World Cube Association

Competition regulations

• 1b1) Making all arrangements before and during the competition.
• 1b2) Making a printed or electronic version of the WCA regulations available at the competition.

• 1c1) Reporting to the WCA Board about whether the full WCA regulations were followed during the competition. Reports must be available within one week after the competition.
• 1c2) Reporting to the WCA Board about the overall course of the competition, and about incidents. Reports must be available within one week after the competition.
• 1c3) Sending the competition results to the WCA Board. Results should be available at the end of the last day of the competition.
• 1c4) Sending corrections to the competition results to the WCA Board. Corrections should be available within one week after the competition.
• 1c5) Advising the other officials when needed.
• 1c6) Approving all events and event formats of a competition, before the competition starts and when changes are needed during the competition.
• 1c7) Decisions on disqualification of a competitor for the competition, as described in other articles.

• 1d1) Making sure that the regulations are followed.
• 1d2) Decisions on disqualification of a competitor for an event, as described in other articles.
• 1d3) Decisions on starting a round later or earlier than scheduled. In case of changes in the time schedule, there should be a clear announcement to all competitors.

• 1e1) A judge for an event is responsible for executing the procedures of the event.
• 1e2) All competitors should be available for judging, if needed by organisation team. Penalty: disqualification of the competitor for the competition.

• 1f1) A scrambler for an event is responsible for applying the scramble sequences to the puzzles.
• 1f2) All competitors should be available for scrambling, if needed by organisation team. Penalty: disqualification of the competitor for the competition.

• 1g1) A score taker for an event is responsible for registering the event results.
• 1g2) Changes to the score sheets must only be made with consent of the main judge.

• 1h1) Competing judges/scramblers for a round must not judge or scramble in their own group, until after they have completed all their solves for the round.
• 1h2) Groups must have different scramble sequences.

• 2a1) accepts the WCA regulations;
• 2a2) meets the competition requirements, which must be clearly announced before the competition;
• 2a3) is not suspended by WCA Board.

• 2e1) Competitors may represent the country that they have the nationality of.
• 2e1a) The eligible countries are defined by Wikipedia List of sovereign states ("Internationally recognized sovereign states" and "Other states").
• 2e2) Competitors with more than one nationality may change representing a country in their first competition of a calendar year.

• 2k1) competitor fails to show up in time for registration for the competition;
• 2k2) competitor is suspect of cheating or defrauding the officials during the competition;
• 2k3) competitor behaves in a way that is unlawful, violent or indecent, or intentionally damages venue facilities or anyone's personal property within the venue;
• 2k4) competitor interferes or becomes a blatant distraction to others during the competition;
• 2k5) competitor refuses to abide by any of the WCA regulations during the competition.

• 5b1) If a competitor chooses to repair the puzzle, then he must only repair the defective pieces, and must not use pieces of other puzzles. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• 5b2) During the repairing of the puzzle, the competitor must not intentionally make the position easier to solve than before the defect. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• 5b3) If after repairing the puzzle, but still during the solve, the competitor notices that the puzzle is unsolvable, he may disassemble and assemble max. 4 pieces to make the puzzle solvable again.
• 5b4) For blindfolded events a puzzle defect may only be repaired during the solving, and must be done blindfolded. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• 5b5) If, after the solve, non functional parts of the puzzle are still defect (like a centre cap of a cube) or not fully rotated (like a 5x5x5 centre piece twisted in its spot), but the puzzle is otherwise unambiguously solved, the puzzle is considered solved. (discretion of the main judge)

• 6b1) The winner's ceremony should be held in the competition venue, within one hour after the end of the last event.

• 7h1) Competitors (or a group of competitors) who have been called to compete - and only those competitors - must stay in the competitors area until they finished all solves of the round.
• 7h2) For blindfolded solving the competitors in the competitors area should not be able to see the puzzles of the competitors on stage.
• 7h3) Competitors in the competitors area must not communicate to each other about the scrambled positions of the puzzles for the round in progress.

