Competition Policies

This page lists a number of competition policies which may differ from what you are used to at local competitions.

General

• All competitors and spectators will be required to wear a name badge at all times, and nobody will be permitted to enter the venue without a name badge. Make sure that you bring your name badge to the venue each day.
• No outside food or beverage is permitted to be brought into the venue.
• Competitors who withdraw from 3x3x3 Round 2, or any Semi-Finals, will not be replaced. Competitors who notify us at least 2 hours before a Final Round is scheduled to begin will be replaced with the next-ranked person from the previous round.
• If we receive a scorecard with either a missing judge's or competitor's signature, that attempt will be marked DNF, per Regulation A7c4. We will not notify competitors that this is the case, however we will allow competitors to fix missing competitor signatures before the end of the competition. Competitors will be able to do so at the data entry table.
• We cannot take responsibility for lost items, particularly including cubes. Please ensure that you keep your personal belongings with you.
• If you miss your assigned group, you may not be permitted to compete. This applies to all rounds of all events. Please listen for announcements, and look at projectors in the venue to know when it is your turn to compete.
• Spectators may not stand in front of the audience seating, or in aisles necessary for fire safety. We will enforce this especially during Finals and other events with a large audience.
• During all finals, a section of seats will be reserved for VIPs and family members of finalists; these will be marked clearly. Please respect these designations so that parents can watch their children compete.

Finals

• During all final rounds, phones may only be used if all data transmission is off (airplane mode, no wifi, no bluetooth). If competitors interact with their phones during finals, we reserve the right to inspect them, to ensure that they are not receiving outside information. (WSAP 4.2).
• Headphones with wireless capability may not be used during finals.
• All finals on the main stage, except for 4x4x4 Blindfolded and 5x5x5 Blindfolded, will be stationary: you will remain at your timer from the beginning of your first solve until the end of your last solve.
• All finals on the main stage, except for 4x4x4 Blindfolded and 5x5x5 Blindfolded, will have live data entry. As such, competitors will be asked not to reset their timer immediately after their attempt, to give the data entry team time to record the result.
• During all final rounds on the main stage, competitors will need to start their attempt within one minute; this will be timed on a stopwatch by the judge (Regulation A3b1). Competitors who have a legitimate reason to need longer than one minute may request an exception to the WCA Delegate.
• We may hold cubes at the scrambling table in order to have competitors complete their attempts at a similar time.
• During the round, competition timers may only be used for official attempts.

3x3x3 Finals

• 3x3x3 Finals will be held head-to-head, with eight matchups of two competitors, starting with the 16th and 15th seeds, and moving up to the 2nd and 1st seeds. Competitors will alternate their solves, starting with the even number seed.
• In order to ensure fairness, competitors will stay in a separate room between the start of the round and when they are called to compete. Competitors will not be permitted to interact with their phones during this time (WSAP 4.2).

3x3x3 Semi-Finals

• Competitors will be stationary during the 3x3x3 Semi-Finals. Competitors should expect an environment similar to a Final Round during the 3x3x3 Semi-Finals. All policies for Finals apply to 3x3x3 Semi-Finals, as applicable.

Live Stream and Filming

• Filming and Photography will take place at the event. By entering the event premises, you acknowledge that you have been informed you may be photographed and recorded for media to be used in any format for any purpose worldwide in perpetuity by CubingUSA, the WCA, and their partners and representatives. Further, by your presence, you grant permission for your likeness and voice to be included therein without compensation, credit, or other consideration. If you do not wish to be photographed, recorded, or appear under these conditions, you should not enter the event premises.
• Some timers will be directly in front of a camera, or will have an overhead camera positioned above the competitor's head to capture the attempt from their perspective. These cameras will not physically interfere with the solving process. The organizing team reserves the right to determine which competitors' attempts will occur on these timers, either for one attempt or the entire average.

Extras and Distractions

We expect the WCA World Championship 2025 to be an exciting, energetic event. We ask competitors to prepare for solving in this environment, as we will not award extra attempts for every distraction. We expect distractions to occur, including (but not limited to):

• Cheering for competitors achieving fast results, as well as spectators moving around the room to see those results.
• Competitors making noise after achieving a fast result.
• Routine announcements, such as calling the next group. We will keep announcements during blindfolded events to a bare minimum, and make them as short as possible.

In situations like these, we will not award extra attempts for distractions. However, in more extreme situations, such as a physical distraction, lighting issues, or a large loud reaction from a competitor seated adjacent to you, we may award extras. This includes finals.

We encourage you to practice solving under distracting conditions, and to experiment with distraction-reducing tools such as (non-electronic) earmuffs or blinders.