Preparations for the 7th WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships scheduled for May 7-11, 2008 in Izmir, Turkey, are going smoothly, organizers say.

“A record 84 countries are expected to participate in the WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships,” said Mr. Metin Sahin, president of the Taekwondo Federation of Turkey, on May 2, 2008.

Mr. Sahin, who also serves as chairman of the Organizing Committee of the biennial event, said that a total of 1,153 athletes and officials, along with 87 international referees, will attend the five-day taekwondo competition. The figure breaks down to 415 male and 334 female contestants, and 404 officials.

The event, which will be broadcast live by Turkish Radio and Television, will take place at the Halkapinar Sport Hall in Izmir.

The previous World Junior Taekwondo Championships, which took place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 2006, drew over 700 athletes from 73 countries.

“We are happy that a record number of countries have confirmed their participation in the Izmir event and we are ready for the taekwondo competition,” Mr. Sahin said.

He said that the Izmir event draws a special attention from the public and the media, as the International Olympic Committee is scheduled to organize the 1st Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010.

The World Taekwondo Federation plans to newly include in its Rules and Regulation at its General Assembly in Izmir on May 6 the following sentence; “In the year of the Youth Olympic Games, the WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships shall be held as a Youth Olympic qualification tournament and shall be held, ideally, no later than six months prior to the Games.”

On May 5, the WTF will hold a joint meeting of WTF Continental Unions, and the WTF Council meeting. On May 6, the WTF General Assembly will be held. The opening ceremony of the event will be held at 4 p.m. on May 7.

At the WTF General Assembly, the venues for the 2009 WTF World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships and the 2010 WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships will be decided.

The General Assembly is also expected to approve five new members of the WTF, which will increase the number of the WTF’s global membership to 188.

Participants in the General Assembly will be briefed on the WTF’s member national association evaluation form, the WTF’s new membership system, the WTF e-newsletter and Web TV, the 2009 Belgrade Universiade, and the Youth Olympic Games.