World Cube Association Competition regulations

Version: 2005, September 23, 2005

Note: To make the regulations easier to read we use 'he' where the reader should read 'she or he'.
Female and male competitors/officials are both very welcome.

Article 1: Officials

A competition must have independent judges, score takers and scramblers for each event of the competition. Every event must have a main judge who is responsible for following the rules and making decisions in case of doubt. Judges must follow the procedures and if the procedure is not followed correctly by the competitor, or in special cases (like puzzle defects, incomplete solves, equipment failure), the main judge decides about the outcome, based on the rules provided below.
The main judge for an event must be independent and may not compete in the event. Scramblers and judges can compete in the event, but they have to compete before all other competitors, with the scrambling and judging done by someone not competing in the event.

The main judge may decide to start a round later than scheduled, but only earlier than scheduled with a clear announcement to all competitors. The main judge may award a competitor another turn or qualifying turn due to interference or distraction created by a person or persons or facility distractions such as power failure, emergency alarms, etc.
The WCA delegate(s) attending official competitions can be official, competitor or both, following the normal regulations.

Article 2: Competitors

Any person can be a competitor during a competition, if he:

accepts the WCA regulations;
accepts additional rules of the competition;
meets the competition requirements, which must be clearly announced before the competition.

Competitors younger than 18 must first ask their parent(s)/guardian(s) for permission.

Registrants must provide all required information for their registration to be considered complete. All information can be used for the competition only, and can only be given to other organisations/persons after permission from the competitor.
Competitors must be able to show a passport/id-card during registration at the location to prove their identity.

Competitors must obey venue rules and are expected to conduct themselves in a manner considerate of others at all times during the competition and while at the competition venue. Competitors must remain quiet when inside the designated competition area. Talking is permitted, but must be kept at a reasonable level, and away from those competing.

Competitors must be fully dressed. Competitors may dress in jeans, pants, shorts, slacks, skirts, foot-wear, T-shirts or dress shirts. Hats may be worn. Clothes can not display vulgar language or have inappropriate pictures.

While competing competitors may not use sound or other electronic equipment (like walkmans, dictaphones or additional lighting).

Disqualification of a competitor may be enforced by the main judge for the following reasons:

competitor fails to show up in time for registration for the competition;
competitor fails to show up in time for the event;
competitor fails to show up in time for a round of an event;
competitor is suspect of cheating or defrauding the judges during the competition;
competitor is unruly, disrespectful of other's personal space, or conducting in a way that is unlawful or indecent or for damage to the venue facilities or anyone's personal property within the venue;
competitor interferes or becomes a blatant distraction to others during the competition;
competitor refuses to abide by any of the WCA regulations during the competition.

The main judge shall govern and determine grounds for any disqualification at his sole discretion after citing grounds for disqualification to any competitor. Disqualification occurs immediately or after warning based on the nature of the infraction.
Competitors are not eligible for any refund of any expenses they incurred to be part of the competition as a result of disqualification.

Competitors may dispute a ruling in verbal form to the main judge. Disputes are only possible during the competition, within 30 minutes after the disputed incident happened, and before the next round of the event has started. The dispute must be handled by the main judge before the next round of the event has started.
Disputes are only allowed within the parameters of a main judge's discretion. No disputes are allowed regarding the WCA regulations. Failure by the competitor to accept the final ruling will be grounds for disqualification of the competitor.

Article 3: Puzzles

Competitors must bring and use their own puzzles. Competitors may borrow puzzles from other competitors, as long as both competitors are ready to compete when they are called for to do so.
Puzzles must be in reasonable working order, so that normal scrambling is possible.

