On Saturday April 19th, 2008, canadianCUBING held its' fourth competition in less than a year, coming full circle and ending the fiscal year where we began – at the Ontario Science Centre. The canadianCUBING Classic, or C3 as it was dubbed, once again brought together all the serious cubers from Toronto and surrounding areas, but also saw many first time cubers show up and compete. There were a total of 68 competitors at the competition, which made it the biggest competition in Canada since the World Championships in 2003 (which was, of course, also held at the OSC).

We had decided that, because this competition was a bit of a departure from the last two competitions in the Open series, we should do something different for everyone. It was determined that we would hold unofficial events in a very informal setting, so competitors could try and see how they faired in some of the more common fun events compared to their peers. We came up with seven unofficial events. Unfortunately, everyone was pretty busy competing, checking out the OSC’s many exhibits, or just relaxing and having fun. The result was surprisingly few people competing in the unofficial events.

Winners were given either stickers or a new 3x3 Rubik’s Cube. Below is the list of the events and their winners.

• Copy a Scramble – Kevin Westermann: 1:25.69
• Team Events
  • Team Solve – Russell Co and Doowon Joo: 1:11.25
  • Team Blindfold – Jack Moseley and Callum Moseley: 1:22.71
• Relay Events
  • 2x2x2 - 3x3x3 - 4x4x4 – Emile Compion: 2:10
  • 2x2x2 - 3x3x3 - 4x4x4 - 5x5x5 – Emile Compion: 4:33
• Rubik’s Revolution
  • Light Speed – Cassie Stuurman: 33
  • Pattern Panic – Cassie Stuurman: 9

Due to time constraints at the OSC, we were forced to drop an event in order to fit everything in. We had decided that we would not hold the 5x5 event this competition as it is the one with the fewest competitors, and also the one that, on a per solve basis, takes the longest. This decision was based solely on the time available for the competition. We will continue to hold the 5x5 event at future competitions.

When we first announced the competition, we had not planned on holding the Magic event. But due to popular demand, we decided to allow this competition to be held. It does not take that much time, and we are starting to see more and more people compete in the event that it seemed to be logical to hold it. There were a total of 14 competitors in the event.

The Magic event leaves little room for error, as the difference between 1st place and 5th place was less than half a second, but moreover, the difference between 1st and 3rd place was a mere 0.04 seconds. In third place, with a time of 1.57 seconds was Kevin Westermann. In second place was Rhodri Mativo with an average time of 1.56 seconds, and taking first place was Doowon Joo with an average time of 1.54 seconds.

The 4x4x4 event seems to be growing slowly at the canadianCUBING competitions, and we had a total of 14 people compete in the event, with 11 of those competitors achieving fast enough times to complete the average. The event saw current National Record holder Matt Walter compete, his only event that day.

In third place was Eric Limeback with an average time of 1:16.05. In second place with a very impressive average of 1:07.50 was Jack Moseley, and breaking the National Record for average was Matt Walter, with an average time of 1:05.40. With the exception of his first solve, Matt was very consistent, as he has yet to hit a sub 60 solve in competition. But I don’t doubt it is not far off. But the real question will be whether he or Jack Moseley becomes the first Canadian to do it.

The blindfolded event had only 7 people compete in it at this competition. With the absence of Derrick Eide from this competition, first place was wide open. The event went over well in the setting of the Ontario Science Centre with many passersby in complete awe of witnessing such an amazing feat. Because of the location, the competitors had to put up with conditions that they may not have been used to before, such as more noise than usual. But the talented cubers found a way to cope.

In third place was Jack Moseley with a best time of 3:38.13. Jack had a good pace going for his first solve, but about half way into his solving portion he popped his cube, which one can only imagine must be very difficult to fix and continue going mid algorithm while blindfolded. In second place was Harris Chan with a best time of 2:54.62, showing everyone that this event is the next on his list of records to claim. But keeping ahead of the pack, and finishing in first place was Eric Limeback with a time of 2:29.01.

There were a total of 21 competitors in the 2x2x2 event for this competition. Of those 21, seven achieved sub 10 second averages, and 13 of them had at least one sub 10 solve. The level of competition in this event is getting better with every competition. It is also getting tighter at the top, with only 0.33 second separating 2nd place from 4th place. In third place was Jai Gambhir, placing in an event for the first time, with an average of 7.54 seconds. In second place was Eric Limeback with an average time of 7.40 seconds. And winning the event by well over a full second was Jack Moseley with an average time of 6.09 seconds.

