The competition
This association was created by former participants of the World Table Tennis Championships.
The “Swaythling” name comes from Lady Gladys Goldsmid Montagu Swaythling (1879-1965) – the mother of Ivor Montagu (1904-1984), Founding President of the ITTF.
The evolution of the of participant’s number and countrie’s number represented is described in the table below.
| Year | Location | Country | Participants | Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Gothenburg | Sweden | 450 | 21 |
| 1984 | Helsinki | Finland | 650 | 36 |
| 1986 | Rimini | Italy | 1100 | 38 |
| 1988 | Zagreb | Croatia | 1650 | 45 |
| 1990 | Baltimore | USA | 1100 | 46 |
| 1992 | Dublin | Ireland | 1300 | 48 |
| 1994 | Melbourne | Australia | 1800 | 49 |
| 1996 | Lillehammer | Norway | 1950 | 49 |
| 1998 | Manchester | England | 1400 | 53 |
| 2000 | Vancouver | Canada | 1850 | 57 |
| 2002 | Lucerne | Switzerland | 2750 | 63 |
| 2004 | Yokohama | Japan | 2384 | 47 |
| 2006 | Bremen | Germany | 3650 | 59 |
| 2008 | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | 1378 | 52 |
| 2010 | Hothot | China | 2065 | 51 |
| 2012 | Stockholm | Sweden | 3335 | 66 |
| 2014 | Auckland | New Zealand | 1640 | 58 |
| 2016 | Alicante | Spain | 4602 | 82 |
| 2018 | Las Vegas | USA | 3964 | 86 |
