In January, the team onboarded 10 new members, who have all been a huge help in continuing our operations. Congratulations to those members!
We would like to recognize Jonas Balsfulland (Delegate Reports subteam leader) and Oliver Hexter (Regulations Development subteam leader), who have recently been promoted to Senior Member!
3 new Translations have been added since the most recent Regulations update. If you would like to assist in translating the WCA Regulations, please contact us!
Incidents Resolved in Q1
The WRC resolved incidents from over 100 competitions in Q1! A summary from some of the most notable incidents can be seen below, a few of which describe applications of Regulations in the most recent Regulations update:
Al-Madar Open 2025 - Competitor likely received a misscramble on a National Record attempt
Franconia Spring 2025 - Competitor thought timer malfunctioned after getting second DNF for timer start
German Newcomer Day 2025 - Missing signatures from the judge and competitor, video evidence was available but the judge could not be located
Communication and/or policy-writing skills are not required but are strongly encouraged.
Be at least 16 years of age as of April 5th, 2025.
How to apply
Candidacy documents must be in PDF format, and must include:
A brief personal introduction.
Summary of activities done for the WCA.
A concrete overview on how expected qualities are to be fulfilled.
(Optional) Indicate whether you would like to join our documentation sub-team. This team works on updates to the WCA Competition Requirements Policy and other public information about WCAT policies.
(Optional) Qualities and qualifications you find relevant that are not listed above.
The application period is open for applicants to submit their application document from now until April 5th, 2025 23:59 UTC to Zeke Mackay ([email protected]).
Members of the WAC examine the provided evidence and determine whether the grounds for an appeal are valid or not. Then, a thorough analysis of the original committee’s decision is made to reach a final verdict which can overturn or uphold the decision.
Requirements and expectations
The qualities and requirements expected of candidates are:
At least 16 years of age as of April 1st, 2025.
Availability throughout the week – expected time commitment of ~3 hours per week.
Ability to communicate comfortably in written English.
Ability to patiently communicate with people whose first language is not English.
Ability to communicate constructively and respectfully, even when you disagree.
Familiarity with the WCA Regulations and Guidelines, though it is not necessary nor expected that applicants have a perfect working knowledge.
Summary of activities done for the WCA and the cubing community.
Overview of skills relevant to the role.
Motivation for joining the WAC.
Candidacy documents must be in PDF format. The application period is open for candidates to submit their candidacy document from now until April 11th, 2025, 23:59 UTC privately to Rui Reis ([email protected]).
You can expect a reply to confirm whether your application is complete, and may receive a request for an interview with the WAC Leader and up to two other members.
Thank you for your interest in assisting the Appeals Committee and the WCA!
This EoI period will serve as an opportunity to discuss possibilities about the future of Continental Championships, and will allow the WMCT to have more information about the situation and the interest for these Championships. It is strongly recommended that an EoI is submitted if you intend to lodge a formal bid.
Organizing a WCA Championship of this scale takes a significant amount of time and effort, spanning pre-event preparation, the championship itself, and post-event tasks. It is imperative that the Championship organizers, as well as a substantial proportion of the WCA Delegates in your country are committed to the preparation and the execution of this event. Please also note that applications must be made by a WCA Recognized Regional Organization.
To register your interest please send an email to [email protected]before March 31st, 2025, 23:59 UTC with the subject line of “EoI from <Location/Team> to bid for <Continent> Championship 2026”.
This email should include at least:
1. The Regional Organization that would be sending the application
2. Outline of the main organizing team, listing roles and experience
3. Location(s) of the championship
4. Possible venue(s)
Send as much information as you possibly can about the potential championship bid. The WMCT will look to open a formal two month bidding process after the EoI period concludes.
Email the WMCT ([email protected]) if you have any questions or need more information.
Organizing a WCA Championship of this scale takes a significant amount of time and effort, spanning pre-event preparation, the championship itself, and post-event tasks. It is imperative that the Championship organizers, as well as a substantial proportion of the WCA Delegates in your country are committed to the preparation and the execution of this event. Please also note that applications must be made by a WCA Recognized Regional Organization.
