We need to fight back. (Serious)

[Kami]

The WCA has to hate the community; removing events is almost never good and nobody wants it; they prioritize their pride, their embarrassment, nonexistent spectators, and their own interests over what the community wants. We have to do something about this; I attempted a boycott, but that was unpopular. I'd consider starting a rival organization, but I'm just a random kid with no business doing that, due to lack of knowledge or experience with managing anything of that nature. Even if you aren't a clock fan, if we keep letting them make horrible and unwanted decisions like that, who will speak up when it becomes the standard? It's a bit reminiscent of the poem "First They Came". We need to fight back harder, louder, and angrier than before, as this is unacceptable. If you didn't speak out before, do it now before it's too late: make YouTube videos, speak out on here, put hashtags in your status on messaging apps, boycott if possible, or even contact the board members with your frustration. Nothing is too far if it means that communities of "relatively problematic events" get to keep their spot in competitions.
This will not be over after July 18th, 2027. #DUCKTHEWCA

P.S. Oliver Hexter's post claiming that the decision is final doesn't change anything, this is still an arbitrary statement. Decisions should be made based on on the community's interests, not "several levels of input", as the community is who the decision affects.

 

[Hazel]

Though I haven't competed myself in seven years, I would completely support a general boycott of WCA competitions. At this point, it seems that only participation numbers dropping significantly will phase the organization. A great statement needs to be made, not only demanding the reversal of clock's removal, but for commitment that they will seek and consider the wider community's input before making other big changes.

I guarantee that if enough people swear off competitions until the demands are met, the board will reverse the decision. The only question is whether enough of the community can be convinced to take part, as it would have to be a significant percentage of the active base.

 

[Kami]

Though I haven't competed myself in seven years, I would completely support a general boycott of WCA competitions. At this point, it seems that only participation numbers dropping significantly will phase the organization. A great statement needs to be made, not only demanding the reversal of clock's removal, but for commitment that they will seek and consider the wider community's input before making other big changes.

I guarantee that if enough people swear off competitions until the demands are met, the board will reverse the decision. The only question is whether enough of the community can be convinced to take part, as it would have to be a significant percentage of the active base.

Thread 'WCA Competition Boycott for "Problematic Events"'

Jul 6, 2026

So, most people disagree with the WCA's upcoming removal of clock, and they've received an immense amount of backlash.
The thing is, backlash can only do so much, and it's likely that they simply ignore the backlash and proceed with the removal.
What the WCA can't ignore is a boycott; if people stop organizing and going to competitions, the competitor numbers will start to show, leading to a higher chance of them giving in. I know this might not be an easy choice, as competitions are fun, but I personally believe that it's worth the short term sacrifice if it increases the...

• Kami
• Replies: 18
• Forum: Official WCA Competitions

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• 
• 

: D

 

[iguana]

Thread 'WCA Competition Boycott for "Problematic Events"'

Jul 6, 2026

So, most people disagree with the WCA's upcoming removal of clock, and they've received an immense amount of backlash.
The thing is, backlash can only do so much, and it's likely that they simply ignore the backlash and proceed with the removal.
What the WCA can't ignore is a boycott; if people stop organizing and going to competitions, the competitor numbers will start to show, leading to a higher chance of them giving in. I know this might not be an easy choice, as competitions are fun, but I personally believe that it's worth the short term sacrifice if it increases the...

• Kami
• Replies: 18
• Forum: Official WCA Competitions

• 
• 
• 

: D

It's probably a good idea, but chances are the WCA won't care since they didn't care about the petition.

Also they can't remove FMC

 

[Kami]

It's probably a good idea, but chances are the WCA won't care since they didn't care about the petition.

Also they can't remove FMC

If we act like this, they can do whatever they want.

 

[abunickabhi]

I feel RSF or Cubing China should go global and take over the WCA and become an alternate world body.
If they listen to the community enough, many people will prefer it.

I am very sad about the clock removal decision.

 

[Michael Wimberly]

I don’t think that this is something the WCA can just do, especially considering that they’re the biggest worldwide cube competition organization. If anything, they should add more events (I personally would like to see mirror and gear cubes added) so that they can tailor to more people’s interests, not less like what they’re doing by removing events.

