The following is directly what is posted on the WCA forums, provided by Ekaterina Kaneva
Dear WCA Community,
The WCA Regulations Committee would like to inform you about the new version of the WCA Regulations and Guidelines, which are going into effect on January 1st, 2024.
You can review all changes in
this comparison on GitHub 4. You can click on “Files changed” to see the complete files of the Regulations and Guidelines, where all changes and additions are marked green and removals are marked red.
Below are a list of the changes with more detailed explanations:
Allow competitors to push Clock pins during inspection (PR 4).
This is the most major change for this cycle. Competitors will now be allowed to push pins in Inspection. With this, the following changes will be in place:
- Any accidental movement of pins in transport is fine.
- Clocks may now be delivered face down as well as standing up.
- If the clock is delivered standing up and lifting of the cover knocks over the clock, the competitor will still continue as normal.
- Pin states will no longer be included in official scrambles
Along with this change, a new version of TNoodle, the official WCA scrambling program, will be released.
Allow 5x5x5 Cube misscrambles under stronger discretion of the WCA Delegate (PR2).
Delegates will now be able to decide whether or not to enforce 5x5x5 Cube scrambles to be correct at competitions. This does NOT mean that 5x5x5 Cube misscrambles are always allowed, but rather that it is up to the Delegate whether or not to allow them. When scrambling, be sure to ask your Delegate whether or not they are allowed.
Add an official Visual Guide for Regulation 3j (PR 6).
A visual guide is being added to the Guidelines to provide a better explanation as to what counts as “reasonable wear” in
Regulation 3j1 8. Please note that the Delegate has the final say in whether or not a puzzle is allowed at a specific competition, but this should be used to help them decide.
Allow the region of representation to change at any moment under some circumstances (PR).
This is a change towards leniency in regards to citizenship changes. In the circumstance that a competitor acquires new citizenship, they are now allowed to change their region of representation during the calendar year that the new citizenship was acquired.
Clarify what ‘using’ means in 2i (PR 1) and remove 2i3 (PR 1).
This update is just a clarification on what it means to use an electronic device, as opposed to simply just interacting with it - nothing is actually changing in how these Regulations are applied. Please note that the removal of 2i3 does not allow competitors to use their phones - we are only removing it as this situation is already covered in 2i.
Clarify the starting state of puzzles for Fewest Moves Solving (PR 1).
This update clarifies that puzzles must be solved and must not have any extra stickers and similar markings at the start of the attempt.
Explicitly allow multiple logos placed on one piece for speedsolving events (PR).
This update clarifies that any number of logos can be put on a single piece. For example, an overlay sticker logo can be put over a printed logo, two different sticker logos can be put together on a piece. Please note that this change does not move towards allowing logos to be placed on several different pieces – this remains prohibited.
Clarify inspection time frame – border cases grant greater penalty (PR).
Previously, the regulations were inconsistent on whether or not exactly 15 seconds of inspection resulted in a penalty. This update clarifies an inspection time of 15.00 seconds would result in a +2 penalty and an inspection time of 17.00 seconds would result in a DNF.
Change the recording of pre-solve penalties (PR).
Previously, penalties that occurred prior to the solve starting (such a +2 for overinspecting) were written before the time (e.g. 2 + 17.31 = 19.31), while penalties that occur during or after the solve (such as a +2 for misalignment) were written after the time (e.g. 17.31 + 2 = 19.31). With this change, all penalties will now be recorded after the solve.
Clarify circumstances in which 2s can be applied (PR 4).
Regulation 2s was more strict previously, and could be applied only if the competitor was completely unable to follow the Regulations. This is now changed – special accommodations can be granted in more lenient circumstances.
Make regulations regarding cameras more lenient (PR 1).
Previously, the only way in which a competitor could wear a camera was by wearing it on their head. Now, competitors are allowed to wear the camera in other ways, such as with a chest mount.
Clarify people aside from the competitor interacting with popped pieces (PR).
This newly introduced guideline clarifies that someone other than the competitor picking up a popped part of a puzzle is not necessarily grounds for an extra attempt.
Update 2h (PR).
Regulation 2h previously stated that competitors must be
fully dressed. This is now changed to
appropriately dressed to explain the regulation intent more accurately.
Add a requirement to check for duplicate scrambles for Multi-Blind Solving (PR).
Due to the complexity of scrambling puzzles for Multi-Blind, incidents with duplicate scrambles occur very often. This recommendation advises to check for duplicate scrambles after scrambling the puzzles for the first time.
Change “country” to “region” (PR).
This change updates the terminology regarding the regions which individuals represent in order to align with other WCA Documents.
Allow competitors to contact WRT through a Delegate in 2c2 (PR).
The standard procedure for changing any of the competitor’s personal information is to contact the WCA Results Team directly or through a WCA Delegate, so regulation 2c2 was updated to reflect this.
Remove guideline regarding embossed/engraved parts (PR 1).
This guideline is no longer necessary as regulation 3j covers this area well.