• 8a1) The WCA Board must approve the competition.
• 8a2) The WCA regulations must be followed.
• 8a3) There must be a WCA delegate (appointed by WCA Board) attending the competition.
• 8a4) The competition must be clearly announced, and should be announced at least a month before the competition starts.
• 8a5) The competition should have at least 12 competitors.
• 8a6) The competition must be accessible for the public.
• 8a7) The Stackmat timer (at least Generation 2) must be used for time measurement.

• persons with a specific nationality

• all puzzles labelled as Rubik puzzles;
• all other puzzles that are played by twisting the sides, so called 'Twisty puzzles'.

• 9e1) The decision to add or remove an event is made by the WCA Board, based on feedback by the community.

• 9f1) All timed results under 10 minutes, and corresponding averages/means are measured in hundredths of a second, with averages/means rounded to the nearest hundredth of a second (x.004 becomes x.00, x.005 becomes x.01).
• 9f2) All timed results over 10 minutes, and corresponding averages/means are measured in seconds, with averages/means rounded to the nearest second (x.4 becomes x, x.5 becomes x+1).
• 9f3) All counted results and averages/means are measured in natural numbers, with averages/means rounded to the nearest tenth (x.04 becomes x.0, x.05 becomes x.1).
• 9f4) DNF (Did Not Finish) is the result if the solve was disqualified or unfinished.
• 9f5) DNS (Did Not Start) is the result if a competitor skipped an attempt in a round.
• 9f6) In 'Best of x' rounds competitors get x (<= 3) attempts, with the best attempt counting. There may be a combined time limit, example: 30 minutes for 'Best of 1' or 'Best of 2'.
• 9f7) In 'Best of x' rounds a DNF or DNS is the worst result of a competitor, if all results are DNF and/or DNS the best result of the competitor is DNF.
• 9f8) In 'Average of 5' rounds competitors get 5 attempts. Of these 5 attempts, the best and worst attempt are removed, with the mean of the remaining 3 attempts counting.
• 9f9) In 'Average of 5' rounds one DNF or DNS is counted as the worst result, with more than one DNF and/or DNS the average is DNF.
• 9f10) In 'Mean of 3' rounds competitors get 3 attempts, with the mean of the 3 attempts counting.
• 9f11) In 'Mean of 3' rounds if the competitor has at least one DNF or DNS the mean is DNF.
• 9f12) In 'Best of x' rounds the order in the results is based on the best result per competitor, with lower meaning better.
• 9f13) In 'Mean of' and 'Average of' rounds the order in the results is based on the best average/mean per competitor, with lower meaning better.
• 9f14) If in 'Mean of' and 'Average of' rounds competitors have the same average/mean result, then the order in the results for these competitors is based on the best result per competitor, with lower meaning better.
• 9f15) Competitors with the same result in a round finish at the same position.
• 9f16) For the Rubik's Cube: Multiple Blindfolded event the order in the results is based on number of puzzles solved minus the number of puzzles not solved (higher is better). If the result is lower than 0, the solve is disqualified.
  If competitors have the same result, then the order is based on total time (lower is better).

• 9g1) A Combined round can be used to save time in the time schedule.
• 9g2) Whether a competitor proceeds to next phase of a Combined round, must be decided on position (best x competitors) or on result (all competitors with a best result under x).

• 9i1) Regional records are recognised for best national/continental/world results.
• 9i3) If the regulations for an event are changed, then the old regional records stand until they are broken under the new regulations.

• 9m1) Events with 99 or fewer competitors must have at most three rounds.
• 9m2) Events with 15 or fewer competitors must have at most two rounds.
• 9m3) Events with 7 or fewer competitors must have at most one round.

• 9r1) When announcing the competition the organisation team must announce:
  - how many competitors will compete in the first round of the event
  - the maximum number of competitors in the qualification round of the event, and how many of the competitors will proceed to the first round
  - which average/mean time or single solve time for the WCA ranking of the event is required to directly qualify for the first round (or other round) of the event
  - the date taken for deciding the average/mean time or single solve time on the WCA ranking of each competitor
• 9r2) All competitors of an event who are not directly qualified for the first round of the event, must compete in the qualification round of the event.
• 9r3) There may be changes to increase the maximum number of competitors in qualification round or first round, or to add a qualification round for newly registered competitors. These changes should be made at least one month before the competition.

