2023 World Wushu Championships

The 2023 World Wushu Championships was the 16th edition of the World Wushu Championships. It was held at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, from November 16 to 20, 2023.

Development and preparation

Selection process

During the 2019 World Wushu Championships in Shanghai, China, the 15th IWUF Congress met to vote on the host city for the 16th WWC. At the conclusion of the competition, it was announced that the next edition of the world championships would be held in 2021 in Dallas, Texas, United States. This would mark the first time a major international wushu competition was held in the United States since the 1995 World Wushu Championships. The competition will be organized by the United States of America Wushu Kungfu Federation under Anthony Goh.
The 16th WWC was also meant to serve as preparation for the wushu event at the 2022 World Games which was also hosted by the United States.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Shortly after the 15th WWC, the COVID-19 pandemic spread internationally. Numerous wushu competitions including the 2020 World Junior Wushu Championships and the 2020 Taolu World Cup were postponed or cancelled. The IWUF left no updates on the situation regarding the 16th world championships for months, but on July 15, 2021, the IWUF virtual congress announced that the 16th WWC would be postponed to 2023. Qualification for wushu at the 2022 World Games was then done by ranking at the 2019 WWC.
Over a year later on September 15, 2022, the USAWKF announced that the 16th WWC would officially take place in November 2023 at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

The championships

Opening ceremony

In a press conference in August 2023, it was revealed that performers in the opening ceremony would include tai chi enthusiasts of various ethnic groups from the United States as well as the Yunnan provincial wushu team.

Changes to competition events

A number of competition event changes were revealed in the competition regulations of the 16th WWC. Men's and women's changquan now consisted of a preliminary and final round, and athletes also were allowed to use different routines for both rounds. Instead of traditional wushu events like in recent prior championships, there would be a "creative & nandu skills" non-medal demonstration event.

Marketing

The official name of the competition, the "16th World Wushu Championships," was renamed to the "HYX 16th World Wushu Championships" to reflect the IWUF's financial partnership with the which began in early 2018.
After a design contest, the logo and theme for the competition were unveiled on November 16, 2022, with the theme being "Solidarity, Peace, Friendship." The top part of the logo depicts a warrior in the form of a ribbon and the bottom depicts the Texas Longhorn. Months later on August 6, 2023, the official medal designs based on the official logo were revealed. The mascots of the competition were also revealed to be "Dillo" the armadillo and "Striker" the Longhorn.

Competition schedule

Taolu

All times are Central Standard Time

Date	Start time	Carpet 1	Carpet 2
November 17	9:00	Men’s nangun	Men’s taijiquan
November 17	14:00	Men’s daoshu	Women’s nandao Women’s taijijian
November 18	9:00	Men’s nandao	Women’s nangun Men’s taijijian
November 18	14:00	Men’s changquan	Women’s changquan Women’s taijiquan
November 19	9:00	Men’s nanquan	Women’s jianshu Women’s nanquan
November 19	14:00	Men’s gunshu	Women’s daoshu Men’s qiangshu
November 20	9:00	Men’s jianshu	Women’s gunshu Women’s qiangshu
November 20	14:00	Closed	Men’s duilian Women’s duilian Men’s creative event Women’s creative event

Sanda

All times are

Date	Start time	Lei Tai 1
November 17	9:00	Men’s & women’s round of 32
November 17	14:00	Men’s round of 16
November 17	19:00	Men’s round of 16
November 18	9;00	Women’s round of 16
November 18	14:00	Men’s quarterfinals
November 18	19:00	Women’s quarterfinals
November 19	9:00	Men’s quarterfinals & women’s semifinals
November 19	14:00	Men’s semifinals
November 20	9:00	Men’s finals
November 20	14:00	Women’s finals

Participating nations

On November 14, the Iranian delegation announced that they would not be able to attend the championships because the US embassy did not issue visas on time. A day later, the Indian delegation also announced they had difficulties securing a visa, and thus delayed their travel plans till November 16.
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