Two Norman students will head to China today to participate in an international language competition.

Mike Ritchie, Oklahoma City Community College student, and Norman High School student Nic Cejda will be two of three students representing the southwest part of the U.S.

By competing in local and regional verbal and talent competitions, the students earned a place in the competition. Now all their expenses are paid for the three weeks of the competition, Ritchie said.

"It's all paid for," he said. "They're treating us like kings pretty much."

The Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for foreign secondary school/college students is sponsored by Chinese Language Council International, a division under the Chinese Ministry of Education.

Norman High Chinese teacher Alice Nan will be the coach for the group, which is joined by one student from Houston.

The team will be in Chongqing, China, for the contest Oct. 16-30, where they will compete against three-person teams from other countries, Nan said.

Ritchie said the qualifying rounds of the competition featured two aspects: a speech in Chinese and a talent portion. He said his talent was the Chinese yo-yo.

"Take two plunger heads and stick them together," Ritchie said in explanation. Put a stick between the two rubber heads and roll them on a string in the middle and that's pretty much a Chinese yo yo, he said. It's an ancient art, which Ritchie said probably earned him extra points for its history.

He said he's not sure what the rest of the competition will look like, but he imagines himself standing behind a microphone with a buzzer.

"It's pretty much a game show, you have three people and you're answering questions," Ritchie said.

The top prize for the winner of the competition is a full ride to a Chinese university for four years, he said.

Julianna Parker Jones 366-3541 jparker@normantranscript.com