 

[Roux]

I find myself being a very “new gen” cuber as im competing in my first comp in like a week, but i completely disagree with the WCA doing as they like when there is a large community with OBJECTIVELY better ideas. removjng an event thst someone has spent actual time and effort in practicing is just evil

 

[Kami]

I feel RSF or Cubing China should go global and take over the WCA and become an alternate world body.
If they listen to the community enough, many people will prefer it.

I am very sad about the clock removal decision.

If we had a rival organization like this, it might catch on in some surrounding countries, but I honestly can't see this going very far anywhere else. There's a general stigma in the west to be untrustworthy of Russian websites/organizations, so I highly doubt the RSF has any real chance. For Cubing China, I think its chances are higher than RSF, but I still doubt they could catch on in the Americas or western Europe.
anyway, I did realize a problem with rival organizations in general. No matter how good or qualified a rival is, the chances of it catching on are slim to none. Competitions are already rare in many areas, and splitting the already low numbers between seperate organizations would only worsen it, if people switch to it at all.

 

[Kami]

I find myself being a very “new gen” cuber as im competing in my first comp in like a week, but i completely disagree with the WCA doing as they like when there is a large community with OBJECTIVELY better ideas. removjng an event thst someone has spent actual time and effort in practicing is just evil

If you want, consider boycotting after your upcoming competition. Hope you have fun!!

 

[bluecubing]

This whole boycott plan reminds me of what happened outside the venue at Oklahoma champs 2025

 

[LBr]

Clock should get removed because it’s not twisty puzzle related. It’s got nothing to do with cubing other than the fact that some cubers practise it. FMC and big blind should be kept as events since PBQ-esque comps need them to maintain relevance, besides they are impressive and deserve credit for it. Twisting little clocks until they point to 12 is just dumb I’m sorry…

And although I’m not usually keen on adding events and experimenting with them I think FTO should get added since hardware is better it’s twisty, doesn’t take too long and is different in solve style from other side events

Also this is my personal opinion, I have no sway over who actually decides this so no hate pls

Btw the argument that loads of people do it so it’s unfair doesn’t wash with me since the same thing happened to feet, which also added nothing and deserved to be banished to the history books

 

[iguana]

Clock should get removed because it’s not twisty puzzle related. It’s got nothing to do with cubing other than the fact that some cubers practise it. FMC and big blind should be kept as events since PBQ-esque comps need them to maintain relevance, besides they are impressive and deserve credit for it. Twisting little clocks until they point to 12 is just dumb I’m sorry…

And although I’m not usually keen on adding events and experimenting with them I think FTO should get added since hardware is better it’s twisty, doesn’t take too long and is different in solve style from other side events

Also this is my personal opinion, I have no sway over who actually decides this so no hate pls

Btw the argument that loads of people do it so it’s unfair doesn’t wash with me since the same thing happened to feet, which also added nothing and deserved to be banished to the history books

Feet was the least popular event when it was removed, whereas clock was the seventh most popular out of seventeen
I do accept that it's not a twisty puzzle though - I guess we just have to hope that the WCA won't make the same mistake again

 

[That0newe1rdo]

hope that the WCA won't make the same mistake again

The comment above shows that there is no hope. No events should have been removed in the first place, but the WCA is (supposedly) looking at removing even more.

Clock was only removed due to the Worlds 2025 controversy. After seeing this comment, I am certain of it.

It is far worse for the WCA to keep getting involved in controversy, cause why would anyone new want to be involved with a crumbling, controversial community like such ?
It is falling apart.
The competitors are far more important then spectators, since alot of which may not be interested in cubing - they just want to see their child/friend/etc do something they enjoy.

I doubt a boycott would work, but I would support one since I rarely go to competitions anyway.

 

[iguana]

Without trying to be rude to the board members, I think that they're sufficiently slow at the majority of events that they wouldn't mind seeing most of them go

 

[shubhsquare-1]

Tbh I thought the WCA actually cares about the community. If they know the thousands of people, and many people on wca board, plus 53% of delegates, then why would they remove clock. And, what do Ron van Bruchem and Tyson Mao think about this decision, if the creators of the world cube association think clock should stay, then there is no physical way then can erase clock. The WCA board needs people who actually care about the community

 

[Thomas.Caleb]

The only event we know is safe from removal is 3x3 tbh

 

[Clock_Enthusiast]

I don't personally have an issue with anyone disliking clock. There are events I dislike as well, but I respect that other people value those events and dedicate a lot of time, effort, and money towards hardware and methodology. Clock has been an event for over 20 years, and its popularity has soared well beyond "some cubers". Even if clock doesn't fit the new core values of puzzle geometry, it's an integral facet of speedsolving, and has a massive following in the cubing community. Aside from being the 7th most popular event, clock gets a lot of people into cubing, and has a massive following--for example, the clock discord has over 2,250 members alone, and clock-based competitions fill up fast. I've introduced many people to cubing through clock, and I personally began competing again once clock hardware was substantially improved.

