It may seem like an impossible task to solve a Rubik’s Cube for a lot of us, but for members of Speedcubing Ireland, an organisation who run competitions to see who can solve the twisty puzzle the quickest, it can be done in a matter of seconds.
The Irish National Rubik’s Cube Speedsolving Championships took place in Waterford’s SETU Arena from August 15 -17, where over 200 competitors from 20 countries competed to try and come out on top. As well as Ireland, participants came from Britain, Germany and as far away as Australia, South Africa and China.
Ciarán Beahan, who is a member of Speedcubing Ireland’s committee, has been taking part in the competitions since 2011. He told The Munster Express that once he learned how to solve one side of a Rubik’s Cube, he then looked up videos online and practiced timing himself to enter competitions. He held the title of National Speedsolving Champion of the traditional 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube for 10 years, before a new competitor took over this year.
That was 14 year old CJ Furey from Offaly, who had been placing second behind Ciarán for a number of years. Ciarán said: I’m happy for CJ, it’s nice to see someone new coming in to take over and he deserves it. But I’ll definitely be back in the competition next year. There’s around five people in the mix for the top spots at the moment, so that keeps it exciting.”
In the competition, participants are given 5 attempts to solve the cube in the quickest time, with volunteers mixing up the cubes after each turn. Their final time is the average of the middle three attempts, and CJ came in first at 7.03 seconds. Cillian Hainbach was second with 7.22 seconds, and in the finest of margins, Ciarán placed third at 7.23 seconds.
It’s not just the traditional Rubik’s Cube that competitors take on. There were 17 new champions crowned across the different categories of the competition, which included one-handed and blindfolded solving, using different sized cubes such as 2×2, and solving different Rubik’s variations such as a pyraminx and megaminx.
As well as the yearly National Championships, Speedcubing Ireland also holds a number of local competitions throughout the year in different counties. Both newcomers and more experienced players got involved in the competition this year, and Ciarán said that they are always encouraging new people to come to an event to try it out. And they are already looking ahead to next year, where they are going to try and return to SETU Arena for the championships.
Ciarán said: “It’s all about having a good time, people can come along to an event and pop their head in to see what it’s like, or get involved. We encourage people who are joining to try and practice to be able to solve a cube in 10 minutes.”
You can find more information about Speedcubing Ireland and their upcoming events via their website: speedcubingireland.com.
ROBYN POWER
Photo caption: National Champion winner CJ Furey pictured with his trophy after winning the 3x3x3 competition. Cillian Hainbach and Ciarán Beahan are also pictured, who took second and third place.
