Dear WCA Community,

The WRC would like to inform you about the versions of the WCA Regulations and Guidelines, which are going into effect January 1, 2020.

You can review all changes in this comparison on GitHub. You can click on “Files changed” to see the complete files of the Regulation and Guidelines, where all changes and additions are marked green and removals are red.

Simplifications

• Clock pins are allowed to be distinguishable. (commit | discussion)
• Fewest Moves: only the 18 basic moves, <x, y, z> rotations, and wide moves are allowed in solutions (no bracket rotations). (commit | discussion)
• The name for "combined round" has changed to "cutoff round". (commit | discussion)

Accountability

• Required: scramble signatures. Either the scrambler or a scramble checker must certify that the puzzle is scrambled correctly for each attempt. Although competitions must make a full effort to use scramble signatures for all attempts, results cannot be disqualified solely for a missing scramble signature. (commit | commit | discussion)
• Strongly recommended: the WCA Delegate should record a reason for each granted extra (e.g. on the back of the score sheet). (commit)
• Strongly recommended: organizers should attach O-rings (or equivalent) to all timer buttons to prevent accidental resets. (commit | discussion)

Miscellaneous

• 3x3x3 With Feet will no longer be an official event. (announcement | commit | discussion)
• Fewest Moves solutions are considered public. (commit | discussion)
• Multi-Blind: if a duplicate cube is found and during an attempt, the cube may be re-scrambled using an extra scramble. (commit | discussion)
• Clock stands may be used to place the Clock vertically at the solving station at the beginning of the attempt. (commit | discussion)