The One Handed event, as always, had a lot of interest. There were at total of 27 competitors in the event. It also saw both National Record holder for Single Solve – Doowon Joo – and National Record holder for Average – Harris Chan – competing head to head. After the first round, two more Canadians had joined the sub 30 club, with Russell Co and John Taewook Lee both clocking in average in less than 30 seconds. And Jack Moseley became only the 3rd Canadian to hit a sub 20 solve one handed, with a time of 19.31 seconds.

In the final round, however, only the top four places hit sub 30 averages, with the pressure getting to some of the competitors. In third place was Jack Moseley with an average of 28.46 seconds. In second place was Harris Chan with an average of 26.96 seconds, and taking first place was Doowon Joo with an impressive average time of 25.60 seconds.

The 3x3x3 event is the main event and virtually everyone competes in it, and as such, we had 67 competitors compete in the event. Once again, the lone exception was Matt Walter, who graciously acts as the Main Judge and scrambler for the event. The high number of people resulted in eight heats for and over 2 hours of time in total for the first round. The level of competition for this event has gotten higher since the last competition, which was only six week before it. Previously, a sub 30 average would have gotten into the second round, but this competition required a sub 27 second average to advance. A total of 11 competitors set sub 20 averages in the first round.

The second round featured one of the nicest scrambles for Fridrich solvers who start on white. It included a two move cross. A lot of people got their best solves on this scramble, with 5 people hitting sub 15 times. The best time set on it was done by North American Record holder Harris Chan, with an amazing time of 9.44 seconds, breaking his previous record by over .30 seconds. The time was part of his new North American Record average which now sits at 12.05 seconds. There is a feeling that a sub 12 average is near for him.

The top 10 competitors from the second round advanced to the final round, and it took a low 18 second average to get into the finals. Of the ten finalists, 8 achieved sub 20 averages in the round. Eric Limeback joined the sub 11 club, one of only 3 Canadians, with an impressive single solve time of 10.94 seconds.

In third place, with an average of 14.63 seconds was Doowon Joo. In second place was Eric Limeback with an average of 14.10 seconds, and once again, maintaining his position as fastest cuber in North America was Harris Chan, with an average of 13.10 seconds.

Once again, we cannot acknowledge everyone’s own personal bests, but many people did really well breaking their old times, some by large margins. But, as always, a few performances stood out, and this is where we acknowledge those people.

There are the usual suspects of Harris Chan, Doowon Joo, Eric Limeback and Jack Moseley who traditionally dominate most of the events and set the bar for everyone else. These guys keep getting better at every competition, and in every event. It is really great to see.

We saw some great improvements from Russell Co in both the One Handed event and the regular 3x3 event. Emile Compion, the fastest cuber from Africa, once again set many new continental records. We also had a higher turnout of female cubers, which is fantastic. There were a total of seven females, and five of them solved it in under 60 seconds at least once.

The blindfold event saw first time competitor Joe Linehan, representing the over 40 category and proving age has nothing to do with ability, compete. Joe came in 4th place, missing the winner’s circle by only 40 seconds. We were impressed with his ability and effort and hope to see him return for another competition to give the young guns a run for their money.

It is worth noting that there were a total of 5 other competitions in other parts of the world on the same day as the canadianCUBING Classic. If we were to compare our times to those competitions, Doowon Joo’s 3rd place in the final round of the 3x3 event would have been fast enough to come in 1st place at three of the other five competitions. That says something about the skill level the Canadians are achieving. It was not too long ago that a 14 second average was the National Record. We have come a long way in 11 months.

The canadianCUBING Classic proved to be a fun event that offered enough of a change to the regular format to make it unusual and fun. The exposure of speedcubing that the Ontario Science Centre can give us is fantastic, as hundreds of people saw cubing that day who had never seen it before. We want to take the opportunity to thank the Ontario Science Centre for its continued support of speedcubing and canadianCUBING.

Remember, you don’t have to be contending for first place, or even the top 10 to come out and have some fun. It is all about the experience of the event, from competing in an official environment, setting official WCA times, to meeting new people. If you have never been to a competition but are thinking about it, stop contemplating and come out. There will be a competition this summer 2008 in southern Ontario, so stay tuned to the website for more information and registration. We hope to see everyone again. Keep cubing, and keep having fun with it.