The World Cube Association (WCA) is the worldwide non-profit organization that regulates and holds competitions for mechanical puzzles that are operated by twisting groups of pieces, commonly known as twisty puzzles (a subcategory of combination puzzles). The most famous of those puzzles is the Rubik's Cube. The WCA was founded by Ron van Bruchem of the Netherlands and Tyson Mao of the United States in 2004. 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." In 2017, they started work to become a non-profit organization and on 20 November 2017, the state of California accepted the initial registration of the World Cube Association.
The organization is run by the board members. It assigns different teams and committees as well as delegates who can organize official competitions. The presence of a delegate is required to make the competition official. , over 290,000 people from around the world have participated in WCA competitions, See in table "Persons". Multiply the page count by 10, as there are 10 competitors per page. and over 17,500 competitions have been held.
Board Current WCA Board Members
The WCA Board is responsible for leading the organization as a whole, and fulfilling any duties not fulfilled by other Teams, Committees, and Councils. Additionally, Dan Smith serves as the Executive Director of the WCA. Member Country Board member since Abdullah Gulab Pakistan July 2025Sachin ArvindIndiaMay 2026Glib VedmidUkraineMay 2026Oliver HexterUnited KingdomMay 2026Rubén López de JuanSpainMay 2026
Former WCA Board Members
Member Country Term Gilles Roux France October 2004 – November 2008 Ron van Bruchem Netherlands October 2004 – July 2018 Masayuki Akimoto Japan September 2005 – January 2012 Tyson Mao United States October 2004 – August 2013 Sébastien Auroux Germany July 2012 – February 2014 Tim Reynolds United States July 2012 – December 2014 Natán Riggenbach Peru September 2013 – August 2015 Olivér Perge Hungary March 2015 – February 2016, July 2017 Pedro Santos Guimarães Brazil March 2015 – July 2018 Ilkyoo Choi South Korea September 2013 – July 2017 Chris Hardwick United States July 2016 – November 2017 Luis J. Iáñez Spain July 2016 – July 2018Alberto Pérez de Rada Fiol Spain November 2017 – November 2019 Chris Wright United Kingdom September 2018 – September 2020Bob Burton United States November 2017 – November 2021Henrik Buus Aagaard Denmark November 2019 – November 2021Saransh Grover India September 2020 – September 2022Callum James Goodyear United Kingdom September 2020 – January 2023Somya SrivastavaIndiaJuly 2022 – January 2024 Michael ChaiUnited StatesJuly 2023 – October 2024 Ethan Pride AustraliaJuly 2019 – July 2025Dan SmithUnited StatesJanuary 2025 – March 2026Kerrie JarmanAustraliaJuly 2023 – March 2026
Teams and Committees Teams and committees are made up of volunteers to perform the day-to-day tasks within the WCA. The following teams and committees support the WCA:
WCA Appeals Committee (WAC) WCA Archive Team (WAT) WCA Communication Team (WCT) WCA Competition Announcement Team (WCAT) WCA Executive Assistants Team (WEAT) WCA Financial Committee (WFC) WCA Integrity Committee (WIC) WCA Major Championships Team (WMCT) WCA Marketing Team (WMT) WCA Quality Assurance Committee (WQAC) WCA Regulations Committee (WRC) WCA Results Team (WRT) WCA Software Team (WST) WCA Sports Organization Team (WSOT)
The responsibilities of each team or committee are found on the WCA website.
Delegates WCA Delegates are responsible for overseeing competitions and ensure they run according to the WCA regulations. The WCA recognizes Senior, Regional, Full, Junior, and Trainee Delegates. Senior and Regional delegates take on additional responsibilities in managing the delegates in their region.
Junior Delegates are required to spend at least one year in the position and demonstrate proficiency in managing competitions before being promoted to Full Delegate. Trainee Delegates are being trained to become Junior Delegates, and are not allowed to manage competitions on their own.
History
Pre-history (1999–2003) In 1982, an unofficial Rubik's Cube World Championships was hosted in Budapest, Hungary by Ernő Rubik, which was won by Minh Thai with a time of 22.95 seconds. In 1999, speedcubers gathered on the Internet via Rubik's Games, a computer game with an electronic version of the Rubik's Cube. Chris Hardwick from Raleigh, NC founded the Yahoo! Group "Speedsolvingrubikscube" and the Unofficial World Records, a place where cubers could post their personal best times. Ron van Bruchem started speedcubing.com together with his friend Ton Dennenbroek, an avid puzzle collector.
