Dear WCA Community,

As we welcome 2025, it’s the perfect time to look back on everything we accomplished together as a global community in 2024. Over the past year, we saw more than 2,700 competitions take place across 102 countries, with over 63,000 participants, including 32,954 newcomers! Along the way, 4,038 National Records, 245 Continental Records, and 59 World Records were broken at the competitions. Additionally, 9 new Regional Organizations were recognized, bringing the total number of WCA-recognized ROs to 46!

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the organizing team for their dedication and meticulous planning, which will bring us the World Championship 2025 in Seattle, USA. A special thanks to RUBIK'S CUBE® for their continued partnership and invaluable support, which also played a key role in the 6 successful Continental Championships that we had in 2024. Their sponsorship helped make these competitions possible, and we hope many of you were able to attend or enjoy streams of the action live!

The WCA relies on a dedicated team of volunteers to keep the organization running smoothly. This year, we celebrated the promotions of 4 Senior Delegates, 117 Delegates, 146 Junior Delegates, and 121 Trainee Delegates, while also welcoming 80 new members to our Committees and Teams. The Board of Directors saw changes, with Nick Silvestri joining as a new Board member and Blake Thompson being re-elected to serve his second term. These volunteers are essential to the WCA's success, and we are deeply grateful for their dedication and support.

With the support of new members, the WCA Committees and Teams worked hard and reached significant milestones in 2024. The WCA Software Team made significant advancements, with 872 pull requests along with 137 translation updates merged, and the revamped registration system launched, which was made possible largely with the help of paid contractors. Despite the increasing number of competitions, the WCA Results Team maintained an average of 7 hours to post results, while the WCA Competition Announcement Team averaged 7 hours and 35 minutes to approve competitions. The WCA Communication Team posted over 131 times on social media, while the WCA Executive Assistants Team kept track of internal organizational changes throughout the year, which was a lot to manage. The WCA Marketing Team had over 10,000 views across the WCA merchandise. The WCA Financial Committee made a substantial impact through its funding programs. Equipment funding provided competition equipment to 12 countries, including 99 timers, 87 displays, and other necessary materials. In addition, the WCA Financial Committee launched the RO Support Funding program, which provided assistance to 5 existing Regional Organizations and helped 1 new Regional Organization achieve recognition. Altogether, these programs provided approximately $28,000 in funding. Another major success was the introduction of the RO-supported Dues Waiver program, which allowed 34 countries to host National Championships without paying WCA Dues, saving local communities a total of $27,000 that was reinvested into improving these championships and supporting growth. The WCA Regulations Committee released updated Regulations, which are now in effect as of January 1, 2025.

In addition to these efforts, two new committees and one team were established to strengthen the organization. The WCA Appeals Committee (WAC) was created as a dedicated committee to handle appeals, ensuring fairness and transparency for the community. The WCA Major Championship Team (WMCT) was formed to provide consistent and high-quality experiences at major championships, enhancing the overall standard of these events. Furthermore, on August 1st, the WCA Integrity Committee (WIC) was established through the merger of the WCA Ethics Committee and the WCA Disciplinary Committee, streamlining processes for handling violations of the Spirit, Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics, and Regulations of the WCA. Together, the WDC and WIC opened 79 disciplinary investigations and closed 71, showing how this new structure has improved efficiency. Just as important is the work of the WCA Archive Team, the WCA Quality Assurance Committee, the WCA Sports Organization Team, and the WCA Board, who support the WCA immensely every day.

As we step into 2025, we want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made 2024 such a remarkable year for the WCA. Once again, our success would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our volunteers, who generously contribute their time and resources to support the community every day. As we move forward, we remain committed to improving our organization and welcome your input through the Community Survey, set to launch in early 2025. Let’s make 2025 another incredible year together.

Wishing you all a happy, fulfilling, and successful year ahead!