Competitors from as far away as Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington States will be in Pitt Meadows on Sunday, May 26, waging battle against – the Rubik’s Cube.
Participants in the Pitt Meadows Spring Open 2024 will be racing against time to solve the popular retro-1980’s puzzle.
This type of competition is so the rage in the speedcubing world, that it was almost fully booked within the first minute registration opened at the beginning of May.
Registration had to be capped at 120, said organizer and competitor Karsen Oun of Pitt Meadows. And within the first minute, 100 people had already registered. By the end of the opening day he had filled all the spots.
“Basically you have to register right away or your spot will be taken,” he said about the popularity of events like this.
Oun believes people are drawn to this hobby because it is unique and combines having to use your brain, in addition to being fast with your fingers.
This event is a first for Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.
Oun will be competing in the 3x3 speedcubing event and the 4x4 event. There are 17 events in total, within the organization, including the traditional puzzles, but also puzzles that were pyramid shaped and those with 12 sides, races done blindfolded and solved with the fewest moves. The competition in Pitt Meadows will include five of them.
The 16-year-old first started speedcubing with two other friends when they were in Grade 5.
“We just wanted to learn how to solve it,” he said of the Rubik’s Cube, noting it took them a week to solve it the first time.
“And we’ve just never stopped basically,” added Oun.
They learned by watching videos on YouTube. Oun said he wrote down algorithms for the different scenarios he would face, and, he explained, depending on what the cube looks like, you can perform a certain sequence to bring you to the next step.
And by doing these steps over and over, Oun memorized how to solve it.
As Oun learns new cube variations and puzzles, he has been getting faster and faster.
In Canada he is ranked 22nd with an average for solving the 3x3 cube at 7.64 seconds. His record single best is 6.11 seconds which is 30th in the country.
His average for solving the 4x4 is 55.23 seconds, which puts him at a ranking of 403rd in the country, and his best time, 43.17 seconds, puts him at 270th in Canada.
He said he mostly competes in the 3x3 speedcubing event.
“I just prefer simpler stuff, I guess,” he said.
According to The Strong National Museum of Play, the Rubik’s Cube was born in Hungary, created by a design teacher Erno Rubik in 1974. It was put in stores in 1980.
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Oun has been to about 13 competitions throughout Metro Vancouver and Nanaimo. In 2025, Seattle, Washington will be hosting the world championships, which is expected to attract more than 1,000 entrants from across the globe, noted Oun.
What captivates Oun, a Pitt Meadows Secondary School student, with the hobby, is how it relieves his stress and brings order to his life.
He also loves the community.
“I like how it is a big community and everybody is motivating and positive,” he said. For newcomers there is no pressure at all, everyone is just happy to be there, he said.
Oun practices for about 10 minutes every day. But for about a week before a competition, he practices closer to an hour to two hours every day.
Representatives from the World Cube Association, (WCA), a non-profit agency that governs competitions for mechanical puzzles that are operated by twisting groups of pieces, and Speedcubing Canada, an organization that promotes and supports the speedcubing community in this country, have been helping Oun organize the event and will be on hand to help make sure all rules are followed.
According to Speedcubing Canada, since the WCA was founded in 2004, more than 100,000 individuals from across 140 countries or more, have competed in official WCA competitions – including more than 4,700 competitors representing Canada. Almost 200 official WCA competitions have been held in Canada across seven provinces.
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For Pitt Meadows, said Oun, this competition is a big deal.
“We don’t have many huge events here and so it’s representing the community a lot,” said Oun, about the pressure of making the event a great environment for all those who attend.
Speedcubers to watch for in Pitt Meadows will be: Matty Hiroto Inaba from Hawaii who is 6th in the world for the 3x3 cube average, Sameer Aggarwal from Washington who is 28th in the world for 3x3 cube average, and Luke Jankowiak from Langley who is 265th in the world for 3x3 cube average.
Local competitors will also include Shawn Yang who is 87th in Canada for 3x3 single best time.
First, second, and third place winners will be receiving gift cards from Canadian speedcubing store Cubing Out Loud.
The event will be taking place from 8:30 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, May 26, at Pitt Meadows Secondary School, 19438 116b Ave, Pitt Meadows.