Disqualification of 2008 3x3x3 BLD World Record
Tyson (2012-11-28 22:14:27 +0000)
This message is to serve notice of the disqualification of the 3x3x3 BLD world record set on November 22, 2008 at the Westchester Fall 2008 competition. The solve, at the time recorded at 52.27 seconds by Rowe Hessler (2007HESS01) was reported to have been a duplicate scramble. After a DNF solve on the first attempt, the judge failed to record the DNF attempt on the score card, and thus the cube was scrambled for a second time with the first scramble in the series. The competitor had an unfair advantage of solving the same cube after having previously memorized it, which invalidates the world record.
The WCA board appreciates Mr. Hessler for stepping forward and notifying the board of this error. Despite the time that has passed, the WCA takes pride in the integrity of its records. The WCA reprimands Mr. Hessler for taking advantage of a judge's mistake, which the WCA considers as unsportsmanlike conduct. However, the WCA recognizes that no premeditated acts of malicious nature were performed, and the lapse in judgement occurred after the incident.
The BLD solve will be disqualified, and no additional attempt will be issued. This concludes the action of the WCA.
The WCA would like to take this moment to ask all members of our community to uphold the standards and spirit of the WCA. As an unfunded non-profit organization, the WCA does its best to ensure that global competition is conducted in a fun and fair manner. However, we continue to ask our community members to uphold WCA standards, and report any irregularity in procedure that may affect the integrity of the records.