If you are interested, please send your application documents to [email protected] , CC’ing [email protected] and [email protected], before May 31st, 2025, 23:59 UTC. Applications must contain the subject line “<Location/Team> bid for World Championship 2027”. Documents must be sent in PDF format in two versions: one full version with all the details for the application, and another version with sensitive details (if any) removed to make public.
We strongly encourage you to include as much information, graphics, calculations, spreadsheets as needed to support your bid. At a minimum, your application needs to address:
When would you like to hold the World Championship 2027
a. Possible dates.
b. Number of days of the competition.
c. Overlap with local school holiday periods.
Where would you like to hold the World Championship 2027 in your country?
a. City should be interesting to visit with ample sightseeing opportunities.
b. Number of competitors and spectators that can be hosted.
c. Ease of international, national, and local travel.
d. Availability of hotels/apartments with different price categories.
e. Venue, venue size, and venue setup, including stage setup, audience location, tables to practice, and available side rooms.
f. Technology available, including: internet capabilities, video streaming, lighting, and sound equipment.
What would the organization team and competition volunteer look like?
a. Core team members, their roles, and experience.
b. Involvement of other parties.
c. Number of local volunteers. Note that the typical standard is 20% of competitors should be part of the volunteer team.
d. Required support needed by foreign Delegates.
What would be the competition budget?
a. Cost, including: venue, venue services, stage, equipment, decorations, website, badges/lanyards/gift packs, prizes, etc.
b. Income, including: registration fees, sponsoring, local government, etc.
Previous public versions of World Championship bid documents from 2019 on are contained in this folder.This Spreadsheet contains a fairly comprehensive list of topics that should be arranged and budgeted for a large competition.
Once applications are closed, a selection committee will be appointed. The committee will interview shortlisted applicants and vote to appoint a host for the 2027 World Championship.
Email the WMCT ([email protected]) if you have any questions or need more information.
The candidacy documents must be in PDF format, and must include:
Brief personal introduction.
Summary of activities done for the WCA.
Ambitions as the Marketing Team Leader of the WCA.
Candidates are additionally asked to send a copy of their applications which can be made public at the end of the application period.
The rights and duties of the Marketing Team can be found in WCA Motion 10.2024.7.
After the application period, the WCA Board will make a selection by voting and will announce the new Leader, as described in Section 5 of WCA Motion 10.2024.0.
We’re still working on getting more up-to-date translations of the WCA Regulations on the WCA website. As always, if you have knowledge of a language other than English and would like to assist in translating the regulations, please reach out to us.
We would like to thank everyone who applied to WRC. We received quite a few applications that we’re looking through and we are excited to be onboarding new members soon.
Sliding and Frame-by-Frame Analysis
In June 2024, the (then) 2x2x2 Rubik's Cube world record average of 0.78 seconds sparked the discussion of the legality of certain timer starts. Through sufficient video evidence and community outreach, it was brought to the WRC's attention that a few notable competitors had been initiating moves before the timer had officially 'started'. This was performed by the competitors 'sliding' their hands off the timer during the beginning of their solves, which called for urgent WRC action to address this as an unfair advantage.
Naturally, this sparked a lot of controversy about the critical analysis of top-level solves using a Frame-By-Frame (FBF) Analysis, and after a thorough internal discussion, the Board and WRC eventually came to a consensus about this. The WRC decided to retroactively apply this analysis to a variety of different results (including the 2x2 World Record) that were penalized to set a precedent preventing similar occurrences in future competitions, as summarized in this post.
This new policy on Frame-by-Frame analysis has been codified into the WCA Regulations for 2025 (see Regulation 11f1).
Summary of Incidents Resolved in Q3/Q4:
WRC resolved a large number of incidents the past two quarters - this is only a small handful! If you have any questions about how an incident should be resolved, please do not hesitate to reach out.
V per Varese 2024 - Tripod fell on competitor
During inspection, a competitor’s tripod fell on them. The competitor stopped the solve, thinking it was a DNF since they believed they could not touch their phone. Under newer regulations, putting the tripod back in place would not disqualify the attempt as it does not count as using an electronic device as specified in 2i+++++. The competitor was granted a provisional extra. The WRC ruled that given regulation 2t, the competitor is responsible for being familiar with the newest version of the WCA regulations before competing. Therefore, this incident is at the fault of the competitor, and the attempt was ruled a DNF.
