(BEIJING, November 6) -- The Good Luck Beijing Ninth World Wushu Championships, to be held from November 11 to 17 at the Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Beijing, is to be the largest scale gathering of the competition in history, reports Xinhua.

The championship organizers held a press conference on November 6, offering the following information.

Sponsored by the International Wushu Federation and organized by the Chinese Wushu Association, the Ninth World Wushu Championships are the qualification events for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Wushu competitions. This year's competition is also the largest in the history of the World Wushu championships in terms of participants and the nations and regions represented.

Approximately 1,500 athletes, trainers, and related personnel representing 88 nations and regions are to participate. At present, 131 judges from 43 nations and regions are already in Beijing preparing for the event.

The program comprises 22 Taolu competitions and 18 Sanshou competitions. The Taolu competitions will consist of a barehanded routine, short weapon, long weapon, and Duilian, while the Sanshou competitions have 11 weight categories for men and seven weight categories for women.

Wang Xiaolin, secretary-gerneral of the International Wushu Federation, presented the program of the events, the competition methodology, and athlete qualifications. He expressed the federation's commitment to a high-standard, high-level, and high-quality competition.