Reflections on the Governance of Strategic Decision-Making

Concerning the World Cube Association's Official Event Portfolio

Asociación Almeriense de Speedcubing

Julio 2026

Almería · Andalucía · Spain · Europe

Submitted to the WCA Board of Directors · 22 July 2026

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This document analyzes the strategic rationale and governance model underlying the decision announced by the World Cube Association (WCA) in June 2026 regarding the modification of its official event portfolio.

The analysis is based exclusively on publicly available WCA documentation, official competition data, and verifiable public statements made by members of the WCA Board. Its purpose is to assess the degree of alignment between the decision adopted, the organization's published strategy, and its governance model.

The main findings of this analysis are as follows:

The WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 explicitly envisages the development of a framework for modifying the official event portfolio.
It has not been possible to identify this framework in the publicly available documentation.
It has not been possible to establish a traceable link between the published strategy and the announced decision.
The publicly available documentation also does not make it possible to understand how the decision relates to the concept of core identity referenced in the official announcement.
The objective data analyzed show positive development for Clock and a competitive landscape that differs significantly from that of six years ago, yet it is not possible to determine how these indicators were considered within the strategic decision-making process.
Members of the WCA Board have publicly acknowledged that both the process for making and communicating future decisions of this nature and the way they engage with community feedback should be improved.

These statements reinforce the opportunity to develop the framework envisaged in the Strategic Plan as a mechanism for establishing the principles, criteria, metrics, and methodology needed to guide the evolution of the official event portfolio in a clear, transparent, and consistent manner.

In this context, the Almeria Speedcubing Association invites the WCA Board to consider postponing the implementation of the decision to remove Clock until the envisaged framework has been developed and can be applied in a consistent, transparent, and objective manner.

This proposal is not intended to challenge the authority of the WCA Board or to predetermine the outcome of any future evaluation. Rather, its purpose is to help strengthen trust between the WCA and the community by encouraging strategic decisions regarding the official event portfolio to be made through a process that is more transparent, traceable, and understandable.

1. INTRODUCTION

The Almeria Speedcubing Association would like to offer the WCA Board a constructive reflection on the strategic rationale and governance framework underlying the recent decision to modify the WCA's official event portfolio by removing Clock and adding Face Turning Octahedron (FTO).

First and foremost, we would like to express our respect for the work carried out by the WCA Board and fully acknowledge its responsibility for defining the organization's strategic direction. We recognize that leading an international community such as the WCA requires making complex decisions that may, at times, be difficult or may not receive unanimous support from the community.

For this very reason, the purpose of this document is not to challenge the authority of the WCA Board or to debate whether the decision itself is right or wrong. Nor does it seek access to internal deliberations or information that, by its nature, should remain confidential.

Instead, its objective is to examine how a decision presented publicly as strategic can be understood in the context of the WCA's own published strategy and governance framework, while also offering a constructive reflection on possible ways to further strengthen the organization's strategic decision-making process.

We believe that international organizations are strengthened when their strategic decisions can be understood through publicly defined principles, transparent criteria, and clearly established decision-making frameworks. Such an approach not only helps stakeholders understand individual decisions, but also reinforces the community's confidence in the organization's governing bodies and its strategic direction.

In this regard, we consider the recent public statements made by members of the WCA Board to be particularly significant. In those statements, Board members expressed their intention to improve the way decisions of this nature are made and communicated, while continuing to listen to community feedback. In our view, these statements represent an opportunity to further strengthen the WCA's governance framework and to advance the direction already envisaged in its own Strategic Plan 2025--2028 .

We recognize that an organization may make decisions whose outcomes are not shared by every part of the community. However, we believe that good governance enables such decisions to be understood, even when they are not universally supported. In our view, the development of the framework envisaged in the WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 represents an excellent opportunity to further strengthen that trust by providing future decisions with a clear, transparent, and shared framework.

In this spirit of collaboration and continuous improvement, the Almeria Speedcubing Association respectfully submits the following reflections and proposals.

2. THE ROLE OF THE WCA BOARD IN DEFINING THE ORGANIZATION'S STRATEGY

The WCA Board plays a fundamental role in guiding the direction and evolution of the organization. Its responsibilities include defining the organization's strategy, planning its long-term development, and making the decisions it considers necessary to ensure the WCA's sustainability and continued growth.

