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.
Staff education system - this is a big project we are currently working on, which is aimed at improving staff familiarity with WCA Regulations and Policies. A big part of it is a testing system, which, among other things, will also include graphics and videos! This project is the biggest reason for us seeking new members, and we hope that we can expand the WQAC greatly.
Creating tutorials - we work on various tutorials and infographics for competitors, judges, scramblers, etc. In the future, we may also start creating video tutorials!
Organizer/Delegate resources - we also create educational resources for organizers and Delegates, which help with knowledge sharing and improving the quality of WCA competitions.
Those are some of the most exciting projects we have in store, but there will undoubtedly be more to come! But of course, as with most WCA roles, there is some basic stuff to take care of too, like updating outdated documents, reviewing Delegate promotions, etc.
Below are some of the expectations for the role. Please keep in mind that most of these items are optional, and no one is expected to fulfill all or even half of them.
(Required) At least 18 years of age
Proficiency in English
Strong attention to detail, practical thinking, and problem solving skills
Collaboration skills and responsiveness
Understanding of how competitions are organized and run
(Desirable) Understanding of the Delegate role
(Desirable) Experience in the field of education (e.g. teaching)
(Desirable) Knowledge of Github and Markdown
(Desirable) Knowledge of GIMP, Photoshop, or something similar (we use GIMP)
Application Period
The application period is open for applicants to submit their application document from now until November 15th, 2024, 23:59 UTC to Deni Mintsaev ([email protected]). The application document must be in PDF or ODT format, and should include the following:
A brief personal introduction
Summary of activities done within the WCA or the Speedcubing Community in general
Motivation for applying to join the WQAC
Explanation of how you qualify for the position and which of the aforementioned skills you have
Applicants can expect a reply to confirm the receipt of the application, and may later receive a request to be interviewed. Anyone with questions about applying can contact Deni Mintsaev ([email protected]).
Thank you for your interest in helping the WQAC and the WCA!
For those unaware, the WRC’s previous approach was to only review footage at full speed when determining penalties, based on this incident. However, it became readily apparent that the approach became inadequate for detecting violations that gave a significant advantage but were not visible at full speed. This most notably affected the 0.78 2x2 world record average.
To address this, the WRC changed its approach to reviewing footage frame-by-frame for certain results. Initially, this approach only applied to results set after the announcement was made – past results could not be reviewed using frame-by-frame analysis. This created a situation where past results were in violation of the WCA Regulations but could not be penalized, even if those violations resulted in a significant advantage.
Following further discussion, the WCA Board decided to return the decision on the 0.78 average to the WRC, as well as authorize the use of frame-by-frame analysis on past results to apply necessary penalties.
The WRC reviewed several past results that fell under the criteria listed in our approach to Frame-by-Frame analysis and voted on each of the attempts individually before coming to a final decision. Per the approach, only the timer starts could be penalized – timer stops were not to be analyzed with frame-by-frame analysis. Attempts were only penalized if the WRC determined with a strong degree of confidence that regulations were violated.
Much of the discussion surrounding this issue has been related to the 0.78 2x2 world record average. After analyzing these attempts frame by frame, the WRC determined that multiple attempts were in violation of the WCA Regulations. The results from our findings in reference to the 2x2 world record are summarized below. All +2 penalties are due to violations of Regulation A4b, and all +4 penalties are due to violations of both Regulation A4b and Regulation A4b1.
0.78 2x2 WR Average (Johor Cube Open 2024 Round 1)
Attempt 1: 0.74 (+4)
Attempt 2: 0.70 (+2)
Attempt 3: 0.97 (+2)
Attempt 5: 0.81 (+4)
0.90 2x2 WR2 Average (Dalian Open 2024 Round 1)
Attempt 2: 0.49 (+4)
A public report on the analysis conducted on these attempts can be found here. Information regarding other penalized results will not be released publicly out of respect for these competitors’ privacy. We request that the community not attempt to widely publicize the identity of those penalized and is respectful in discussions surrounding these incidents.
The rankings will be updated to reflect any changes shortly. Any appeals regarding the decision must be made by an affected party to the WCA Appeals Committee (WAC) at [email protected] within 60 days of the announcement as per the Disputes motion.
Community members are encouraged to forward any results fitting the criteria for frame-by-frame analysis privately to the WRC at [email protected] if they believe that the Regulations were violated.
Once again, we would like to give you our deepest thanks to the community for your patience as we discussed and made this decision. Ensuring that the WCA Regulations are followed and maintaining the integrity of results at WCA competitions continue to be the WRC’s utmost priority.
Candidates are expected to fulfill their terms (24 months). The commitment for the Major Championship Team is expected to be variable, with periods of intense activity and other periods with only minimal activity. The range is expected to be 2 - 10 hours per week.
The qualities expected of candidates are:
Experience in organizing a WCA Major Championship
Demonstrated project management expertise
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Excellent knowledge of the activities and capabilities of the WCA Teams and Committees
The application period for candidates to submit their candidacy documents is from now until October 27th, 2024, 23:59 UTC. Interested candidates can send the application privately to the Executive Assistant Team ([email protected]), CC’ing the WCA Board ([email protected]).
