The WCA Competition Announcement Team (WCAT) is seeking new passionate and trustworthy members! The application is open to everyone. However, you must meet certain criteria to be considered for the position.

What does the WCAT do?

The daily tasks of a WCAT member include:
-Review and announce competitions around the world on a daily basis with accuracy and correctness.
-Handle change requests to competitions.
-Engage in frequent discussions through voting within the Team.
The official rights and duties of the WCAT are documented in WCA Motion 10.2021.2.

Applicants are expected to possess the following qualities:
-Proactive personality, detail-oriented, and solution-oriented mindset.
-Fluency in English.
-Ability to check internal messages and announce competitions multiple times a day.
-Good familiarity with the WCA Competition Requirements Policy (WCRP).
-Ability to devote at least 1 hour per day.
-Sufficient familiarity with the WCA Regulations and WCA Policies.

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) 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 March 22nd, 2022 23:59 UTC to Wilson Alvis (walvis@worldcubeassociation.org).

Source:: worldcubeassociation

WCA Rubik’s World Championships to take place in South Korea this August

The World Cube Association, the governing body for competitions with mechanical puzzles, announces the world famous Rubik’s® brand will be the official sponsor for the WCA World Championship 2023 taking place August 12-15, 2023 in Incheon, South Korea. Rubik’s first joined as an official sponsor for the 2022 continental championships which held a record-breaking six competitions, hosting over 1,400 participants from 50+ nationalities from around the world.

The 2023 Rubik’s WCA World Championship is set to be the one of the largest speedcubing championships ever held. Speedcubers from around the world will gather in Incheon, South Korea, where they will compete in 17 different events to determine the world champion. The last world championship, which took place in 2019, was held in Melbourne, Australia crowning German speedcuber Phillip Weyer as the champion.

The executive director of the WCA, Ethan Pride, said the following about the historic sponsorship, “With Rubik’s on board as sponsor, the WCA will be able to provide an unforgettable level of championship and excitement never achieved before to create the best experience for everyone involved in Incheon. Together with Rubik’s, in 2022 we hosted competitions in six continents, bringing the excitement of cubing across the globe. We are confident that this continued sponsorship will only bring more success in 2023.”

“Rubik’s has both inspired and challenged novice cubers, and those who have mastered its puzzle for close to 50 years,” said Adam Hyman, Spin Master’s VP of Marketing and Global Business Unit Lead for Games. “We are thrilled to come on board for the return of the WCA World Championships to support and celebrate this engaged community of solvers.”

Rubik’s Official Website: https://www.rubiks.com/
World Cube Association Official Website: https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/

In August 2004, the World Cube Association (WCA) was created by the Dutchman Ron van Bruchem and the American Tyson Mao. The goal was to track records, define a uniform set of rules, and help with the organization of more competitions in more countries. The WCA has now officiated more than 7,000 competitions in 143 countries, with more than 150,000 unique participants. Since Minh Thai’s record in 1982, the 3x3x3 Cube World Record has lowered significantly and now stands at 3.47 seconds set by the Chinese Yusheng Du in 2018.

Source:: worldcubeassociation

Dear WCA Community,

2022 has been a productive year for the WCA Regulations Committee, and now the WRC would like to share with you some insight on the work we have done in the recent year.

Firstly, 8 new members joined our committee. So far, their contributions have been extremely welcome for the WRC, and we look forward to seeing what the future holds for our committee.

In the second half of 2022, the WRC concluded an investigation regarding competitions in Vietnam. For more details, see this announcement and this investigation report.

Along with this investigation, we resolved many incidents, which you can find in the Incidents log, here are the most noticeable ones:

1. During the inspection of a Megaminx attempt, the competitor caused an unintentional misalignment to the puzzle, possibly against Regulation A3c1. After careful review of the video footage, the WRC has decided not to DNF the attempt. None of the frames analyzed point to the face having moved beyond the allowed 36º (see Regulation 10f2). See this incident log. Misalignments during inspection have been clarified with the February 2023 Regulations update.
2. A competitor used a Clock with a sticker (logo) placed on the side. The puzzle was determined to be competition-legal as there were no regulations explicitly forbidding logos for Clock puzzles and the competitor is not likely to have gained an advantage. See this incident log. Clock hardware has been clarified with the February 2023 Regulations update.
3. A competitor claimed to be distracted after finishing the solve (i.e. stopping the timer), but before finishing the attempt (i.e. signing the score sheet), and requested an extra attempt. The WRC further discussed this incident and agreed that the original attempt should stay. For more details, see this incident log. Regulation 11e and its guidelines have been clarified with the February 2023 Regulations update to not cause any further confusion.
4. After a competitor finished their solve, the timer was reset by either the judge or by the timer itself before the result was fully recorded on the score sheet. The video evidence showed the display but not the timer. Since the display was clearly shown in the evidence and it was working fine through the solve, WRC agreed that the original result shown on the display may stand. For more details, see this incident log.
5. A judge forgot to hold a sight blocker for a significant amount of time in a 3BLD attempt. The decision from the WRC was to keep the extra attempt. However, in the latter, the decision was overturned by the WCA Board of Directors, thus keeping the original attempt. For more details, see this incident log. The Regulations on sight blockers have been clarified in the February 2023 Regulations update.

To conclude the digest, we would like to remind everyone about the importance of adhering to the WCA Regulations, Guidelines, and Policies. It is important to make sure you understand them properly to ensure they are followed during your official attempts.

If you have any WCA Regulations related questions, do not hesitate to contact us at regulations@worldcubeassociation.org, or to ask your questions in the WCA Regulations category on the WCA Forum.

Source:: worldcubeassociation

The WCA Ethics Committee (WEC) is seeking new members to help them with their mission! The applications are open to everyone; it’s not a requirement to hold a current position in the WCA to be considered.

What does the WEC do?

• Maintaining and updating the Code of Ethics.
• Ensures that all procedures followed by WCA Staff abide by the Code of Ethics.
• Performs independent investigations if any WCA Staff member is not compliant with said Code of Ethics.
• Confidant for Registered Speedcubers that request investigations.
• Functions as the board of appeal if any involved party disagrees with a decision made by the WCA Disciplinary Committee.

The official rights and duties of the WEC are documented in WCA Motion 10.2022.4..

The qualities and requirements expected of candidates are:

• Clear background
• Personal time management skills
• Ability to discuss reasoning and ideas
• Familiarity with WCA activities

The application period is open for applicants to submit their application documents from now until March 3rd, 2023, 23:59 UTC to Enzo Mattos (emattos@worldcubeassociation.org).

Candidacy documents must be in PDF format, and must include:

• A brief personal introduction
• Summary of activities done within the cubing community
• Motivation for applying to join the WEC

Applicants can expect an immediate reply to confirm the receipt of the application, and may later receive a request to be interviewed. Anyone with questions about applying can contact Enzo Mattos (emattos@worldcubeassociation.org).

After the application period, the WEC Leader will make a selection and the new members will be announced once applicants have accepted the positions.

Thank you for your candidacies and support!

Source:: worldcubeassociation

Dear WCA community,

We would like to inform you that effective January 25, 2023 Callum Goodyear has decided to step down from his position on the WCA Board of Directors.

We would like to thank Callum for his contribution to the organization as a Director and Secretary over the last 2 and a half years. He has been a tremendous help to the organization during his term and we wish him the best in his other tasks.

The remainder of the Board appreciates your patience over the next few months as we consolidate our resources and plan for the future so that we can continue conducting tasks to ensure the operation of our organization.

Source:: worldcubeassociation