The Almeria Speedcubing Association fully recognizes both this responsibility and the Board's legitimate authority to make strategic decisions, even when such decisions may be complex, unpopular, or may not command the support of the entire community.

Any organization with an international vocation requires governing bodies capable of making decisions with the broader interests of the organization and its long-term future in mind, beyond the specific circumstances of a given moment or the prevailing majority opinion within the community.

Precisely because of the significance of such decisions, we believe that organizations strengthen their legitimacy when their actions can be understood in the context of a clearly defined strategy and a governance framework based on transparent, objective, and consistent principles.

From this perspective, this document examines the extent to which the strategic rationale publicly presented for a decision of this significance can be related to the WCA's published strategy, the governance framework established by the organization itself, and the opportunities for improvement that members of the WCA Board have subsequently acknowledged in their public statements.

Trust in an institution depends not only on the decisions it makes, but also on the clarity with which it explains the principles that underpin them. In this regard, strategic transparency and the traceability of the decision-making process are fundamental to strengthening the community's confidence in the organization's governance. The recent public statements made by members of the WCA Board, acknowledging the need to improve the way decisions of this nature are made and communicated, further reinforce the importance of continuing to advance these principles of good governance.

From this perspective, we believe that the strength of an international organization lies not only in its ability to make strategic decisions, but also in the existence of a governance framework that enables stakeholders to understand how those decisions are justified, evaluated, and communicated. This conviction underpins the analysis presented in the following sections.

3. ANALYSIS OF THE STRATEGIC RATIONALE BEHIND THE DECISION

In the announcement published on 25 June 2026, the WCA Board announced the removal of Clock from the official event portfolio, explicitly stating that this was a strategic decision:

"We know that the changes in this announcement will be disappointing for some, but consider these to be important strategic changes that strengthen the WCA's core identity and best set us up for future success."

The use of the term "strategic changes" is particularly significant, as it places the rationale for the decision squarely within the organization's institutional strategy.

On the basis of this statement, and taking into account the subsequent public comments made by members of the WCA Board regarding this decision, the Almeria Speedcubing Association considered it appropriate to examine the WCA's publicly available strategic documentation in order to understand how this decision can be related to the organization's stated strategic objectives and its governance framework.

To this end, we reviewed the WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 , the strategic document currently in force and published by the WCA as the reference for its strategy during the 2025--2028 period. We also examined the publicly available documentation relating to the organization's governance, together with the verifiable public statements subsequently made by members of the WCA Board regarding this decision.

The Strategic Plan sets out the organization's purpose, defines its core values, and structures its strategy around five Key Result Areas (KRAs):

Growth
Systems
Partnerships
Events & Championships
Volunteers

This analysis is based exclusively on publicly available documentation, official data, and verifiable public statements. It does not make any assumptions regarding the WCA Board's internal deliberations or any strategic considerations that, by their nature, may not have been made public.

The observations presented below are therefore limited to examining the extent to which the strategic rationale publicly expressed for the decision can be understood and related to the WCA's own published strategy.

The additional explanations subsequently provided by members of the WCA Board offer valuable context regarding the process that was followed and enrich the discussion. At the same time, they highlight the importance of continuing to develop a governance framework that enables stakeholders to understand, in an objective manner, how strategic decisions of this nature are justified and how they are integrated into the organization's overall strategy.

From a governance perspective, strategic decisions gain greater institutional legitimacy when there is a clear alignment between the organization's published strategy, the principles that underpin it, and the decisions ultimately adopted. This principle of strategic alignment provides the methodological framework used throughout this document to analyze both the announced decision and the subsequent public explanations offered in relation to it.

4. OBSERVATIONS ON THE STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT OF THE DECISION

4.1. The Strategic Plan Envisages the Need for a Framework to Guide the Evolution of the Official Event Portfolio

The WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 identifies five strategic priorities, referred to as Key Result Areas (KRAs), one of which is Events & Championships.

Within this KRA, the Strategic Plan includes a single objective that explicitly addresses the evolution of the official event portfolio:

"Develop a framework that supports the changing of WCA events."

The inclusion of this objective is particularly significant, as it explicitly recognizes the need for a framework to support decisions involving the addition, modification, or removal of official events.

From a governance perspective, the existence of such a framework would enable decisions of this nature to be made in accordance with consistent, objective, and predefined principles and criteria, thereby strengthening their alignment with the organization's overall strategy.

