As of the Friday before the tournament, 35 countries are set to take part in the 7th PPP World Championships. This is an all-time record for the PPP World Championships, as the previous high was 26 countries at last year’s event in Lignano. In fact, 35 countries is two more than the 33 different countries that have taken part in at least one of the six previous World Championships.
Eight countries are taking part for the first time, with China and Luxembourg having registered three players each. Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Peru, Romania and Turkey will each be making their debut with one player. Of the countries that have previously taken part, six will not be represented in Hanover; of these, Malta and Scotland have competed four times each, and India twice. The three other countries – Canada, Colombia and Wales – have each been represented by just one person on a single occasion in the past.
The seven regulars, each with six appearances to their name, who have never missed a World Championship (Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, the USA, Denmark, Croatia and Portugal), are back in action, as are all eight others who have only missed one tournament so far.
The largest contingent, accounting for two-thirds of all participants, comes from Germany. The 524 Germans who wish to take part this time actually exceed the total of 452 starts the Germans have made across the six previous tournaments combined. However, Spain (34), Switzerland (30), France (26) and Israel (25) are also fielding large contingents in Hanover. A further five countries are represented by between ten and 13 players: Sweden, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Slovenia.
A new record is also expected in terms of continents: for the first time, five continents are expected to be represented. Australia/Oceania, which has never taken part before, intends to compete this time with one Australian player. Asia is represented by Israel, Japan and China; South America by Brazil, Chile and Peru; and North America by the USA. The other 27 countries are all from the host continent, Europe. Unfortunately, the only African player, from Morocco, has had to withdraw again; otherwise, every continent would have been represented.