Jukkasjärvi Midnight Sun 2024 - Misplaced Scorecard
Two competitors, competitor X and competitor Y, were both competing for a spot in the final round. Their round 1 results were very close, with competitor X beating out competitor Y, and the competitors took their scorecards aside to do their own calculations before the scores were properly entered. Somewhere along this process, the scorecards were misplaced and could not be found. The competitors agreed to redo the first round with a new set of scrambles to determine who would go to the final. And they also agreed that the new results would not stand if the original scorecards turned up. In these new attempts, competitor Y was faster and was placed in the final. Much later, after the rounds, the original scorecards were found, and since the delegates and competitors had agreed on a procedure, competitor Y’s results were removed from the final. Note that competitor X did not have any results for the final at all. The competitors were at fault for misplacing their scoresheets, and since the delegates had laid out a complete plan of actions, the WRC agreed that it was best to stick to the delegate decision.
Minnesota Warm Up 2024 - Scorecard had unclear time
The time written on a scorecard appeared as “57.?”. The delegates attempted to locate the judge and competitor for the attempt, but were unable to find them. The competitor was emailed after the competition asking what happened, but no response was received. The delegates made the assumption that the question mark on the scorecard meant that the timer was reset by either the competitor or judge before the time was written down. The WRC agreed with the decision to record this result as a DNF. One likely explanation of what occurred during this attempt is that the competitor reset the timer prematurely, which would be a DNF as per A6f1.
Sunday Silence Singapore 2024 - Time incorrectly written for MBLD
The result for a competitor’s MBLD attempt was written as 59:59 on the scoresheet with signature, and was also entered as such into WCA Live. Later during the competition, the competitor approached a delegate reporting that the time was wrong. The competitor showed a video recording of the attempt, and according to the video, the attempt took 57 minutes and 11 seconds. The WRC decided to accept the time of 57:11, prioritizing having a correct result over a clearly incorrect time. This decision was also based on the circumstances that MBLD results are rounded to the next second, meaning that video evidence is precise enough to accurately deduce the time in this case. Note that this is different from results under 10 minutes, where frame counted videos would not be accurate in determining the result .
Córdoba Cubea 2024 - Swapped Megaminx Pieces
An experienced competitor experienced OLL and PLL “parity” in the end of their Megaminx solve by having an edge flipped in an impossible way, as well as two corners swapped. It is hypothesized that at some point, an entire 1x1x3 block was twisted. The scrambler claimed that no strange pops or lockups had occurred, and though they did not check all 12 faces to see if the scramble was fully correct, they were fairly confident that the scramble was right. The competitor first stated that they felt that it was impossible that the Megaminx had had piece movement during the solve without them noticing. Upon viewing the video footage, not all faces were shown during inspection, but from what was available, it seemed to have matched the scramble. After reconstructing the solve, the first appearance of a piece not matching the scramble comes up in the middle of S2L. The competitor said that it might have been possible that the flip happened during their solve, and later said that it was “quite certain” that it happened during the solve. The video evidence does not show clear proof of the flip occurring. The competitor was given a provisional extra which was entered. The WRC discussed and ultimately agreed that given the evidence presented, it was still very unclear as to how the situation would have occurred. Because of this, the decision was left to delegate discretion, as they are the ones best equipped to determine whether the scrambler or competitor made this error based on their testimonies. The delegates decided that the original result (DNF) should be kept.
Benoni Cubing Comeback 2024 -Misscrambles in 3x3x3 Blindfolded
An inexperienced scrambler scrambled in an incorrect orientation (Red front-white top) for the first round of 3x3x3 Blindfolded. The scrambler claimed that they checked the scrambles by mentally swapping the colours. The Delegates gave extra attempts to replace the attempts scrambled by the scrambler. The WRC decided to use these extra attempts rather than the original attempts, in line with previous precedent on misscrambles. Please note that under the 2025 Regulations, these extra attempts would not be required unless they fit the criteria outlined in 11i1.
Christmas City Cubing PA 2024 -Leaked Scramble Claim
A competitor got a +2 penalty, but after the solve the competitor reached out to the delegates and claimed that they heard talking about the scramble and hence knew what would happen. As this was informed after the solve and not before it,the delegates ruled against an extra, although a provisional extra was given. The WRC allowed the delegate to rule according to the situation between a DNF or using the extra. The delegates decided to DNF the attempt via Regulation 2k2.
