Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking

General information	Schematics	Files for download	Tournament schedule	Fees	Registration handbook

General information

This is a High School tournament in Illinois.

View manager contact information

Welcome!

We are thrilled to announce that the 23nd Tournament of Champions will be held May 2-3 on the Northwestern campus! Registration will open soon. Please review the invitation, as some details related to schedule and qualification have changed.

We look forward to seeing you all once again for this celebration of extemp, forensics, and its competitors.

Sincerely,

The Northwestern Speech Team

SCHEDULE

All times are CT

May 1, 2026

5 - 7:30 PM Registration

May 2, 2026

8:00 AM Late Registration

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

1:30 PM Extemp Round IV Draw

2:00 PM Extemp Round IV

3:15 PM Extemp Round V Draw

3:45 PM Extemp Round V

5:15 PM Postings: Extemp Elimination Round 1 or Prelim Round 6

5:30 PM Extemp Elimination Round 1 Draw (or Prelim Round 6 Draw)

6:00 PM Extemp Elimination Round 1

May 3, 2026

8:00 AM Semifinals Postings

8:30 AM Semifinals Draw

9:00 AM Semifinals

10:30 AM Impromptu Round I

11:15 AM Impromptu Round 2

12:00 PM Lunch (available until 1:30pm)

12:15 AM Impromptu and Extemp Finals Posting

12:30 PM Impromptu Finals

12:45 PM Finals Draw

1:15 PM Finals Start

2:45 PM or ASAP Awards Ceremony

Qualification Procedures

There are four ways to qualify for the 2026 Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking:

1. Broke Into Out Rounds at 2025 Tournament of Champions

Any high school student who broke to quarterfinals or later for the 2025 Tournament of Champions is automatically qualified for the 2026 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 2026 state tournament prior to the TOC Extemp entry deadline, or (b) any 2025 state tournament that occurred after April 21, 2025.

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 2025

CFL National Tournament 2025

Yale (CT)

University of Texas- Austin (TX)

Semi-Final Level Bids

Arizona State University (AZ)

Downers Grove South (IL)

Eastview (MN)

Emory University (GA)

Flower Mound (TX)

James Logan HS (CA)

Palm Classic (CA)

Plano East TFA TOC (TX)

Plano West (TX)

Princeton (NJ)

Sharen B Althoff Rotary (OH)

Spring Woods (TX)

Sunvitational (FL)

University of Pennsylvania (PA)

Villiger – St. Joseph’s University (PA)

Final Level Bids

Apple Valley (MN)

Canton McKinley (OH)

Cypress Bay (FL)

Denver East (CO)

Dowling (IA)

Durham (NC)

Foster Summer Creek TFA Swing (TX)

George Washington Patriot Games (CO)

Hoover NC Rotary (OH)

Isidore Newman (LA)

Lamar (TX)

Lakeville North (MN)

Marshall Speech Spectacular (MN)

Mentor (OH)

Mount Vernon (WA)

Nova (FL)

Saint Mary’s (TX)

Solon (OH)

STRIVE Prep Speech Showdown (CO)

Sylvania Rotary Invitational (OH)

Wayzata (MN)

Westwood Bowl (TX)

Winter Wonder CCHS (CO)

These tournaments will award their specific qualification level, regardless of entrants. In the event that a tournament is able to raise its qualification level due to the number of entrants, it will be able to based on the list below. If the tournament holds separate domestic and international extemp finals, qualifications will be awarded in both tournaments. 

To request that your tournament is added, reclassified, or removed from the list above, please email toc@u.northwestern.edu .

4.Bid Application Acceptance

All tournaments are eligible to receive qualification to the Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking, based on the number of entrants in the tournament. In tournaments with more than one division, only the non-restrictive varsity division will count as a qualifier. Placement at two qualifiers is still required.

Number of Entrants:

Less Than 8 Entries: Champion

8 - 19 Entries: Top 2

20 - 39 Entries: Top 3

40 - 79 Entries: Finals

80 - 159 Entries: Semifinals

More than 160 Entries: Quarterfinalists

'Next-in' or alternative final rounds will be considered semifinal or quarterfinal rounds. If the tournament meets the entry requirements but does not hold a final, semifinal, or quarterfinal round, bids will be awarded based on placement in prelims.

Any student who does not or cannot qualify through one of the above methods may submit an at large TOC bid application. Please have the applicants coach submit a Bid Application to toc@u.northwestern.edu by April 20, 2026.

Downloadable Bid Application

ENTRY PROCEDURES & FEES

Tournament Entry/Registration

1. Coaches may submit all school and competitor entry information via speechwire.com beginning March 15, 2026, when the application goes live. The registration will be under the tournament on speechwire.com, where you can mark qualifying tournaments for competitors.
2. Registration will be open until April 23, 2026.
3. 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
4. We will also have an online payment portal available by April 25, 2026.

Entry Fees

Extemp Entry Fee: $125

Uncovered Extemp Entry Fee: $200

Entries dropped after April 30th, 2026, and missed judge ballots will incur a $50 penalty.

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

For more information on the Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking please visit our website at https://sites.northwestern.edu/tocextemp

Manager contact information

Sophie Stern
Email address: st.stern@northwestern.edu
Phone number: 7636149794

Mailing address

None provided