Competitors can use any normal 6 colour scheme for cubes, as long as the cubes show 1 colour per face in solved position. For other puzzles competitors can use any generally available variation that has the same moves, positions and solutions as the original puzzle.
The colours of the puzzle must be solid, the same per colour, and clearly distinct from other colours. The puzzle must either have coloured stickers or coloured tiles. Tiles may not be thicker than standard Rubik's Game Cube or Rubik's DeLuxe cube tiles, or the generally available thickness for non cube puzzles.
Puzzles may be made smoother internally by sanding or using any lubricant. No modifications are allowed that enhance the basic concept of the puzzle. Some examples of enhancing the basic concept are: new moves are possible, normal moves are impossible, more colours/pieces are visible, moves are done automatically, more or other solved positions. Puzzles must be clean and may not have any textures, markings, damages, or other differences that distinguish one piece from a similar piece.
Any modifications to a puzzle that result in poor performance or results by a competitor are not grounds for additional chances to compete in any given round and turn.

Puzzles must be approved by a judge before the competitor can compete.

Article 4: Scrambling

The puzzles are to be scrambled using a computer-generated random scrambling algorithm. A scrambler must apply the scrambles.
Cubes are generally scrambled with the white (or the lightest colour) face on top and green (or blue or the darkest face) on the front. If a competitor wants other colours, then he must name the colours during registration.

Competitors have to solve the same scrambles per round. At the main judge's discretion, scrambling algorithms in a given solve of preliminary rounds may be randomly chosen from a pool of scrambles, for example to prevent cheating in larger competitions.

The number of moves varies for each puzzle:

Puzzle	Scramble length (half turn metrics)	Program
Rubik's 2x2x2 Cube	25 moves	Scramble program
Rubik's 3x3x3 Cube	25 moves	Scramble program
Rubik's 4x4x4 Cube	40 moves	Scramble program
Rubik's 5x5x5 Cube	60 moves	Scramble program
Rubik's Clock	14 moves with random changes of upper and lower wheels, and with random pin positions at the end	Scramble program
MegaMinx	60 moves	Scramble program
Square-1	40 moves	Scramble program
Other puzzles	Available on request.

All scramble programs kindly provided by Jaap Scherphuis.
All scramble programs in a zipped file.

Article 5: Puzzle Defects

Puzzle defects are unintentional defects of puzzles (like: pieces popping, wires breaking, screws/caps/stickers falling off) that make it impossible or much harder to solve the puzzle.

In 'Best of' rounds solves with a puzzle defect cannot be exchanged by an extra attempt. If a puzzle defect occurs, the competitor may choose to repair the puzzle and continue the solve.

In 'Average of 5' or 'Mean of 3' rounds solves with a puzzle defect may be exchanged by an extra attempt, depending on the announcement for the competition. There may be maximum 1 extra attempt per round.

In case of puzzle defects, the following rules must be followed:

In order for the competitor to declare a puzzle defect, he must declare the puzzle defect ten seconds after the puzzle defect occurs or three seconds after the reassembly of the puzzle, but always before the timer is stopped.
If a non functional part of the puzzle is defect (like a center cap of a cube) during the solve, the competitor may continue the solve at his own discretion. The competitor must repair the puzzle if the state of the puzzle is ambiguous.
If a functional part of the puzzle is defect (like a piece popping) during the solve, the competitor may repair his puzzle and continue the solve at his own discretion.
If a competitor chooses to repair the puzzle, then he may only repair the defective pieces, not using pieces of other puzzles. After repairing the puzzle, the position may not intentionally be easier to solve than before the defect. If during the solve, the competitor notices that the puzzle is unsolvable, he may disassemble and assemble max. 3 pieces to make it solvable again. The puzzle must be completely solved, except for non functional pieces, when the time is stopped.
A judge may decide to disqualify a solve or to not award an extra attempt, if the competitor's puzzle defect is ruled intentional under discretion of the judge.
For blindfolded events a puzzle defect may only be repaired during the solving, and must be done blindfolded. A competitor may use internal markings only for piece orientations, to help himself assembling the puzzle into a solvable state. Any other markings are not allowed.

Article 6: Awards/prizes/honors

Awards, prizes or honors may be given to competitors according to the announcement of the competition.
Competitors must attend the winner's ceremony to be eligible for awards/prizes/honors.
Winners of awards, prizes or honors preferably are prepared to talk to journalists or any media covering the competition.