• 10e1) For each two adjacent parts (for example two parallel adjacent slices of a cube) of the puzzle that are misaligned more than the limit described in Article 10f, these two parts are considered to need one move to be solved (Half Turn Metric).
• 10e2) If no move is needed to bring the puzzle to solved state, the puzzle is considered solved without a penalty.
• 10e3) If one move is needed, the puzzle is considered solved with a penalty of 2 seconds.
• 10e4) If more than one move is needed, the solve is ruled DNF.

• cube shaped puzzles: =< 45 degrees
• Megaminx: =< 36 degrees
• Pyraminx: =< 60 degrees

Solved = no penalty Misalignment <= 45°	Solved, with penalty Only 2 adjacent parts misaligned > 45°	Not solved 2 misalignments > 45°
Solved, with penalty 1 misalignment > 45°	Solved = no penalty All misalignments <= 45°	Solved = no penalty Misalignment <= 45°
Not solved 2 misalignments > 45°	Solved = no penalty All misalignments <= 45°	Solved, with penalty 1 misalignment > 45°

• 10g1) If one tile or two adjacent tiles are elevated too high or folded, and the puzzle is otherwise solved, then the puzzle is considered solved, with a penalty of 2 seconds. In all other cases the result is DNF.

• 11a1) Incorrect execution of event procedures, by officials or competitors.
• 11a2) Interference or distractions or facility distractions (such as power failure, emergency alarm).
• 11a3) Equipment malfunctioning.

• 12a1) Clockwise, 90 degrees: F (front face), B (back face), R (right face), L (left face), U (upper face), D (bottom face).
• 12a2) Counter clockwise, 90 degrees: F', B', R', L', U', D' (see 12a1).
• 12a3) Clockwise, 180 degrees: F2, B2, R2, L2, U2, D2 (see 12a1).
• 12a4) Counter clockwise, 180 degrees: F2', B2', R2', L2', U2', D2' (see 12a1).

• 12a5) Clockwise, 90 degrees: Fw, Bw, Rw, Lw, Uw, Dw. (see 12a1).
• 12a6) Counter clockwise, 90 degrees: Fw', Bw', Rw', Lw', Uw', Dw' (see 12a5).
• 12a7) Clockwise, 180 degrees: Fw2, Bw2, Rw2, Lw2, Uw2, Dw2 (see 12a5).
• 12a8) Counter clockwise, 180 degrees: Fw2', Bw2', Rw2', Lw2', Uw2', Dw2' (see 12a5).

• 12a9) Clockwise, 90 degrees: f, b, r, l, u, d. (see 12a1).
• 12a10) Counter clockwise, 90 degrees: f', b', r', l', u', d' (see 12a9).
• 12a11) Clockwise, 180 degrees: f2, b2, r2, l2, u2, d2 (see 12a9).
• 12a12) Counter clockwise, 180 degrees: f2', b2', r2', l2', u2', d2' (see 12a9).

• 12a13) Clockwise, 90 degrees: M (same direction as L), S (same direction as F), E (same direction as D). (see 12a1).
• 12a14) Counter clockwise, 90 degrees: M', S', E' (see 12a13).
• 12a15) Clockwise, 180 degrees: M2, S2, E2 (see 12a13).
• 12a16) Counter clockwise, 180 degrees: M2', S2', E2' (see 12a13).

• 12a17) Each move of the categories Face Moves and Double Outer Slice Moves is counted as 1 move.
• 12a18) Each move of the categories Inner Slice Moves and Middle Slice Moves is counted as 2 moves.
• 12a19) Each rotation is counted as 0 moves.