The broader issue is that a huge fraction of the community has been targeted by this ruling, which is inherently arbitrary and based near-exclusively on personal opinions. The published polls are not statistically indicative of an overwhelming desire to remove clock, and overall community feedback beyond polls has been strongly negative towards this decision. Eliminating the main (or one of the main) events for thousands of competitors under the guise of efficiency or executive interest is ludicrous, and the rhetoric surrounding event removal proves that other events are not safe. Even if some people are pleased with clock's removal, they should be aware that this same "logic" will be applied to other events in the future. Big blind, FMC, and 7x7 are clearly not safe based on the WCA's statements, and they've simply begun cutting prospective events with the most popular one. Big BLD and FMC are not "spectator-friendly" on a wide scale, even though they are very important to the cubing community and should never be removed. This isn't exclusively an issue of clock's removal--it's an agenda designed against the interest of the community in favor of commercialization and the executive board. Many delegates and committees are strongly opposed to this decision, and the realistic solution should be to not hold clock at competitions if delegates aren't comfortable running it.

 

[Thomas.Caleb]

Announced by Oliver Hexter on Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 3:15 PM EDT
Dear WCA Community,
We are preparing to say goodbye to the World Cube Association due to a severe financial crisis.
The WCA has seen significant growth in recent years, but funding this expansion has become relatively problematic, as frequently highlighted by our financial team. Despite multiple changes to our budget model, maintaining our global administrative database has left us deeply in debt. Managing thousands of competitions worldwide is no longer sustainable, as rising venue fees, insurance costs, and database server bills have completely drained our remaining financial reserves.
These issues stem from the fundamental differences between managing an expensive global corporate apparatus and just solving cubes for damn fun. Our expenses now heavily outweigh our registration revenue. Shutting down the organization allows us to return to a free, grassroots hobby, completely free from the crushing operational costs of a formal administrative entity.
Official competitions will continue to be funded until December 31, 2027. The final months of 2027 will mark the final events in speedcubing history before we officially file for bankruptcy. This provides a substantial notice period for the pending closure and gives a final send-off to the WCA on our largest stage.

 

[acrystal]

Announced by Oliver Hexter on Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 3:15 PM EDT
Dear WCA Community,
We are preparing to say goodbye to the World Cube Association due to a severe financial crisis.
The WCA has seen significant growth in recent years, but funding this expansion has become relatively problematic, as frequently highlighted by our financial team. Despite multiple changes to our budget model, maintaining our global administrative database has left us deeply in debt. Managing thousands of competitions worldwide is no longer sustainable, as rising venue fees, insurance costs, and database server bills have completely drained our remaining financial reserves.
These issues stem from the fundamental differences between managing an expensive global corporate apparatus and just solving cubes for damn fun. Our expenses now heavily outweigh our registration revenue. Shutting down the organization allows us to return to a free, grassroots hobby, completely free from the crushing operational costs of a formal administrative entity.
Official competitions will continue to be funded until December 31, 2027. The final months of 2027 will mark the final events in speedcubing history before we officially file for bankruptcy. This provides a substantial notice period for the pending closure and gives a final send-off to the WCA on our largest stage.

From this, there's 2 things that could happen:
1. We just silently mourn about Clock's removal, letting things go on, and everything (mostly) goes back to normal.
2. We continue protesting and boycotting, we brings a heavy loss on the community, changing cubing with a huge stain in the future.



Sure, your ideas are good and all, but is this worth? I'm not saying clock should go, it's really what the future has to say for me. But creating a bad omen into a generous community, only for things, that are to happen, is not something I was expecting. And one last thing, I have noticed some people arguing about why clock should be removed, this isn't about the WCA, this is from what we had caused.