A framework of this kind does not predetermine the outcome of any particular decision. Rather, its purpose is to establish in advance the principles, criteria, and methodology that allow any proposal to add, modify, or remove an official event to be evaluated in a consistent manner.

In addition to enhancing transparency and institutional consistency, a framework of this kind brings greater predictability to the strategic decision-making process. While the community may not know in advance what the outcome of a particular evaluation will be, it can understand the principles and criteria that will be applied to reach that outcome.

The importance of this strategic objective becomes even more apparent in light of the subsequent public statements made by members of the WCA Board, in which they expressed their intention to improve the way decisions of this nature are made and communicated. The development of the framework envisaged in the Strategic Plan itself represents an opportunity to put that commitment into practice through a decision-making process that is more transparent, consistent, and understandable for the entire community.

Accordingly, the Strategic Plan not only recognizes the importance of establishing a specific framework for the evolution of the official event portfolio, but also identifies its development as one of the WCA's strategic objectives for the 2025--2028 period.

4.2. It Has Not Been Possible to Identify the Framework Envisaged in the Strategic Plan

Based on the strategic objective described above, the WCA's publicly available documentation was reviewed in order to identify the framework referred to in the Strategic Plan.

To this end, we examined the WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 , the organization's published institutional documentation, and the subsequent public statements made by members of the WCA Board regarding this decision.

As a result of this review, it has not been possible to identify any publicly available document that develops the framework envisaged in the Strategic Plan, nor any documentation describing the general principles or the process by which future modifications to the official event portfolio should be evaluated.

In particular, no publicly available documentation has been identified defining, among other aspects:

the general principles that should govern decisions of this nature.
the objectives that would justify the addition or removal of an official event.
the performance indicators to be evaluated.
the weighting assigned to those indicators.
the evaluation methodology to be applied.
the decision-making and assessment process.
the role of community consultation and feedback within that process.
the mechanisms for reviewing or monitoring decisions of this nature, and
the principles intended to ensure the consistent application of the framework to future additions, modifications, or removals of official events.

This observation should not be interpreted as implying that such a framework does not exist. Rather, it simply reflects that it has not been possible to identify it within the publicly available documentation currently accessible.

Accordingly, the observations presented in the following sections are based exclusively on the publicly available documentation and on the public explanations provided by the WCA and members of its Board.

4.3. It Has Not Been Possible to Publicly Verify the Alignment Between the Decision Adopted and the Organization's Published Strategy

Based on the publicly available documentation reviewed, it is possible to identify several strategic explanations provided by the WCA Board to justify the modification of the official event portfolio.

Among these are strengthening the WCA's identity as an organization focused on twisty puzzles, supporting the organization's future growth, and simplifying the official event portfolio.

These explanations provide valuable context for the decision and help to explain, at least in part, the reasoning followed by the WCA Board. However, it has not been possible to identify a publicly available strategic framework that relates these explanations to objective evaluation criteria, previously established strategic priorities, or a known methodology for assessing the addition or removal of official events.

In the absence of such a framework, it is difficult to distinguish which aspects of the decision are based on previously established strategic criteria and which reflect the WCA Board's legitimate exercise of discretion in carrying out its responsibilities.

In this context, the existence of a predefined strategic framework would make it possible to verify that relationship objectively and would help the community understand how each individual decision aligns with the organization's published strategy.

4.4. The Concept of "Core Identity" Is Not Developed in the WCA's Published Strategy

In the announcement published on 25 June 2026, the WCA Board justified the modification of the official event portfolio by stating that the changes were intended to **"** strengthen the WCA's core identity."

Following the announcement, members of the WCA Board provided various public explanations of this concept, primarily associating it with the objective of keeping the WCA focused on twisty puzzles and reinforcing its distinct identity as an organization.

However, after reviewing the WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 , it has not been possible to identify core identity as one of the strategic principles explicitly defined by the organization, nor to find a published institutional definition explaining how the concept should be interpreted or applied in the context of decisions relating to the official event portfolio.

This does not prevent the WCA Board from further developing or refining the organization's strategy through future decisions or interpretations. However, from an institutional perspective, when a concept comes to play a decisive role in a strategic decision of this significance, it is appropriate for it either to form part of the published strategy or to be supported by a public reference that enables its meaning, scope, and relationship to the organization's strategic objectives to be clearly understood.