New Zealand Cubing Decathlon 2024 -Accidental Scramble Leak
A picture was taken from the scrambling table and was posted on a local cubing Discord server. This photo included scrambles 2-5, as they were visible on the laptop screen used for scrambling. From the metadata of the photo and the competition’s livestream, it was determined that 4 out of the 12 competitors had finished all of their solves. The delegates used a spare set of scrambles for all the 12 competitors again, but decided to use the original results for the 4 competitors who had completed all their solves. The WRC advised the delegates to use the original results for the 4 competitors and the provisional set for the other 8 competitors.
Mississauga Blindfolded 2024- Timer shut off while writing the time
A timer shut off due to low battery while the judge was writing down the time. The judge recorded “3:37.” before the timer was shut off. Based on an earlier precedent, the delegates offered an extra attempt which the competitor refused and accepted DNS as a result. The delegates then reached out to the WRC about using 3:37.99 as a possible result. The WRC decided that using 3:37.99 would be the best course of action, as there isn't any indication that the timer was unreliable or stopped prematurely, and recording the worst possible result is reasonable.
2024 has been a very successful year for WRC, and we hope to continue this success into 2025! If you have any questions about the Regulations, feel free to reach out to WRC at [email protected].
We thank Ethan Pride, who will remain as a Senior Member of WSOT, for the work he has done as the Leader, and wish Sean the best of luck in fulfilling his new duties.
Sean was one of the two applications we received. You can view all the candidacy documents here.
We are happy to announce that the election was successful and that Dan was elected as the new member of the WCA Board of Directors! We wish him the best of luck with his duties!
The duties and responsibilities of the team are covered in WCA Motion 10.2024.14, but these are to be expanded in the near future. In summary, this team will conduct the application process for the Continental and World Championships, overseeing the multiple organizing teams before and after the application periods, helping transmit the knowledge acquired by the different Core Teams of past championships.
The new WMCT members will help establish the route for the newly created team, by helping document all of the different resources that have previously been used and creating new ones. WMCT will soon be helping out with the 2026 and 2027 Major Championship application periods.
Requirements
The qualities and requirements expected of candidates are:
Availability of around 2-5 hours a week, with some periods of high activity, and the ability to work under pressure with strict deadlines.
Ability to communicate comfortably in English.
Having organized a National or Major Championship before (or a big competition with multiple stages, sponsors, big budgets, streaming, etc).
Having attended and staffed at a Major Championship.
How to apply
Candidacy documents must include:
A brief introduction.
Summary of the activities done for the WCA, Regional Organization or the cubing community.
Detailed description of your role in the organization of the National/Big/Major Championship. How do you think this past experience would benefit the WMCT?
Motivation on joining the WMCT.
(Optional) Ideas you would suggest to implement at future Major Championships.
Candidacy documents must be in PDF format. The application period is open for candidates to submit their candidacy document from now until January 31st 2025, 23:59 UTC privately to Rubén López de Juan ([email protected]).
You can expect a reply to confirm whether your application is complete, and may receive a request for an interview with the WMCT Leader and up to two other members.
If you have any questions about WMCT work or the application cycle, you may email Rubén López de Juan ([email protected]).
Thank you for your interest in being a part of the WMCT and the WCA!
The official rights and duties of the WRC are documented in WCA Motion 10.2024.9. The WRC is a large team which has a variety of responsibilities that members are needed to fulfill, including resolving incidents that occur at competitions, updating the WCA Regulations, and developing regulations-related resources for WCA Delegates and the WCA Community.
New WRC members will begin by gaining experience discussing incidents that are reported at competitions, and soon after will either continue to do so or transfer to other work, depending on both interest level and team resources.
Where do you fit in?
WRC Members are split into various subteams, each focusing on various tasks. The positions the WRC is recruiting for are as follows:
Reports: Members discuss, make decisions, and give feedback to WCA Delegates on incidents that happen at competitions. This team is further split into two areas: some members of this team focus on resolving the incidents and communicating with WCA Staff, while others focus on the documentation of these incidents.
