The BOCOG announced at a press conference held on July 25 that preparations for the "Good Luck Beijing" rowing and canoe-kayak competitions, which will be held at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park in August, have been almost finished.

According to Xin Qunying, vice president of the "Good Luck Beijing" rowing and canoe-kayak competitions organizing committee, by now daily schedules of both competition and training have been worked out; time-keeping, scoring and venue broadcasting systems are all under installation and testing. Staffing plans for various sports venues have been implemented; desktop exercises and general on-site simulation tests have been finished. Registration of all employees, volunteers and guests has also come to an end. The preparatory work for the opening ceremony of the World Rowing Junior Championships is completed and other preparatory work goes on well in line with the plans.

One can see that at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park the main facilities, such as the flatwater boathouse, the main viewing stand, the terminal tower and the cycling water treatment station, have all been completed. A temporary stand, capable of seating more than 6,000 spectators, has been completed. Green trees can be seen reflected on the water surface everywhere both in and outside the venues. The surrounding environment has clearly taken on a new look.

The most salient feature of these events is that the number of registered athletes has already exceeded that of the Olympic Games. By now, altogether 1,100 people from 50 countries and regions have registered for the "Good Luck Beijing" 2007 World Rowing Junior Championships, including 700 athletes; 325 from 29 countries and regions have registered for the "Good Luck Beijing" Canoe-Kayak Flatwater Open, among whom 206 are athletes; and 234 from 22 countries and regions have registered for the "Good Luck Beijing" Canoe-Kayak Slalom Open, 143 of whom are athletes.

For the rowing event, the organizing committee is offering free accommodations to 50 athletes from Chinese Taipei and 11 developing countries, namely Albania, DPR Korea, Tunisia, Myanmar, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, India, Egypt, Zimbabwe and Mexico.

The Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park is a newly-built Olympic venue, which is 2.9km long from the south to the north, 330m wide from the west to the east at the north point, and 900m wide at the south point. It includes a slalom area and a flatwater area. A total of 32 gold medals will be awarded here at next year's Olympic Games, making the venue one of the top three in China, after the "Bird's Nest" and the "Water Cube", in terms of the number of Olympic golds awarded. According to the BOCOG, after the Olympic Games, the Shunyi District government will take full advantage of the advanced facilities in the park to turn it into an aquatic park featuring various recreational water sports in northeast Beijing.

Xin Qunying revealed that the electronic time-keeping system and the equipment for the start points, finishing lines, competition courses and registration points have all met the requirements of the Olympic Games. Facilities for other events including award ceremonies and sports exhibitions will also be ready according to Olympic standards.

Up till now, the "Good Luck Beijing" 2007 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships has attracted 441 journalists both at home and abroad, among whom 135 are from 36 foreign media organizations. The number of journalists registered for the canoe-kayak flatwater open and slalom open has also exceeded 300.