Article 7: Environment

Competitions can be held on any location, inside or outside, on special stages or normal floors. Audience must be at least 1.50 meter away from the competitors.
Lighting of the competition area needs special attention, with preferably white light, so that competitors can easily distinguish the colours of puzzles.
The temperature of the competition area should preferably be 21 to 25 degrees Celsius.
The competition area must be smoke-free, and must preferably have a reasonable noise level.

The timer is placed directly (no objects underneath it) on a table, desk or console that suits solving while standing. For Solving With Feet the timer is placed directly on the floor.
Competitors must preferably solve while standing (except for blindfolded solving and solving with feet), but solving while sitting is allowed although the height of the timer may be uncomfortable.

Article 8: Competitions

Guidelines for a competition to become official according to the WCA:

The WCA board must approve the competition.
The full WCA regulations must be followed.
There must be a WCA delegate (appointed by WCA board) attending the competition.
WCA delegates have to watch during the competition whether the full regulations were followed, and advise the organising team when needed.
WCA delegates must send a report to the WCA board within a week after the competition.
The competition must be clearly announced.
The competition must have at least 10 competitors.
The competition must be open to the public.
There must be an audience of at least 6 persons, other than the competitors.
The StackMat timer must be used for time measurement.

An open competition is open to anyone. A closed competition may be open to:

persons with a specific nationality
citizens of specific geographical areas
members of specific clubs
students / employees of specific organisations.

No other distinctions are allowed to declare a competition closed.

Competitions may have qualification times per event, to make sure that the time schedule can be followed. If during the event a competitor does not solve within the time limit, then his solve may (courtesy of main judge) be stopped and disqualified by the judge, and the competitor (courtesy of main judge) does not get any more attempts for the event.

Article 9: Events

Event must have one of the following formats:

'Best of'
Competitors get a limited number of attempts, with the best attempt counting. Example 'Best of 3'. There may be a combined time limit, example: 30 minutes for 'Best of 1' or 'Best of 2'.
'Average of 5'
Competitors get 5 attempts. Of these 5 attempts, the best and worst attempt are removed, with the average of the remaining 3 attempts counting.
'Mean of 3'
Competitors get 3 attempts, with the mean of the 3 attempts counting.

'Best of' can be used for all puzzles. 'Average of 5' can be used for Rubik's 2x2x2 Cube, Rubik's 3x3x3 Cube, Rubik's Magic, Pyraminx, Rubik's Master Magic. 'Mean of 3' can be used for all other puzzles.
Rounds of averages/means are preferred (except for blindfolded solving), depending on the time available in the time schedule for the competition.
For these formats there will be WCA world rankings available. Results of official WCA competitions will be listed on the WCA world rankings, for all events with 2 or more competitors, if WCA regulations were applied.

Article A: Speed Solving

Events categorised under Speed Solving must abide to the following procedure:

Scrambling

The competitor hands over the puzzle to the judge and waits in the designated area until he can compete.
A scrambler scrambles the puzzle according to the rules in Article 4.
The competitor may not see the puzzle while it is being scrambled or before the preinspection period.
All scrambled puzzles must be checked for correct scrambling by the judge. The judge places the puzzle onto the StackMat and covers it with hand or object.

Preinspection

Each competitor will be allotted 15 seconds (timed to the nearest second) to inspect the scrambled puzzle. Events without preinspection are possible, but will be ranked in a separate world ranking category.

During this preinspection time, the competitor is allowed to pick up the puzzle, but he may not manipulate the puzzle in anyway. If the competitor manipulates the puzzle, the solve is disqualified.

The competitor may end preinspection any time before the 15 seconds have passed.
5 seconds before the allotted 15 seconds are over, the judge timing the preinspection time says "5 seconds". As soon as the 15 second preinspection period has expired, the competitor has 2 seconds (timed mentally by the judge) to place the puzzle down. If he does not comply, the judge adds a 2 second penalty to the competitor's final solve time. If the competitor still does not place the cube down 5 seconds (timed mentally by the judge) after the 15-second preinspection period has expired, the judge may disqualify the solve.

