Wang Routing, who won in the senior high category, has also been a star for a while. Her fellow students from Shenzhen Foreign Languages School cheered loudly when she was declared the winner.

“Wang won her first English speech contest title at Junior Two. She’s eloquent and elegant,” one of her schoolmates said admiringly.

Primary group winner Feng Xinyue from the Yantian Foreign Language Primary School had a large group of cheering fans. Her classmates had prepared a three-meter-long red banner with slogans in English and Chinese. “Sophia, you are the best!” the banner read.

Feng, 11, started to learn English from her father at the age of 2. “I will be a high school student when the Universiade is held in 2011. I hoped to become a volunteer. If I can’t, I think I can still do simple things to contribute to it,” she told the audience. The girl said that among other things, she picks up garbage from the street and tells others to do the same to keep the city clean.

Almost all the contestants said they wanted to be volunteers during the Universiade. Many said they would show foreigners around the city by taking them to Lotus Hill Park and Window of the World. Some said they would try to teach foreigners Chinese culture. Others said they would help promote the concept of environmental protection to make the city a better place to live in.

Three of the speakers quoted the famous statement made by late U.S. president John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” Others quoted Napoleon and Mark Twain.

“We are quite impressed by the quality of this speech contest. You’ve done a wonderful job in preparing the speeches and in the Q&A session,” said Cao Yajun on behalf of the seven jury members.

The jury, comprising two expats and five English professors from Shenzhen and Guangzhou, praised the pronunciation and intonation of the speakers as well as way they carried themselves on stage.

The jury members also pointed out minus points in some contestants, such as speaking about issues unrelated to the topic, and focusing too much on appearance.

A girl was dressed like an air hostess, and another like a dancer. A boy was in a black suit with a red bow tie.