[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]Baku, Azerbaijan is ready for the 1st WTF World Cadet Taekwondo Championships.

The inaugural cadet championships, which are for the youth aged between 12 and 14, are expected to draw 578 athletes and 286 officials from 63 countries. A total of 60 international referees will officiate at the event.

The Baku championships, scheduled for July 24-27, 2014, will take place at the National Gymnastic Arena in Baku.

The event will feature 10 male and 10 female weight categories: the men’s -33kg, -37kg, -41kg, -45kg, -49kg, -53kg, -57kg, -61kg, -65kg, and +65kg; the women’s -29kg, -33kg, -37kg, -41kg,-44kg, -47kg, -51kg, -55kg,-59kg and +59kg.

Five octagon-shaped courts will be used together with the protector and scoring system and an instant video replay system.

For the safety of the young participants, a head protector with a visor will be used. The contest time of the Baku championships will be one minute and 30 seconds of three rounds with a one-minute break between rounds.

The opening ceremony of the championships will take place at 7 p.m. on July 24 at the National Gymnastic Arena, in which a 17-member WTF Taekwondo Demonstration Team will show off their skills.

At the WTF Council meeting in June 2013 at the IOC headquarters, the WTF unanimously decided to organize the World Cadet Taekwondo Championships to promote taekwondo among the youth under 14, and Baku was selected as the hosting city of the inaugural event.

“I am happy to see that we now can offer young athletes a championship at a world level that will give them the necessary championships experience to start a career in taekwondo and to prepare them for junior- and senior-level competition,” said WTF President Chungwon Choue.