In the absence of such a reference, it has not been possible to verify publicly how the concept of core identity is integrated into the organization's published strategy.

4.5. Objective Data Should Form Part of Any Strategic Evaluation

Every strategic decision necessarily involves qualitative judgments whose assessment falls within the WCA Board's legitimate responsibilities.

However, such strategic judgment can be informed and strengthened by the analysis of objective and verifiable information relating to the evolution of the various official events.

Objective indicators do not, by themselves, determine what the final decision should be. They do, however, provide a common basis for assessing trends, comparing different scenarios, and reinforcing the objectivity of the evaluation process.

In the case of Clock, a range of publicly available indicators---such as the number of competitions including the event, the number of competitors, its geographical distribution, and its evolution over time---make it possible to carry out an objective assessment of its development. These data provide an objective evidence base for any strategic evaluation process, regardless of the decision ultimately reached.

The dynamic nature of any organization means that strategic decisions should be informed by the reality that exists at the time they are made. The evolution of an official event over time therefore represents a relevant element of the analysis, as it makes it possible to reassess previous situations, trends, or perceptions in light of more recent objective information.

In this regard, a framework such as the one envisaged in the WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 could establish not only which indicators should be considered and how they should be weighted, but also the appropriate time horizon for their evaluation. In this way, strategic decisions would be based on objective, consistent criteria that reflect the circumstances and realities existing at the time the decision is made.

4.6. The Addition of FTO Forms Part of the Same Strategic Decision

The decision announced by the WCA Board on 25 June 2026 comprises two inseparable actions: the removal of Clock as an official event and the addition of FTO to the WCA's official event portfolio.

Both measures form part of a single strategic decision and should therefore be understood as outcomes of the same strategic evaluation process.

From this perspective, the same strategic framework that provides the basis for the removal of an official event should also establish the general criteria for the addition of a new one. This does not necessarily imply that both types of decisions should follow identical analyses or that all factors should carry the same weight. Rather, it means that both should be grounded in coherent strategic principles, predefined criteria, and a common methodological framework.

A framework of this nature would make it possible to explain transparently which factors are considered relevant in each type of decision, how they are weighted, and why certain considerations may carry greater or lesser significance depending on whether an official event is being added or removed.

In this way, both the addition of new official events and the removal of existing ones could be understood as coherent decisions within a single institutional strategy, thereby strengthening the consistency, verifiability, and overall transparency of the organization's governance process.

5. CONCLUSIONS

5.1. Subsequent Statements by Members of the WCA Board

Following the announcement of 25 June 2026, several members of the WCA Board discussed the decision publicly during an interview conducted in connection with the European Championship.

During the interview, they indicated that the way future decisions of this nature are made and communicated will evolve from the approach followed on this occasion. They also expressed their commitment to continue listening to community feedback and to learn from those aspects of the process that could be improved.

From a governance perspective, these statements are particularly significant. While they do not alter the substance of the decision itself, they clearly demonstrate the Board's willingness to continue refining both its strategic decision-making process and the way such decisions are communicated publicly.

In this context, the objective set out in the WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 to develop a framework for the addition, modification, and removal of official events provides the natural mechanism for putting this evolution of the organization's governance framework into practice.

A framework of this kind could establish common principles, objective criteria, performance metrics, mechanisms for community participation, and a well-defined methodology for evaluating future decisions concerning the official event portfolio. This would enable such decisions to be understood from both a strategic and a governance perspective.

5.2. Summary of the Analysis

The purpose of the analysis presented in this document has not been to assess whether the decision adopted by the WCA Board was strategically right or wrong.

Rather, its objective has been to examine whether, based on the WCA's published institutional documentation and the subsequent public explanations provided by members of the WCA Board, it is possible to understand objectively how that decision relates to the organization's published strategy and its previously established governance framework.

As a result of this analysis, it has not been possible to identify publicly a framework that establishes the principles, criteria, or methodology for evaluating the addition, modification, or removal of official events. Likewise, it has not been possible to verify how certain concepts used to justify the decision---such as the reference to core identity ---are formally integrated into that strategy.

The analysis also highlights the value that objective and verifiable indicators can bring in informing strategic judgment, without implying that they should predetermine the outcome of a decision or limit the WCA Board's authority to exercise its responsibilities.