Founding (2003–2004) Because the cubers were living all over the world, they wanted to organize a competition at which they could all meet. In 2001, plans to organise a World Championship in New York were underway but it had to be called off due to safety concerns at the time. In 2003, under the guidance of Dan Gosbee, they successfully organized the Rubik's Cube World Championship in Toronto. This first modern-age Rubik's Cube competition was a success, but there were many issues, largely due to the lack of any regulations. After the World Championship, van Bruchem and Tyson Mao started organizing competitions in the Netherlands and Germany, as well as at Caltech in the United States. In 2004, they started the World Cube Association, which today has held competitions in more than 100 countries.
After the founding of the WCA, most competitions in the United States happened in prestigious colleges, though many happened in smaller high schools, middle schools, hotels, malls, amusement parks and other venues internationally. Some of the first official events included most current ones (see Events). However, 6x6, 7x7, and Skewb weren't events when the organization was founded, whereas Magic, Master Magic, and 3x3 with Feet were but are no longer events.
Events Currently, the WCA offers competitions in 17 events. Not all events are offered at every competition, but all are usually offered at national, continental, and global championships. The events are: 3x3x3 Cube 2x2x2 Cube 4x4x4 Cube 5x5x5 Cube 6x6x6 Cube 7x7x7 Cube 3x3x3 Blindfolded (3BLD) 3x3x3 Fewest Moves (FMC) 3x3x3 One-Handed (OH) Face Turning Octahedron (from ) Megaminx Pyraminx Skewb Square-1 4x4x4 Blindfolded (4BLD) 5x5x5 Blindfolded (5BLD) 3x3x3 Multi-Blind (MBLD) Additionally, some events have had their official WCA event status removed. They are: WCA Updated Regulations Page Final version for 2007: Article 9a/d 3x3x3 Multi-Blind Old Style Clock (from ) Removed with the addition of Face Turning Octohedron Magic Master Magic 3x3x3 With Feet Removed due to lack of interest, and cleanliness of equipment.
World Records
The following are the official speedcubing world records approved by the WCA as of 6 October 2026.
Note: For averages of 5 solves, the best time and the worst time are dropped, and the mean of the remaining 3 solves is taken. For events where only 3 solves are done, the mean of all 3 is taken. (Times in parentheses are not included in the average calculation)
Event Type Result Person Competition (Date(s)) Round Results 3x3x3 Cube Single 2.51 Xuanyi Geng (耿暄一) Guangzhou Grand Open 2026 (4–5 October) (2.51) / 3.99 / 3.21 / 4.42 / (4.75) Average 3.51 Yiheng Wang (王艺衡) Hefei Cubing League 3x3 III 2026 (17 June) 3.68 / (4.61) / (3.39) / 3.41 / 3.45 2x2x2 Cube Single 0.39 Ziyu Ye (叶梓渝) Hefei Open 2025 (25 October) (1.94) / 1.31 / 1.38 / 1.46 / (0.39)Average 0.86 Sujan Feist Kids America Christmas Clash OH 2025 (13 December) 0.86 / 1.02 / (0.56) / (1.42) / 0.70 Cubing the Coast MS 2026 (22 August) 0.85 / (2.97) / 0.81 / 0.91 / (0.66) 4x4x4 Cube Single 15.18 Tymon Kolasiński Spanish Championship 2025 (6–8 December) 20.27 / (22.54) / 19.57 / (15.18) / 20.34 Average 18.56 Seoul Winter 2026 (17–18 January) 19.16 / 18.01 / 18.51 / (21.64) / (16.09) 5x5x5 Cube Single 29.49 All Rounders Katowice I 2026 (1–3 May) 35.94 / (42.62) / 36.67 / 40.82 / (30.45) Average 33.19 Timofei Tarasenko Guangzhou Grand Open 2026 (4-5 October) 35.42 / 31.87 / (37.15) / (30.90) / 32.28 6x6x6 Cube Single 57.69 Max Park Burbank Big