200 |
| 5th | 1100 |
| 6th | 1000 |
| Participant | 550 |
TIER 2 EVENTS: NCFL Nationals, University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions, Glenbrooks
While not as prestigious as the Tier 1 tournaments, these events consistently attract top-level talent from across the nation.
| Placement | Points Earned |
| 1st | 1200 |
| 2nd | 1000 |
| 3rd | 900 |
| 4th | 800 |
| 5th | 700 |
| 6th | 600 |
| Semifinalist | 450 |
| Quarterfinalist | 250 |
| Octofinalist | 100 |
TIER 3 EVENTS: Yale Invitational, Cal Invitational, National Individual Events Tournament of Champions, UT Texas, Barkley Forum, Extemp TOC
While not true “national” tournaments, these events attract extempers across several states and often serve as the premier tournament in their region of the country.
| Placement | Points Earned |
| 1st | 900 |
| 2nd | 750 |
| 3rd | 675 |
| 4th | 600 |
| 5th | 525 |
| 6th | 450 |
| Semifinalist | 250 |
| Quarterfinalist | 100 |
TIER 4 EVENTS: New York City Invitational, The Sunvitational, GMU Patriot Games, Florida Blue Key
These tournaments can be thought of as smaller versions of Tier 3 tournaments, with strong outrounds and competition pools. They may attract regional talent with some out-of-state competitors.
| Placement | Points Earned |
| 1st | 600 |
| 2nd | 500 |
| 3rd | 450 |
| 4th | 400 |
| 5th | 350 |
| 6th | 300 |
| Semifinalist | 125 |
TIER 5 EVENTS: James Logan MLK Invitational, Stanford Invitational, Villiger Tournament, Princeton Classic, UK Season Opener, Duke Invitational
Competitors must final at these tournaments in order to receive points in the National Points Race, as they are often much smaller tournaments for local schools.
| Placement | Points Earned |
| 1st | 400 |
| 2nd | 300 |
| 3rd | 250 |
| 4th | 200 |
| 5th | 150 |
| 6th | 100 |
For tournaments where entrants can compete in both USX and IX, competitors will be given points for their single best placement in either category; for example, if someone finishes 3rd in USX and semifinals in IX, they will be given third-place points. (This will lead to many more competitors gaining points, but will not allow any individual competitor to move ahead in the rankings massively from one tournament.)
Happy competing!