Taken together, these conclusions highlight the opportunity to continue developing the governance framework envisaged in the WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 .

5.3. An Opportunity to Strengthen the WCA's Governance

Every mature organization evolves not only through the decisions it makes, but also through the continuous improvement of the processes that lead to those decisions.

In this regard, the development of the framework envisaged in the WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 represents an opportunity to strengthen the alignment between the WCA's published strategy and the decisions it adopts. In doing so, future additions, modifications, or removals of official events could be understood in light of previously established principles and criteria.

A framework of this nature does not limit the WCA Board's decision-making authority or predetermine the outcome of future evaluations. Its purpose is not to dictate which decisions should be made, but to establish how they should be evaluated. To that end, it provides a common methodology based on predefined principles and criteria, promotes consistency in the decision-making process, enhances its verifiability, and enables the community to understand how each individual decision is reasoned and how it relates to the organization's published strategy.

For these reasons, the Almeria Speedcubing Association believes that developing this framework would strengthen the governance model envisaged in the WCA Strategic Plan and further reinforce the community's confidence in the World Cube Association's decision-making processes.

6. FINAL REFLECTION

International organizations evolve continuously, and with them their strategies, priorities, and decisions also evolve.

The strength of that evolution lies not only in the ability to make complex decisions, but also in the ability to explain the principles that guide them and the process through which those decisions contribute to achieving the organization's strategic objectives.

We believe that strategic decisions gain greater legitimacy when the community can understand the relationship between the organization's strategy and the decision ultimately adopted, and when the decision-making process is grounded in predefined and understandable criteria.

It is in this spirit that this document has been prepared.

The Almeria Speedcubing Association hopes that the reflections and proposals presented in this document will serve as a constructive contribution to the development of the framework envisaged in the WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 and to the continued strengthening of the World Cube Association's governance framework.

We sincerely thank the WCA Board for taking the time to consider this document and reaffirm our willingness to contribute, in a spirit of respect, dialogue, and a shared commitment to the development of speedcubing, to helping build a World Cube Association that is ever stronger, more coherent, and ever closer to its community.

7. METHODOLOGY, SCOPE, AND LIMITATIONS

7.1. Purpose of the Document

This document has been prepared by the Almeria Speedcubing Association as a constructive contribution to the analysis of the governance framework and strategic rationale underlying the decision announced by the World Cube Association (WCA) regarding the modification of its official event portfolio in June 2026.

Its preparation has benefited from the collaboration of members of our Association with professional experience in organizational leadership, corporate governance, auditing, risk management, and regulatory compliance.

The analysis has been conducted using a methodology based on the review of publicly available institutional documentation, the analysis of official data, and the objective evaluation of the information available.

7.2. Sources and Methodology

This analysis has been conducted exclusively on the basis of publicly available information, including institutional documentation published by the World Cube Association, the WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 , the official announcement concerning the modification of the official event portfolio, official competition statistics, and subsequent public statements made by members of the WCA Board.

No consideration has been given to internal deliberations, unpublished documentation, private communications, or any other information whose authenticity, context, or public availability cannot be objectively verified.

All observations presented in this document are supported by publicly available and verifiable sources.

Primary Sources Reviewed

World Cube Association. WCA Strategic Plan 2025--2028 .
World Cube Association. Official Announcement -- Changes to Official WCA Events (25 June 2026) .
World Cube Association. Official Competition Results & Statistics .
World Cube Association. Public interview with members of the WCA Board during the 2026 WCA European Championship (YouTube) .

As part of the documentary review process, the institutional documentation published by the WCA through its official document's portal was also examined. This included, among other sources, the Bylaws , Code of Conduct , Code of Ethics , Motions , Minutes , WCA Policies , and the institutional and financial information published by the organization.

7.3. Scope and Limitations

This analysis is limited exclusively to the examination of publicly available documentation and official data published by the World Cube Association as of the date this document was prepared.

Accordingly, it does not seek to interpret the WCA Board's internal deliberations, assess unpublished strategic analyses, access confidential information, or draw conclusions regarding matters that have not been officially disclosed by the WCA.

The observations presented in this document should therefore be understood within these methodological boundaries and constitute solely a reflection based on publicly available, objectively verifiable information accessible to any member of the community.