Proposal: More delegates more competitions

[giorgi]

So as the title says I am just interested why WCA has few delegates and why WCA does not give more responsible people who leave far from competitions chance to become delegates and organise competitions for the local cubers. This way speedcubing will expand and local speedcubers will have more chances and courage to go to competitions. Some people who leave far from competitions will say"Oh I am too slow and whats the point of me going to competitions which are too far from my house" this is Why we should make more people delegates in different regions of the country spreaded equally to make for speedcubers going to competitions more accessible. I mean it is not gonna be hard if some not too experienced people take more responsibility and run local competitions with not too many people competing as there are few cubers at that area. Here you can discuss if we should have More delegates in order to have more competitions. If you don't agree Please say reasons why you are not agreeing.

 

[Coolster01]

I really agree. Many people have all the regulation knowledge and maturity to be in charge of competitions.

 

[MrMan]

There's only two left in France... So yeah I agree !

 

[Mollerz]

New delegates are being suggested and appointed all the time, the amount of delegates there are today as there were 2 years ago is significantly different. The problem is, we can't pick just anyone to be delegates. There is a standard that needs to be met. When there are competitions that happen in a location that lack a delegate, we do look at anyone with potential and we recommend them to the board. However, sometimes that just is not the case, and there is nobody we feel could stand up to the task.

In regards to Scotland, both myself and Daniel can get there with relative ease, the problem is the lack of organisers in that location. If there are people who live in this area who want to organise a competition, we will absolutely come up north and delegate it for you guys. I can't say the same for other locations however. Obviously there will be places that lack delegates, and they will have to travel quite a distance to get there, and like I said, delegates who attend those competitions will look for people who have potential to become a delegate. But this is not needed when there are delegates who can already cover these locations.

 

[kinch2002]

Generally just wanted to say what Mollerz did.
Indeed there's no point having delegates if there are no organisers. If the prospective delegate is in the area, then he should already be organising, assuming he can get a current delegate to attend. And if he can get a current delegate to attend, there's no need for another delegate
The situation in which another delegate would be deemed necessary is when people want to organise (and are suitable candidates to be organisers), and no delegates can attend.

Relating to you specifically...
A couple of a years ago there weren't really any people suitable to organise in Scotland. Now I believe there are more, so hopefully more comps can happen. As James said, one of us can travel up, and if we are not able to then indeed that gives a good case towards appointing a delegate if a suitable one is found.

On the topic of suitability of delegates, have a look at my video

EDIT: If you want more comps in Scotland, then talk to Breandan and Simon. Alternatively, you may be ready to organise one yourself, now that you're a bit older and have attended several competitions

 

[tseitsei]

New delegates are being suggested and appointed all the time, the amount of delegates there are today as there were 2 years ago is significantly different. The problem is, we can't pick just anyone to be delegates. There is a standard that needs to be met. When there are competitions that happen in a location that lack a delegate, we do look at anyone with potential and we recommend them to the board. However, sometimes that just is not the case, and there is nobody we feel could stand up to the task.

In regards to Scotland, both myself and Daniel can get there with relative ease, the problem is the lack of organisers in that location. If there are people who live in this area who want to organise a competition, we will absolutely come up north and delegate it for you guys. I can't say the same for other locations however. Obviously there will be places that lack delegates, and they will have to travel quite a distance to get there, and like I said, delegates who attend those competitions will look for people who have potential to become a delegate. But this is not needed when there are delegates who can already cover these locations.

+1

Delegates need to be very trustworthy responsible and experienced people so we can't just add more and more delegates if there are no good enough candidates...

 

[AlphaSheep]

Hmmm... Africa needs more delegates. The rest of the world seems to be doing just fine. Actually, Africa needs more cubers first, but we're making progress with that.

 

[AlexMaass]

I have to agree with this ofc, but we have to make sure we just don't appoint random people as delegates. We also need more people to step up and take initiative, e.g helping out at competitions, maybe try organizing a competition etc.

Hmmm... Africa needs more delegates. The rest of the world seems to be doing just fine. Actually, Africa needs more cubers first, but we're making progress with that.

I think Donovan Hale is enough for now. btw not all of the rest of the world is doing just fine with competition availability

 

[AlphaSheep]

I think Donovan Hale is enough for now. btw not all of the rest of the world is doing just fine with competition availability

Yeah, I agree with you. I was just commenting at how unbalanced the list of delegates on the WCA site looks, but it really only reflects interest in each area. Donny is a great delegate, and from the competitions I've been to, I think he does a pretty good job. With a competition only every 2-3 months, there's not really that much need for a second delegate yet. It's not like Europe or North America where there are 3 or 4 competitions every week.

The main problem we face is exactly the same problem everywhere faces, that you and Mollerz have already mentioned - the competitions only happen where people step up and organise them.

 

[Dene]

Once again someone conflates the role of delegate with the role of competition organiser. These are two separate things. As far as I'm aware we have enough delegates (supply) to meet the number of competitions (demand).

If there is a location where many competitions are rejected because of a lack of delegates, that area is being poorly managed. But I doubt there are any major issues. I can imagine a lot of kids (especially Americans) will respond with comments like "I had my competition rejected", but then they probably just went to another competition on the same weekend down the road... The WCA actively discourages having competitions week after week in the same area, so you can't expect a competition every weekend nearby.

 

[Chree]

As far as I'm aware we have enough delegates (supply) to meet the number of competitions (demand).