The candidacy documents must be in PDF format, and must include:
Brief personal introduction.
Summary of activities done for the WCA.
Ambitions as the WMCT 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.
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.
Candidates are expected to fulfill their terms (24 months) and to spend at least 6 hours per week on average to work for the Team. The qualities expected of candidates are:
Solid policy writing expertise
Good communication skills
Ability to digest long documents in complex English
Detail-oriented
Project management experience
The application period for candidates to submit their candidacy documents is from now until October 27th, 2024, 23:59 UTC. Interested candidates can send the application privately to the Executive Assistant Team ([email protected]), CC’ing the WCA Board ([email protected]).
The candidacy documents must be in PDF format, and must include:
Brief personal introduction.
Summary of activities done for the WCA.
Ambitions as the WSOT 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.
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.
The WIC has been hard at work behind the scenes merging the two committees while ensuring that cases close in a timely manner. We appreciate your patience as we continue to adapt to the new workflow and learn to support each other with team members coming from various places within the WCA. You can find a full list of current members here.
With this merger, the WIC will continue to update the community on a quarterly basis with disciplinary cases. In the last quarter, the WIC and WDC combined opened 23 disciplinary cases and closed 17. This resulted in four bans and three warnings. Thirteen cases ended with no action, upholding a delegate ruling in a dispute, or otherwise deferred back to delegates to manage locally. Below, you can find summaries of some notable cases.
A judge called over a delegate regarding a competitor turning their puzzle during inspection. The competitor initially denied doing it intentionally, but later admitted to the delegates that they had turned intentionally and provided a list of competitions and events where they had also turned during inspection. The WIC believed the competitor was honest about when the behavior began. The competitor received a short ban and all affected results were disqualified.
A competitor and a judge were seen writing down an illegitimate time after the competitor was dissatisfied with the result. The two young participants were given a warning and the result was disqualified.
A competitor submitted a Fewest Moves solution that did not appear legitimate, as it did not follow typical methods. After confrontation, the competitor admitted to using their phone to find a solution and as well as doing so on past attempts, but not all attempts. The WIC disagreed as to when the competitor began cheating, and disqualified additional solves we believed were affected. The competitor received a short ban.
A delegate reported a competitor potentially engaging in bullying behavior, including racial remarks and physically harming the other competitor. The WIC learned this behavior has been ongoing for quite some time. The aggressor did not deny the behavior, but denied the severity of their behavior. The competitor received a short ban.
The WIC closed three cases involving blindfold peeking. Two cases did not have enough evidence to conclusively prove or disprove cheating. The last case involved a delegate ruling being disputed after the delegate(s) disqualified an attempt under suspicions of cheating. After reviewing the evidence, the WIC agreed with the delegate’s conclusions.
Finally, the WIC had two competitors come forward to confess results they achieved illegitimately by taking advantage of distracted or inexperienced judges. The results were disqualified but no further action was taken. The WIC is grateful for these competitor’s honesty.
Formation of the WCA Integrity Committee: The WCA Disciplinary Committee and the WCA Ethics Committee have been merged to create the WCA Integrity Committee (WIC) which will oversee the WCA Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct. The scope of investigation of this committee has been expanded to also investigate WCA Community members and Regional Organizations, in addition to WCA Staff and Registered Speedcubers. To report any alleged violations or to discuss either of these documents, please contact [email protected].
Formation of the WCA Appeals Committee: The WCA’s system of appeals has had a significant uplift with the formation of the WCA Appeal Committee. The WCA Appeals Committee is made up of experienced WCA staff members, who hear all appeals received from disputes. In addition, aspects of the appeal process have also been clarified, with grounds for appeals formally outlined and the definition for the conclusion of an appeal case updated.
Removal of the WCA Advisory Council: The WCA Advisory Council was formed as a body to facilitate bilateral communication between WCA Staff and the broader community. However, it was ultimately realized that this role is best served by WCA Staff rather than by non-staff members of a council. As a result, the WCA Advisory Council has been dissolved, with the duties and selected members integrated into the WCA Communication Team.
Introduction of the WCA Major Championship Team (WMCT): This motion change involves the creation of a new WCA Major Championship Team, who will assist in coordinating and improving the quality of WCA Major Championships. The Championship selection committee will include WMCT Representatives and reduce the workload of the WCA Board and WCA Senior Delegates & Team/Committee leaders.
Changes to Financial Governance: The roles of WCA Treasurer and WCA Financial Committee (WFC) Leader have been split to improve the WCA’s financial governance. The Treasurer will be responsible for the WCA finances overall, while the WFC Leader will be responsible for oversight of WFC activities and programs including the Equipment Funding program, Regional Organization Funding program, Travel Funding program and the WCA Dues system.
We believe that these changes will improve the WCA’s operations and governance. If you have any queries about the WCA Motions, please contact the WCA Communication Team ([email protected]).