Cubes 2025 (26 April) 57.69 / 1:11.14 / 1:09.39 Mean 1:01.76 Timofei Tarasenko Beijing Autumn Rivalry 2026 (30–2 October) 1:02.64 / 1:01.63 / 1:01.00 7x7x7 Cube Single 1:27.47 1:37.95 / 1:27.47 / 1:42.37 Mean 1:36.93 3x3x3 Blindfolded Single 11.56 Tommy Cherry Mid-Atlantic Quiet Championship 2026 (27–28 June) 15.98 / 14.26 / (11.56) / 14.95 / (DNF) Mean 13.97 Hefei August Open 2026 (15 August) 13.68 / 14.48 / (13.60) / 13.75 / (15.87) 3x3x3 Fewest Moves Single 16 Sebastiano Tronto FMC 2019 (15–16 June) 16 / 26 / 24 Aedan Bryant Ashfield Summer Challenge 2024 (23 June) 26 / 16 / 26 Levi Gibson 26 / 16 / 24 Jacob Sherwen Brown Rubik's UK Championship FMC 2024 (26 October) 33 / 31 / 16 Mean 19 Brian Johnson Evanston FMC Spring 2026 (2 May) 17 / 18 / 22 3x3x3 One-Handed Single 5.62 Patrick Ponce Mid-Atlantic Speedcubing Championship 2026 (14–16 August) 10.79 / 13.99 / (5.62) / 8.46 / (16.35) Average 6.99 Zhen Chen (陈震) Wuhu Open 2026 (25 July) 7.27 / 7.07 / (6.12) / (9.48) / 6.64 Clock Single 1.53 Lachlan Gibson Hasty Hastings 2025 (27 September) 3.52 / 2.33 / (7.02) / (1.53) / 3.08Average 2.14 GAN New Zealand Nationals 2026 (10-12 July) 2.10 / (2.07) / 2.22 / 2.09 / (2.33) Megaminx Single 21.04 Ziyu Wu (吴子钰) Quanzhou Summer 2026 (30 May) (21.04) / 27.74 / 28.66 / 26.11 / (29.29) Average 23.40 Timofei Tarasenko Kuala Lumpur Cubing Challenge 2026 (22-23 August) (22.47) / (24.29) / 23.57 / 23.73 / 22.91 Pyraminx Single 0.73 Simon Kellum Middleton Meetup Thursday 2023 (21 December) 4.94 / 2.36 / 1.76 / (0.73) / (DNF) Average 1.14 Lingkun Jiang (姜凌坤) Zhengzhou Zest 2025 (27 December) 1.04 / (3.22) / (0.97) / 1.21 / 1.16 Skewb Single 0.73 Vojtěch Grohmann Głuszyca Open 2026 (7–8 March) (3.25) / 1.57 / 1.70 / (0.73) / 1.56 Average 1.37 Ignacy Samselski Cube Factory League Justynów 2025 (14–15 June) 1.22 / 1.43 / (1.16) / 1.46 / (2.93) Square-1 Single 2.85 Brian Johnson Evanston Qualifier 2026 (17 May) (2.85) / 4.39 / (9.36) / 6.40 / 5.23 Average 4.63 Sameer Aggarwal Cubing in Southern Oregon 2025 (1 February) (8.08) / 6.20 / (3.42) / 3.81 / 3.88 4x4x4 Blindfolded Single 51.96 Stanley Chapel 4BLD in a Madison Hall 2023 (28–29 January) 1:17.62 / DNF / 51.96 Mean 59.39 New York Multimate PBQ II 2025 (13–15 June) 57.83 / 1:04.79 / 55.54 5x5x5 Blindfolded Single 1:58.59 Multi Mayhem VA 2026 (2–4 January) 2:22.85 / DNF / 1:58.59 Mean 2:27.63 Michigan Cubing Club Epsilon 2019 (14 December) 2:32.48 / 2:28.80 / 2:21.62 3x3x3 Multi-Blind Single 63/65 58:23 Graham Siggins Please Be Quiet Reno 2025 (18 October) 63/65 58:23 / 58/68 1:00:00
World Championships Every two years starting from 2003, the WCA holds the Rubik's Cube World Championships. (except for the 2021 World Championships, which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.) The Championship ultimately determines the world champion of the puzzle. Every official event is held at the Championship. The Rubik's Cube World Championship requires extremely careful planning by several volunteers, as well as a large financial commitment to reserve the venue and make necessary preparations. The latest championship was held in Seattle, United States from 3rd to 6th of July 2025. The next Championship is scheduled to be held in Uppsala, Sweden from 22nd to 25th of July 2027. The 2021 World Championship was to be held in Almere, Amsterdam from 28th to 31st of December 2021, already delayed from its initial July dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before being ultimately cancelled by the association in August 2021.