The problem is that if there are no delegates in a specific region, how would you ever know what the demand is?

Just as an example, the US Pacific Northwest had a demand that cleary outstripped our supply of competitions. We've averaged about 2 competitions per year since 2010. I'm using past-tense verbage here because A) our delegate is between travelling trips for work, so Seattle will have 2 competitions this summer as opposed to its usual 1 and B) Kit Clement is on his way to Portland... snd we know how that guy likes to throw competitions.

Portland's first competitions was completely swamped. Working around Zheng's travel schedule was a challenge. And importing other delegates was just isn't reliable. Kit's arrival is really just a lucky happenstance. The demand (which was clearly evident after Roce City 2015) was completely unexpected. It goes to show that there are probably other areas of the country and the world that may not have satisfactory access to WCA events the way others do.

Still, I don't see any need for the WCA to change how they operate. Instead, what I think is happening is that a demand is being identified in these regions, and the supply will make their way to them. If anything should change, perhaps there should be a mechanism to identify regions that could use more WCA representation, rather than just creating a bunch of new delegates in places that already have enough.

 

[shadowkiller168]

Portland's first competitions was completely swamped. Working around Zheng's travel schedule was a challenge. And importing other delegates was just isn't reliable. Kit's arrival is really just a lucky happenstance. The demand (which was clearly evident after Roce City 2015) was completely unexpected. It goes to show that there are probably other areas of the country and the world that may not have satisfactory access to WCA events the way others do.

The fact that my competition, Lawrence Spring 2015, had over 100 competitors, almost all of which were from Missouri, in central USA, a place that has had like 5 competitions total since 2010, shows that this area is also pretty devoid.

 

[UnsolvedCypher]

There are absolutely problems in certain areas, but delegates don't just get created. Qualified organizers (people who have been to competitions and helped out significantly) need to email the WCA board to show their desire to organize, and also have a delegate that knows they can do it vouch for them. Once it's clear to the WCA that there are qualified organizers in an area that doesn't have the delegates to meet this demand, more delegates will be appointed.

Yes, it's hard to become qualified if there are no competitions in your area, but that means you need to travel to some other comps and help out to make yourself known to other delegates. This is the only way to increase competitions and the number of delegates, not some executive order to just appoint more delegates.

 

[Mikel]

The WCA actively discourages having competitions week after week in the same area, so you can't expect a competition every weekend nearby.

This seems to contradict the goal of the WCA.

The goal of the World Cube Association is to have more competitions in more countries with more people and more fun, under fair and equal conditions.

 

[AlexMaass]

This seems to contradict the goal of the WCA.

A competition in the same area every week is not fun for some people though.

 

[Mollerz]

This seems to contradict the goal of the WCA.

This is the goal, upto a point where it does not become feasible anymore.

 

[DeeDubb]

Once again someone conflates the role of delegate with the role of competition organiser. These are two separate things. As far as I'm aware we have enough delegates (supply) to meet the number of competitions (demand).

If there is a location where many competitions are rejected because of a lack of delegates, that area is being poorly managed. But I doubt there are any major issues. I can imagine a lot of kids (especially Americans) will respond with comments like "I had my competition rejected", but then they probably just went to another competition on the same weekend down the road... The WCA actively discourages having competitions week after week in the same area, so you can't expect a competition every weekend nearby.

Ugh. America is massive. If by "down the road" you mean an 8+ hour drive, then possibly.

EDIT: I know Australia is similar in size to the US, but the population distribution is totally different.

 

[JustinTimeCuber]

The fact that my competition, Lawrence Spring 2015, had over 100 competitors, almost all of which were from Missouri, in central USA, a place that has had like 5 competitions total since 2010, shows that this area is also pretty devoid.

awwwww gawd we really need more competitions in this area There aren't nearly enough competitions around here. Despite the significant number of cubers in St. Louis area, including Kevin Hays.

 

[TimMc]

organizers (people who have been to competitions and helped out significantly) need to email the WCA board to show their desire to organize, and also have a delegate that knows they can do it vouch for them.

It'd be preferable to just have a conversation with a local Delegate or Senior Delegate first. The Senior Delegate can then make the proposal to the WCA Board.

Tim.

 

[Dene]

To the people saying they don't have enough competitions in the US: Have you tried organising a competition? Have you tried contacting delegates from the areas around you to see who is available? The US has 24 delegates alone, and plenty more people that could step up if necessary.

I want to give you an illustration of the problem. In Sydney, the most populated city in Australia, there are loads of cubers, and for years they've either had to travel, or miss out. Why? Because no one was prepared to go to the effort to organise a competition. Tim and myself were stuck, needing to find someone to do something, and someone to prove themselves to be suitable delegate material. After years without a competition we finally got things up and running last year when a couple of people stepped up, and they're now hosting competitions with 80+ people.

My point is, there may be loads of cubers, but is there anyone genuinely trying to do something about it?

@Chree you say the demand is big, because lots of people show up to competitions, but what I mean is the demand of people attempting to host competitions. There could be 100+ cubers sitting around in the same area without ever getting to a competition, but if none of them attempts to host one, there isn't actually any demand. On the other hand, if you have people trying to host competitions on a monthly basis, but those plans keep getting rejected because there isn't a delegate available, then there is a demand that the supply isn't meeting. If this is the case, then you can complain there aren't enough delegates in your area. But then... is anyone stepping up to prove themselves to take on the trusted position of delegate...?