Starting the Solve

After the preinspection period, the competitor shall place the puzzle back onto the StackMat in the orientation and position he wishes to begin the solve. The judge covers the puzzle with hand or object, in order to obstruct the competitor's view of the puzzle. The judge may not move the puzzle nor make any rotations or manipulations of the puzzle.

On a StackMat Generation 1 timer, the competitor must place his hands flat on the StackMat timer, with his fingers touching the sensors and palms down. On a StackMat Generation 2 timer, the competitor must place his hands flat on the elevated area of the StackMat, with his fingers touching the sensors and palms down.
The competitor may not have any physical contact with the puzzle before he begins the solve.

The judge confirms that the timer has been reset and is ready for use.
When the judge and the competitor mutually agree in a reasonable period that the competitor is ready to begin the solve, the judge says "Ready?". When the competitor confirms, the judge uncovers the puzzle after 1 second.

The competitor has 3 seconds to begin his solve after the puzzle is uncovered. If the competitor does not begin his solve after 3 seconds (timed mentally by the judge), the judge may add 2 seconds to the competitor's solve time. If the competitor does not begin the solve 7 seconds after the judge uncovered the cube, the judge, after consulting with the main judge of the event, may disqualify the solve.

During the Solve

While solving the puzzle, the competitor may not have any communication with anyone other than the judge.
While solving the puzzle, the competitor may not have any assistance from anyone or any object.

Ending the Solve

The competitor ends the solve by placing the puzzle back onto the StackMat and then stopping the timer. The timer must be stopped with both hands flat, palms down and the fingers touching the timer sensors, and without touching the puzzle. It is the competitor's responsibility that the timer is stopped correctly.

After the competitor stops the timer, he may not touch the puzzle or reset the timer until the judge has inspected the puzzle. A judge may disqualify a solve for touching the puzzle or resetting the timer before he has inspected the puzzle. If a competitor manipulates the puzzle after the timer has been stopped, before the judge has inspected the puzzle, the solve is automatically disqualified.

The judge inspects the puzzle and determines whether or not it has been completely solved. The competitor may pick up his puzzle only after the judge has inspected the puzzle.

Solved State

For each puzzle the solved state must be clear to all competitors before the competition.

All pieces of the puzzle must be attached to the puzzle for it to be solved. If a piece of the puzzle is ejected as the puzzle is placed down but it is otherwise solved, then the puzzle is not considered to be in a solved state. If a non functional part of a puzzle is defect/ejected and the puzzle is still unambiguously in a solved state, then the puzzle is considered solved, under discretion of the judge.

Cubes

Cubes are solved when all sides are restored to solid colour states. A face of the cube may be misaligned in the following manner. The inner corner of the cube (all sizes) on the misaligned face may not cross the inner edge of the connecting slice.
Examples:

Solved

Not solved

If a side is misaligned by more than the above criteria, then that side is considered one turn away. If a cube is one turn from completion, 2 seconds will be added to the solve time. In all other cases, the solve is disqualified.
Only the resting state of the cube is considered. The cube must come to a complete stop in its solved state in order for the cube to be solved.

Rubik's Magic

For Rubik's Magic the puzzle must be flat on the surface when starting and ending the solve.
The maximum elevation of any part of the Magic at the end of a solve is two tiles higher than flat.
The Magic may lie upside down at start and end.

Other puzzles

Other puzzles are solved according to the solved position as defined in the generally accepted goal of the puzzle, with the regulations of the cube solved state applied when applicable.

Administration

The judge writes down the result of the solve on a competition sheet. The competitor is responsible for checking the result on the sheet, immediately after the judge has written it down.
At the end of a competitor's round the judge delivers the competition sheet to the score taker.