Regulations: Members are in charge of overseeing updates of the WCA Regulations as per WCA Motion 14.2022.1. This involves gathering proposals, developing and discussing wordings, and interacting with feedback from the WCA Staff and Community. Members may additionally work on other Regulations related items, most notably keeping the translations page up to date.
Requirements
The qualities and requirements expected of candidates are:
At least 16 years of age as of January 1st, 2025
Availability throughout the week – expected time commitment of ~5 hours per week
Ability to communicate comfortably in written English
Familiarity with the WCA Regulations and Guidelines, though it is not necessary nor expected that applicants have a perfect working knowledge
Familiarity with the competition environment
Ability to communicate constructively and respectfully, even when you disagree
(Optional) Experience with Github – useful for Regulations subteam
How to Apply
Candidacy documents must include:
A brief personal introduction
Summary of activities done for the WCA and the cubing community
Overview of skills relevant to the role
Motivation for joining the WRC
Which position you are most interested in
Candidacy documents must be in PDF format. The application period is open for candidates to submit their candidacy document from now until December 29th, 2024, 23:59 UTC privately to Carter Kucala ([email protected]).
You can expect a reply to confirm whether your application is complete, and may receive a request for an interview with the WRC Leader and up to two other members.
If you have any questions about WRC work or the application cycle, you may email Carter Kucala ([email protected]) or João Vinícius ([email protected]).
Thank you for your interest in assisting the WRC and the WCA!
While the many responsibilities of the WFC are diverse enough that no single list of required skills can cover all potential applicants, the following basic abilities are necessary:
Ability to communicate clearly in written English
Be at least 18 years of age
Ability to commit approximately 5 hours per week on average to committee work
Ability to consistently review and respond to committee emails and Slack messages
Depending on what area(s) of responsibility you might be interested in, some or all of the following attributes may strengthen your application. In your application documents, please highlight any that you have, and connect them to your motivation for joining the WFC and any area(s) of responsibility that you are interested in.
Skills which which support all WFC member tasks:
Creative problem solving skills
Data analysis skills
Experience with spreadsheets and Google G Suite
Experience in finances and/or accounting
Skills which support specific WFC member areas of responsibility, but are not required for all members of the team:
Experience in applying for grants and/or administering grant programs
Knowledge of non-profit and/or corporate policy development
Knowledge of non-profit and/or corporate finance and budgeting
Knowledge of United States tax laws and Internal Revenue Service regulations
How to Apply
To apply, please assemble the an application document which includes the following:
A personal introduction
Summary of activities done for the WCA and for the cubing community
Overview of skills relevant to the role, including any relevant professional experience
Motivation for applying to the WFC
If you have interest in one or more of the areas of responsibility listed in ‘What does the role of a WFC Member involve’ section above, please indicate so in your application documents. Interest in any specific area is not necessarily required for your application to be considered.
To submit your application, please email your application document as a single PDF to the WFC Leader, Edward Hollingdale ([email protected]) by Friday 10 January 2025 at 23:59 UTC. You will receive a prompt response confirming receipt of your application, and your application will be reviewed by the WFC Leader and existing WFC members. You may receive a request for a virtual interview as part of the application process.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate in reaching out first before submitting your application by contacting the WFC Leader ([email protected]). Thank you for your interest in joining the WFC, and we look forward to receiving your applications!
You can review all changes in this comparison on GitHub. You can click on “Files changed” to see the complete files of the Regulations and Guidelines, where all changes and additions are marked green and removals are marked red.
You can read a more detailed description of changes in this explainer document. Below is a summary of the changes in the new version of the Regulations and the Guidelines.
The WCA Integrity Committee primarily performs independent investigations regarding WCA community members, WCA staff, Regional Organizations, and incidents during WCA Competitions or on official, online WCA platforms. The WIC also provides feedback to WCA Delegates on managing incidents, and we actively work on training materials related to these topics. Members work an average of 3-6 hours per week.
For more details of our rights and duties, please see the following materials:
The WIC is split into three sub-teams to manage different duties. We are looking to fill up to 9 positions in total.
The Conduct Team investigates violations of the Code of Conduct and WCA Regulations. This position will primarily perform investigations into cheating and behavioral concerns. There are up to three open positions for this team.
