Last weekend, 3 Emanuel students went away to a Rubix Cubing Tournament in Belgium. At the competition, they met the second fastest speedcuber in Europe and the 8th in the entire world. They were competing against some of the best of the best and we did quite well. One of the students even made a YouTube video documenting the adventure.
All three students wrote their perspective of this adventure.
Thomas (Year 8):
We took the train to Zottegem and started getting ready for the competition. After a quick stop at domino’s pizza, we headed to the competition. When we arrived, there were 100 people competing. We did some practice on timers and then went for our briefing. We were then sent to a waiting area. The first event was 3×3 and Timothy and I were in the same group. Individually we were called up and we started our solves. Overall, Tim had the best average with about 37 seconds. And I had the best single with 29 seconds. Diego also managed to complete his goal as he was aiming for an average of sub 50 which he convincingly did with 48 seconds. One of the top speedcubers in the world, Twan Dullemond was also there, and we all managed to get him to sign our cubes. I also competed in 2×2 with an average of 9 seconds. This being our first official competition I think we did quite well.
Timothy (Year 8):
I took up cubing in the beginning of October and joined Thomas and Diego from my year in Belgium at a Rubix cube competition. It was fun to be in Belgium and go to my first competition. I was proud of my best official time of 30.30 seconds with an average of 36.30 seconds. I got to meet the winner who holds the title for the eighth fastest 3×3 (average) ‘cuber’ in the world and got his autograph.
Diego (Year 8):
This was an experience I will never forget. Not only did I beat my goal of a below 50 second average, I had lots of fun while doing it. Of course, the competition, meeting Twan Dullemond and befriending a Belgium speedcuber on the train was amazingly fun, I think the people I did it with is what is going to sement this trip in my memory lane as one of the most amazing and exiting experiences. From going to a Tintin experience to taking the train, every second I spent with my peers was amazing. I also have to thank our dads for taking us there as none of this would have been possible without them. I highly recommend trying something like this, it doesn’t have to be a rubix cubing competition, but it could just be something you have been wanting to do. Take life by storm and enjoy every bit of it, because you don’t know, you may just find what we found with speedcubing.
If you are interested in going to a competition like this one, go on the WCA website, then find a competition that works for you.
Glossary:
Speedcubing: the act of solving the rubix cube quickly
Speedcuber/cuber: someone who solves the rubix cube quickly
Cubing comp: competitions in which people attempt to solve the rubix cube quickly
Miss Taylor, Head of Year 8 and Teacher of Mathematics.
