Dear WCA Community,

With another year passing, we would like to take this opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved together as a wonderful community. This year, there were 2,138 competitions across 99 countries, double of what it was last year! Over 37,500 competitors competed for the first time in 2023. Competitions continued to fill up due to high demand, the fastest being filled in just 5 seconds! What brought even more excitement to the competitions were the records being broken with a total of 3,857 National Records, 294 Continental Records and 53 World Records just this year! We also welcomed seven new Regional Organizations from around the world which will improve the planning of competitions in those areas going forward.

We extend our appreciation for the meticulous planning by the organizers that enabled the return of the WCA World Championship in 2023 after a four-year gap along with which we also had in-person Annual Members and Staff meetings. The invaluable support of the RUBIK'S CUBE® team, through their sponsorship, played a pivotal role in making this event possible.

Regarding the WCA organization, we express our gratitude to those who volunteered and dedicated their time as Delegates, Staff Members, or both. With each call for applicants, we received numerous high-quality applications from individuals who had not previously held a position in the WCA. This influx allowed us to expand our teams, distributing the workload more evenly across Committees/Teams and enhancing the overall efficiency of the organization. In total, we welcomed 37 new Committee/Team members and six Committee/Team/Council Leaders.There were also changes in the Board of Directors, including the addition of two new members, Kerrie Jarman and Michael Chai (柴天方), and the re-election of Ethan Pride, now serving his third term. Additionally, we celebrated significant Delegate promotions, including one Senior Delegate, 52 Delegates, 141 Junior Delegates, and 164 Trainee Delegates. The contributions of all these volunteers are invaluable, and we cannot thank anyone who dedicates their time to the WCA enough for their essential role in our work!

With the additional help from new members, our Committees and Teams accomplished so much in 2023! The WCA Communication Team posted over 158 times on social media and also covered 23 competitions through our Instagram stories, allowing those on the other side of the world to follow these events. The WCA Advisory Committee monitored over 7,400 posts and 471 topics on the WCA Forum. The WCA Marketing Team fulfilled 78 gear orders and achieved 500+ sales in WCA merchandise. The WCA Software Team had 255 merged pull requests and 116 translation updates. Despite the increase in competitions, the WCA Results Team posted competition results in an average of 8.49 hours. The WCA Competition Announcement Team significantly reduced the time it took to approve competitions, dropping the average from 34.9 hours in 2022 to 12.3 hours in 2023! The WCA Regulations Committee released updated regulations in February and August while the WCA Quality Assurance Committee added new useful resource guide documents to the WCA Educational Resources section. The WCA Executive Assistants Team managed to keep track of all organizational changes and announcements internally throughout the year, which was a lot to handle! In 2023 the WCA Financial Committee, through its Equipment Funding efforts, successfully supplied competition equipment to 21 countries. This included 242 stackmat timers, 113 displays, and various other miscellaneous competition items. Additionally, through their Travel Funding program, they facilitated the travel of Delegates to 2 countries lacking a Delegate, resulting in the hosting of 3 competitions. The total expenditure for these programs in 2023 amounted to approximately $19,500. In addition to that, the WCA has also made significant investments to enhance our website and, for the first time, enlisted paid contractors. We are already experiencing substantial progress, with even more visible improvements expected early in 2024, including a revamped registration system.

Just as important is the work of the WCA Archive Team, which is dedicated to maintaining the past records of the WCA and the WCA Sports Organization Team, working towards the recognition of the WCA as an international sports organization. The WCA Disciplinary Committee and the WCA Ethics Committee who ensure that the Code of Conduct and the Code of Ethics are being followed, respectively. The WCA Board works tirelessly every day, making crucial decisions while leading the WCA organization from the front.

As we welcome the new year, we remain committed to enhancing our organization to the fullest extent possible. We value input from every member of our community and encourage everyone to share their experiences through our upcoming Community Survey, scheduled for release in May-June 2024. Keep an eye out for it! We have also announced the location for the World Championship 2025, which is Seattle, USA.
Once again, our successful year would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of our volunteers, who generously contribute their time and resources to the community every day. As we bid farewell to 2023, we wish everyone moments of celebration and joy.

Wishing you a safe and Happy New Year!