• 12b1) Clockwise, 90 degrees: [f] or z, [b] or z', [r] or x, [l] or x', [u] or y, [d] or y'. (see 12a1).
• 12b2) Counter clockwise, 90 degrees: [f'] or z', [b'] or z, [r'] or x', [l'] or x, [u'] or y', [d'] or y (see 12b1).
• 12b3) Clockwise, 180 degrees: [f2] or z2, [b2] or z2, [r2] or x2, [l2] or x2, [u2] or y2, [d2] or y2 (see 12b1).
• 12b4) Counter clockwise, 180 degrees: [f2'] or z2', [b2'] or z2', [r2'] or x2', [l2'] or x2', [u2'] or y2', [d2'] or y2' (see 12b1).

• 12c1) (x,y) means: turn upper layer x times 30 degrees clockwise, turn bottom layer y times 30 degrees clockwise, turn right half of the puzzle 180 degrees.

• 12d1a) Clockwise, 72 degrees: U (upper face).
• 12d1b) Counter clockwise, 72 degrees: U' (upper face).
• 12d2) Other moves are applied while keeping 3 pieces fixed at top left of the puzzle:
• 12d2a) Clockwise 72 degrees move of whole puzzle except for the slice of top left three pieces: R+ (vertical slices), D+ (horizontal slices).
• 12d2b) Counter clockwise 72 degrees move of whole puzzle except for the slice of top left three pieces: R- (vertical slices), D- (horizontal slices).
• 12d2c) Clockwise 144 degrees move of whole puzzle except for the slice of top left three pieces: R++ (vertical slices), D++ (horizontal slices).
• 12d2d) Counter clockwise 144 degrees move of whole puzzle except for the slice of top left three pieces: R-- (vertical slices), D-- (horizontal slices).

• 12e1) Moves are applied with the bottom face completely horizontal and the front face facing to the person who holds the Pyraminx.
• 12e2) Clockwise, 120 degrees: U (upper 2 layers), L (left 2 layers), R (right 2 layers), B (back 2 layers)
  u (upper vertex), l (left vertex), r (right vertex), b (back vertex).
• 12e3) Counter clockwise, 120 degrees: U' (upper 2 layers), L' (left 2 layers), R' (right 2 layers), B' (back 2 layers)
  u' (upper vertex), l' (left vertex), r' (right vertex), b' (back vertex).

• 12f1) Clockwise, 90 degrees: 2F, 2B, 2R, 2L, 2U, 2D. (see 12a1).
• 12f2) Counter clockwise, 90 degrees: 2F', 2B', 2R', 2L', 2U', 2D' (see 12a5).
• 12f3) Clockwise, 180 degrees: 2F2, 2B2, 2R2, 2L2, 2U2, 2D2 (see 12a5).
• 12f4) Counter clockwise, 180 degrees: 2F2', 2B2', 2R2', 2L2', 2U2', 2D2' (see 12a5).

• 12f5) Clockwise, 90 degrees: 3F, 3B, 3R, 3L, 3U, 3D. (see 12a1).
• 12f6) Counter clockwise, 90 degrees: 3F', 3B', 3R', 3L', 3U', 3D' (see 12a5).
• 12f7) Clockwise, 180 degrees: 3F2, 3B2, 3R2, 3L2, 3U2, 3D2 (see 12a5).
• 12f8) Counter clockwise, 180 degrees: 3F2', 3B2', 3R2', 3L2', 3U2', 3D2' (see 12a5).

• A1a) The time limit is 10 minutes, or less/higher if announced before the event.
• A1b) A stopwatch is used for time measurement, in addition to a Stackmat, if the time limit is higher than 10 minutes. If the puzzle solving time is under 10 minutes, the Stackmat time is the result, otherwise the stopwatch time is the result.

• A2a) The competitor hands over the puzzle to the scrambler and waits in the competitors area until he is called to compete.
• A2b) A scrambler scrambles the puzzle according to the regulations in Article 4.
• A2c) The competitor must not see the puzzle between the time when the puzzle is scrambled and the start of the inspection phase.
• A2d) When taking the puzzle from the scrambler, the judge does a quick general inspection of thorough scrambling of the puzzle. In case of doubt the judge contacts the scrambler for a detailed check.
• A2e) The judge places the puzzle onto the Stackmat and covers it completely with an object.