Article B: Blindfolded Solving

See Article A. Additional/special regulations for Blindfolded Solving:

Starting the Solve

All times under 10 minutes must be done on a StackMat timer.
If it is uncertain that the competitor will stay under 10 minutes, then the judge will use a stopwatch in addition to the StackMat timer. In that case the StackMat time counts for times under 10 minutes, and the stopwatch time for times over 10 minutes.
If it is clear that the competitor will exceed 10 minutes, then the judge will use a stopwatch instead of a StackMat timer. In case the competitor solves under 10 minutes, then 10 minutes will be his time.

When using a stopwatch only, the judge places the puzzle on the surface and covers the puzzle with hand or object, in order to obstruct the competitor's view of the puzzle. The judge may not move the puzzle nor make any rotations or manipulations of the puzzle. The competitor places his hands flat on the surface with the palms down. The competitor may not touch the puzzle.
The judge confirms that the timer has been reset and is ready for use.
When the judge and the competitor mutually agree in a reasonable period that the competitor is ready to begin the solve, the judge says "Ready?". When the competitor confirms, the judge uncovers the puzzle after 1 second. At the same time the judge starts the stopwatch.

Memorisation

The competitor memorises the puzzle status. The competitor may pick up the puzzle, but he may not do any moves or manipulations on the puzzle. The competitor may not make notes.

During the Solve

After memorisation the competitor dons the blindfold (provided by judge). The competitor may manipulate the puzzle only after the judge has verified that the competitor has properly donned the blindfold. The judge shall not delay the competitor by more than 1 second.

The competitor may not look at the puzzle state at any time during the solve.

Ending the Solve

When using a stopwatch only, the competitor ends the solve by placing the puzzle back onto the surface. The judge stops the timer after the competitor no longer has any physical contact with the puzzle and verifies verbally that the solve is completed. The judge also gives a verbal confirmation that the timer has been stopped.

The competitor may remove his blindfold after the solve.

Article C: One-handed Solving

See Article A. Additional/special regulations for One-handed Solving:

During the preinspection and solve the competitor may only use one hand. No other body part or the table or any other available object may touch the puzzle. Once a competitor touches the puzzle with one hand, he may not touch the puzzle with the other hand.

Article D: Solving With Feet

See Article A. Additional/special regulations for Solving With Feet:

All times under 10 minutes must be done on a StackMat timer.
If it is uncertain that the competitor will stay under 10 minutes, then the judge will use a stopwatch in addition to the StackMat timer. In that case the StackMat time counts for times under 10 minutes, and the stopwatch time for times over 10 minutes.
If it is clear that the competitor will exceed 10 minutes, then the judge will use a stopwatch instead of a StackMat timer. In case the competitor solves under 10 minutes, then 10 minutes will be his time.
See also Article B.

The judge places the puzzle on a surface.
During the preinspection and solve the competitor may only use his bare feet and the surface. No other body parts or other available objects may touch the puzzle.
The competitor may solve while sitting or standing.

Article E: Fewest Moves Solving

See Article A. Additional/special regulations for Fewest Moves Solving:

The judge hands a scramble algorithm to all competitors. The judge starts the stopwatch and says "Go".
The competitor has 60 minutes total time for solving the scramble in as few moves as possible. At the end of the 60 minutes the competitor must have his solution written down clearly for the judge, UDFBRL notation.
The metrics to measure the length of the solution, is half turn metrics, with slice moves counting as 2 moves.
The solution of the competitor may not be in any way related to the scrambling algorithm. The competitor must be able to give a clear explanation of the solution.

The competitor can use the following props: paper and pen (both supplied by judge), 3 cubes (self supplied). If the competitor uses other props, then he will be disqualified.

Article F: Rubik's Clock Solving

See Article A. Additional/special regulations for Rubik's Clock Solving:

Scrambling

After the scrambling the judge places the puzzle onto the StackMat in a standing position.

Preinspection

After the preinspection the competitor places the puzzle onto the StackMat in a standing position.

History of changes
Regulations Version 2004