The Ethics Team investigates violations of the Code of Ethics amongst WCA Staff. This position will primarily perform investigations into staff conduct and financial concerns. There are up to two open positions for this team.
The Documentation Team performs administrative duties or research and development on training materials for staff (a candidate would not do both tasks unless they specified interest). For administrative work, this position will primarily support the WIC Leader in bookkeeping and miscellaneous projects. For research and development, this position will primarily focus on acquiring best-practice training materials and writing documents for WCA Staff on handling disciplinary incidents, conflict resolution, and related topics. There are up to four positions for this team.
Requirements
Minimum requirements:
Ability to communicate in English (written)
18 years of age or older by January 1st, 2025
Familiarity with the WCA competition environment (having attended a few competitions)
Willingness to use Slack for communication
Qualities we look for:
Logical and analytical reasoning
Ability to work collaboratively
Confidentiality
Positive representation of the community
Desirable experience:
Fluency in a language other than English
(Conduct Team) Expertise in one or more speedcubing events
(Conduct & Ethics Team) Experience in dealing with interpersonal conflict or mediation
(Documentation Team - Development) Experience with Learning Management Systems (LMS), experience as a trained educator, and/or experience with professional documentation
(Documentation Team - Administrative) Experience with GSuite and Slack
How to Apply
Applicants can send their application as a PDF document to the WIC leader at [email protected] before December 8th, 2024 at 11:59 PM UTC. The application document should contain:
A brief personal introduction
Summary of activities done for the WCA and for the cubing community
Overview of skills relevant to the role
Motivation for applying to the WIC
Which position(s) you are interested in
Everything should be contained in a single PDF file. Applicants can expect a reply to confirm the receipt of the application within 24 hours. The selection process will start after the application period is over, and it may include an interview or other kinds of assessment, depending on the specific position applied for.
If you have any questions feel free to contact the WIC Leader at [email protected].
At this stage, the Board is only opening applications for the European Championship.
As noted to WCA Staff and Regional Organizations in May this year, the Board is in the process of reviewing the 2026 Continental Championships. While the review is not yet complete, it has become clear that the size and scale of the European Championships requires as much lead time as possible. This year, the Spanish team delivered an extremely successful European Championship and credited much of their success to being able to start the planning two years in advance.
After speaking with key stakeholders, it became clear to the Board that the European Championship requires additional planning time not required for other Continental Championships. The Board anticipates being in a position to make further announcements regarding the other 2026 continental championships, early in 2025.
Organizing a competition of this size takes a significant amount of time and effort, both before and during the competition. It is imperative that the WCA Delegates in your country are committed to the preparation and the execution of this event. Please also note that applications must be endorsed by a WCA Recognized Full Regional Organization.
If you are interested in applying, send your application documents to [email protected] CC’ing [email protected]before January 31st, 2025, 23:59 UTC. Applications need to include a subject line of “<Location/Team> bid for European Championship 2026”. Documents must be sent in PDF format in two versions: one full version with all the details for the application, and another version with any sensitive details removed to make public.
At a minimum, your application needs to address:
When would you like to hold your Continental Championship 2026?
a. Possible dates
b. Number of days of the competition.
c. Overlap with international holiday periods of schools.
Where would you like to hold your Continental Championship 2026 in your country?
a. City should be interesting to visit for foreigners with opportunities for sightseeing.
b. Ease of international, national, and local travel.
c. Availability of hotels/apartments with different price categories.
d. Venue, venue size, and venue setup (stage, audience, tables to practice, side rooms).
e. Technology available including internet capabilities, video streaming, lighting, sound equipment.
f. Number of competitors and spectators that can be hosted.
What would the organization team and staff look like?
a. Core team members.
b. Experience of the core team.
c. Involvement of other parties.
d. Quantity and quality of local volunteers (guideline is 20% of competitors should staff).
e. Required support by foreign Delegates.
What would be the overall budget for the competition?
Once applications are closed, the WCA Board will appoint a selection committee, interview shortlisted applicants and vote in order to decide where the 2026 European Championship will take place.
We are looking for a competition that can highlight our ability to deliver a high quality major championship. Our goal is to further professionalize the WCA and offer competitors a top-tier experience, while presenting a world-class event to an international audience.