• A3a) Before starting the solve the competitor may inspect the puzzle.
• A3a1) The competitor has a maximum of 15 seconds for inspecting the puzzle and starting the solve.
• A3b) The judge resets the timer and stopwatch.
• A3b1) When the judge and the competitor mutually agree within one minute that the competitor is ready to begin the inspection, the judge says 'READY?'.
• A3b2) When the competitor confirms, the judge uncovers the puzzle after 1 second. At the same time the judge starts the stopwatch.
• A3c) During the inspection the competitor is allowed to pick up the puzzle.
• A3c1) The competitor must not apply moves. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• A3c2) If the pieces of the puzzle are not fully aligned, then the competitor may fix it, only to align the faces (for cubes the alignment must not exceed 45 degrees).
• A3c3) The competitor may reset the timer before he starts the solve.
• A3d) At the end of the inspection, the competitor must place the puzzle back onto the Stackmat, in the orientation and position he wishes.
• A3d1) When the inspection time reaches 8 seconds, the judge calls '8 seconds'.
• A3d2) When the inspection time reaches 12 seconds, the judge calls 'GO'.

• A4b) The competitor must place his hands flat on the elevated sensor area of the Stackmat, with his fingers touching the sensors and with palms down. Penalty: 2 seconds.
• A4b1) The competitor must not have any physical contact with the puzzle before he starts the solve. Penalty: 2 seconds.
• A4d) The competitor starts the solve by confirming that the timer light is green, then removing his hands from the timer, thus starting the timer.
• A4d1) The competitor must start the solve within 15 seconds after the start of the inspection. Penalty: 2 seconds.
• A4d2) The competitor must start the solve within 17 seconds after the start of the inspection. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• A4e) Time penalties for Starting the Solve are not cumulative. There is a maximum of 1 time penalty for Starting the Solve.

• A5a) While inspecting or solving the puzzle, the competitor must not have any communication with anyone other than the judge. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• A5b) While inspecting or solving the puzzle, the competitor must not have any assistance from anyone or any object (other than the surface). Penalty: disqualification of the solve.

• A6a) The competitor ends the solve by releasing the puzzle and then stopping the timer.
• A6b) It is the competitor's responsibility that the timer is stopped correctly.
• A6c) The timer must be stopped using both hands, with both hands flat and palms down. Penalty: 2 seconds.
• A6d) The competitor must fully release the puzzle before stopping the timer. Penalty: 2 seconds.
• A6e) The competitor must not touch or move the puzzle until the judge has inspected the puzzle. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• A6f) The competitor must not reset the timer until the judge has written down the result on the competition sheet. Penalty: disqualification of the solve (courtesy of judge).
• A6g) The judge must inspect the puzzle without making moves or aligning faces and must determine whether the puzzle has been completely solved.
• A6h) In case of a dispute no moves or alignments must be applied to the puzzle until the dispute has been settled, involving the main judge if needed. Penalty: disqualification of the solve (courtesy of judge).
• A6i) Time penalties for Ending the Solve are not cumulative. There is a maximum of 1 time penalty for Ending the Solve.

• A7a) If the judge decides the solve was correct, the judge calls 'OK'.
• A7b) The judge writes down the result of the solve on a competition sheet, and signs the sheet with name or signature.
• A7b1) In case of a penalty, the judge writes down the result taken from the timer, and next to it the penalty. (Format example: 17.65 + 2 = 19.65).
• A7c) The competitor is responsible for checking the result on the sheet, immediately after the judge has written it down.
• A7d) If the judge gives a penalty, then judge calls 'PENALTY'. The competitor must sign the score sheet.
• A7e) If the result is DNF, then judge calls 'NO FINISH'. The competitor must sign the score sheet.
• A7f) At the end of a competitor's round the judge delivers the competition sheet to the score taker.

• B1a) There is no inspection phase.

