I'm waiting for my account to be approved on WCA forums, so I'll post this here for now. I'll post it over there whenever I'm approved.:
3e) Twisty puzzles must either have coloured stickers or coloured tiles.
Some puzzles have their colors printed on, but are otherwise indistinguishable from other, comparable, puzzles with stickers/tiles (I’m specifically thinking about the small white Diansheng’s that some use for OH). Could this be changed to allow those puzzles for use? I think that 3c, 3d, 3j, and 3k together prevent people from interpreting a lack of 3e as “I can use my painted cube now!”.
3l) Cube puzzles must have at most one logo. For Rubik's Cube or bigger cube puzzles the logo must be placed on one of the centre pieces.
I think the Mefferts’ 4x4’s(?) have logos on multiple faces, but are somehow still allowed; yet, I couldn’t actually find a provision that specifically excluded them from 3l. I think there should be some clarification on this.
11f) The main judge and WCA delegate must not support their decisions with video or photograph analysis.
This confuses me. What situations was this regulation meant to cover?
A3d) At the end of the inspection, the competitor must place the puzzle back onto the Stackmat, in the orientation and position he wishes.
Is the timer considered part of the Stackmat? If so, can the puzzle be placed on the timer itself, between the hands?
I don’t know if adding team BLD is an option at all, but here is a set of possible regulations I came up with. If there is support, this could be applied in a 1 year test run of unofficial events at competitions to determine feasibility.
TEAM BLD: Competitors shall register in sets of 2, with one being designated the “caller” and the other the “executor”.
1. (Identical to A1) Attempts for events categorized under Speed Solving must abide to the following procedure.
a. (Identical to A1a) The time limit is 10 minutes, or less/higher if announced before the event.
b. (Identical to A1b) A stopwatch is used for time measurement, in addtino to a Stackmat, if the time limit is higher than 10 minutes. If the puzzle solving time is under 10 minutes, the Stackmat time is the result, otherwise the stopwatch time is the result.
2. Scrambling
a. The competing team hands over the puzzle to the scrambler and waits in the competitors area until they is called to compete.
b. (Identical to A2b) A scrambler scrambles the puzzle according to the regulations in Article 4.
c. The competing team must not see the puzzle between the time when the puzzle is scrambled and the start of the inspection phase.
d. (Identical to A2d) When taking the puzzle from the scrambler, the judge does a quick general inspection of thorough scrambling of the puzzle. In case of doubt the judge contacts the scrambler for a detailed check.
e. (Identical to A2e) The judge places the puzzle onto the Stackmat and covers it completely with an object.
3. Inspection
a. Before starting the solve, the competing team may inspect the puzzle.
i. The competing team has a maximum of 15 seconds for inspecting the puzzle and starting the solve.
b. Before the judge uncovers the puzzle, the executor must don the blindfold (provided by judge).
c. The judge resets the timer and stopwatch.
i. When the judge and competing team mutually agree within one minute that the competing team is ready to begin the inspection, the judge says ‘READY?’.
ii. When the competing team confirms, the judge uncovers the puzzle after 1 second. At the same time the judge starts the stopwatch.
d. At no point during inspection is the caller allowed to touch the puzzle. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
e. During inspection the executor is allowed to pick up the puzzle.
i. The competing team must not apply moves. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
ii. If the pieces of the puzzle are not fully aligned, then the executor may fix it, only to align the faces (for cubes the alignment must not exceed 45 degrees).
iii. The executor may reset the timer before the competing team starts the solve.
f. The competing team is not allowed to make notes during inspection.
g. At the end of the inspection, the executor must place the puzzle back onto the Stackmat, in the orientation and position he wishes.
i. When the inspection time reaches 8 seconds, the judge calls ‘8 seconds’.
ii. When the inspection time reaches 12 seconds, the judge calls ‘GO’.
4. Starting the solve
a. The executor must place his hands flat on the elevated sensor area of the Stackmat, with his fingers touching the sensors and with palms down. Penalty: 2 seconds.
i. Neither caller nor executor can have any physical contact with the puzzle before the solve is started. Penalty: 2 seconds.
b. The competing team starts the solve by confirming that the timer light is green, then removing the executor’s hands from the timer, thus starting the timer.
i. The competing team must start the solve within 15 seconds after the start of the inspection. Penalty: 2 seconds.
ii. The competing team must start the solve within 17 seconds after the start of the inspection. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
c. Time penalties for Starting the Solve are not cumulative. There is a maximum of 1 time penalty for Starting the Solve.
5. During the solve
a. While inspecting or solving the puzzle, the caller and executor are allowed to communicate with each other.
b. While inspecting or solving the puzzle, the competing team must not have any communication with anyone other than the judge. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
c. While inspecting or solving the puzzle, the competing team must not have any assistance from anyone or any object (other than the surface). Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
d. At no point during the solve is the caller allowed to touch the puzzle.
e. During the full solve the judge must keep a sheet of paper or a similar object between the executor’s face and the puzzle, unless the puzzle is in a position where peeking at the puzzle is not possible.
f. The executor must not look at the puzzle state any time during the solve. Penalty: Disqualification of the solve.
6. Ending the solve
a. When using a Stackmat, the executor ends the solve by releasing the puzzle and then stopping the timer.
i. It is the executor’s responsibility that the timer is stopped correctly.
ii. (Identical to A6c) The timer must be stopped using both hands, with both hands flat and palms down. Penalty: 2 seconds.
iii. The executor must fully release the puzzle before stopping the timer. Penalty: 2 seconds.
b. When using a stopwatch, the executor ends the solve by placing the puzzle back onto the surface and notifying the judge that the solve has ended. At that moment the judge stops the timer.
c. The executor may remove the blindfold before stopping the timer, but after removing the blindfold no moves must be applied to the puzzle anymore. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
d. The competing team must not touch or move the puzzle until the judge has inspected the puzzle. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
e. The competing team must not reset the timer until the judge has written down the result on the competition sheet. Penalty: disqualification of the solve (courtesy of judge).
f. (identical to A6g) The judge must inspect the puzzle without making moves or aligning faces and must determine whether the puzzle has been completely solved.
g. (identical to A6h) In case of a dispute no moves or alignments must be applied to the puzzle until
the dispute has been settled, involving the main judge if needed. Penalty: disqualification of the solve (courtesy of judge).
h. (identical to A6i) Time penalties for Ending the Solve are not cumulative. There is a maximum of 1 time penalty for Ending the Solve.
7. Administration
a. (identical to A7a) If the judge decides the solve was correct, the judge calls ‘OK’.
b. (identical to A7b) The judge writes down the result of the solve on a competition sheet, and signs the sheet with name or signature.
c. (identical to A7c) The competing team is responsible for checking the result on the sheet, immediately after the judge has written it down.
d. If the judge gives a penalty, then judge calls 'PENALTY'. The competing team must sign the score sheet.
e. If the result is DNF, then the judge calls ‘NO FINISH’. The competing team must sign the score sheet.
f. At the end of the competing team’s round the judge delivers the competition sheet to the score taker.
