As a result of discussions between the WCA Board and the WCA delegates, the board has decided to remove Magic and Master Magic from the list of WCA sanctioned events at the end of the year 2012. Starting on January 1, 2013, the WCA will no longer accept or sanction events and times for Magic and Master Magic. Whereas we realize that many members of our community are extremely dedicated and passionate regarding these events, we have decided to remove them for the following reasons: 1. Lack of puzzle quality - Magic and Master Magic are rote processes that require no thinking. The events are simply a measure of a competitor's ability to perform a unchanging set of physical moves. Although other events, such as 3x3x3 speed solve does have elements that are similar to repetitive physical tasks, the lack of an analysis element in Magic and Master Magic make them less creative activities. 2. Difficulty in regulation - The nature of Master and Master Magic is such that the start and the finish are critical to the competitor's time. As such, whether intentional or unintentional, it is very difficult for even experienced judges to determine whether the solve's start or finish has been performed in accordance to regulations. The WCA has reason to believe that these events have not been held under consistent circumstances around the world. The WCA emphasizes that these inconsistencies are as a result of the nature of the event more than the experience of the officials. Magic and Master Magic events will continue to be held at WCA events throughout the end of 2012, at which time the WCA will archive the results of these events. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please contact your local WCA delegate. Regards, Tyson Mao

Decisions like this should be done consulting the community first , magic is one event where we get the most new competitors involved in cubing. Even in my last competition a 69 year old competed in magic and i challenged him to solve the cube. Any way if judging is an issue we should think of better regulations. 1) is in contradiction of WCA motto "The World Cube Association governs competitions for all puzzles labelled as Rubik puzzles, and all other puzzles that are played by twisting the sides, so-called 'twisty puzzles'. Most famous of these puzzles is the Rubik's Cube, invented by professor Rubik from Hungary." magic is a puzzle, however the current format does not scramble a magic, hence we could develop a scrambling method 2) We should make sure judging are done fair and according to regulation always, so i do not get this argument

I really wonder why you have to reply to this final decision made while you could have just contributed to the discussion happening on the Delegates mailing list before! [quote="Ton":3ife78qg]Decisions like this should be done consulting the community first , magic is one event where we get the most new competitors involved in cubing.[/quote:3ife78qg] The community took notice of the proposal before this final decision was made and the vast majority was in favor of removing the events. [quote="Ton":3ife78qg]Even in my last competition a 69 year old competed in magic and i challenged him to solve the cube.[/quote:3ife78qg] Yes, and giving him a certificate for being the new oldest person having solved a Rubik's Magic in an official competitions while there where 3 astonishing world records in serious events for which none of the new world record holders received a certificate was one of the most ridiculous moments I have faced in my 5 years of Speedcubing. Besides: Why wouldn''t it be possible to challenge him to solve a cube without letting him play with some random tile puzzle first? [quote="Ton":3ife78qg]Any way if judging is an issue we should think of better regulations. [...] 2) We should make sure judging are done fair and according to regulation always, so i do not get this argument[/quote:3ife78qg] Besides the fact that these events where often held under bad condition ("just go and find some random person to judge your solves") the argument is, that based on the nature of these events it is almost impossible to do good judging. Thus the results are inconsitent and not represenative. "We should make sure judging are done fair and according to regulation" is easy to say if no solution is provided. During the discussion a lot of delegates have said that juding in their competitions for magics was only done by some experienced judges within the last times, but that it still would be hard to ensure correct judging and that this would have been a mess for the organisation. [quote="Ton":3ife78qg]1) is in contradiction of WCA motto "The World Cube Association governs competitions for all puzzles labelled as Rubik puzzles, and all other puzzles that are played by twisting the sides, so-called 'twisty puzzles'. Most famous of these puzzles is the Rubik's Cube, invented by professor Rubik from Hungary." [/quote:3ife78qg] This motto is obviously obsolete and should definitely be changed as other Rubik's puzzles as Rubik's UFO or Rubik's Snake are no official events as well.

[quote="SebastienAuroux":pciql7nk] Yes, and giving him a certificate for being the new oldest person having solved a Rubik's Magic in an official competitions while there where 3 astonishing world records in serious events for which none of the new world record holders received a certificate was one of the most ridiculous moments I have faced in my 5 years of Speedcubing. [/quote:pciql7nk] Keep to the topic, if you want to give me feedback how I handle competitions say it in my face.