• B2a) The judge resets the timer and stopwatch.
• B2b) The competitor must place his hands flat on the elevated sensor area of the Stackmat, with his fingers touching the sensors and with palms down. Penalty: 2 seconds.
• B2c) The competitor must not have any physical contact with the puzzle before he starts the solve. Penalty: 2 seconds.
• B2d) The competitor starts the solve by removing his hands from the timer, thus starting the timer.
• B2d1) The competitor must remove the cover from the puzzle, after starting the timer.
• B2e) When using a stopwatch in addition to a Stackmat, the judge starts the stopwatch as soon as the competitor starts the solve.

• B3a) During the memorisation and solving the competitor is allowed to pick up the puzzle.
• B3b) The competitor must not make notes. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.

• B4a) After memorisation the competitor dons the blindfold (provided by judge).
• B4b) The competitor must not apply moves to the puzzle before he has fully donned the blindfold.
• B4c) During the full solve the judge must keep a sheet of paper or a similar object between the competitor's face and the puzzle, unless the puzzle is in a position where peeking at the puzzle is not possible.
• B4d) The competitor must not look at the puzzle state at any time during the solve. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• B4e) The competitor may remove and don the blindfold until he applies the first move to the puzzle.

• B5a) When using the Stackmat, the competitor ends the solve by releasing the puzzle and then stopping the timer.
• B5b) When using a stopwatch, the competitor ends the solve by placing the puzzle back onto the surface and notifying the judge that the solve has ended. At that moment the judge stops the timer.
• B5c) The competitor may remove the blindfold before stopping the timer, but after removing the blindfold no moves must be applied to the puzzle anymore. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.

• C1a) During the solve the competitor must only use one hand. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• C1b) During the solve no other body part or any object other than the surface must touch the puzzle. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• C1b2) If a puzzle defect occurs, and the competitor decides to repair it, then repairing must be done with one hand, use of the surface is optional. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• C1c) During the solve, once a competitor touches the puzzle with one hand, he must not touch the puzzle with the other hand. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.

• D1a) The competitor must solve while sitting in a chair, sitting on the surface or standing.
• D1b) During the inspection and solve the competitor must only use his feet (with or without socks) and the surface. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• D1c) No other body parts or other available objects must touch the puzzle. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.

• D3a) Competitor must place his feet onto the timer sensors.
• D3b) Competitor must remove his feet from the timer sensors to start the solve.

• D4a) Competitor must stop the timer by placing his feet onto the timer sensors.

• E2a) The judge hands a scramble sequence to all competitors with a print of the scramble position. The judge starts the stopwatch and says 'Go'.
• E2b) The competitor has 60 minutes total time for solving the scramble in as few moves as possible.
• E2b1) A judge should announce the remaining time after 30 minutes, 50 minutes, 55 minutes and 59 minutes, and 'Stop' at 60 minutes.
• E2c) At the end of the 60 minutes the competitor must have his solution written down clearly for the judge, notation according to Article 12. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• E2d) The metric to measure the length of the solution, is Half Turn Metric.
• E2e) The solution of the competitor must not be in any way related to the scrambling algorithm. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
• E2f) The competitor must be able to give a clear explanation of the solution.

• E3a) Penalty for using other objects: disqualification of the solve.

• F2a) After the scrambling the judge places the puzzle onto the Stackmat in a standing position.

• F3a) After the inspection the competitor places the puzzle onto the Stackmat in a standing position.

• G2a) The puzzle is not scrambled.
• G2b) The puzzle is not covered by judge.

• G3a) There is no inspection phase.

• G4a) The puzzles must be completely flat on the surface, with either of the two sides on top.

• H1a) Competitor must tell before the start of the event how many puzzles (>1) he wants to solve blindfolded for each attempt.
• H1a1) A competitor must not change the number of puzzles after the start of the event.
• H1a2) The selected number of puzzles per competitor must be kept secret until the start of the event.
• H1b) Total time allowed for memorising and solving is 10 minutes per cube, measured with a stopwatch.
• H1b1) When the total time is reached, the attempt is stopped and the number of solved and not solved puzzles is counted.
• H1c) Maximum total time for all cubes is 60 minutes.