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Chilliwack kids ready to rumble at Rubik’s competition

Fast fingers, memorizing algorithms key to solving cubes quickly in Rubik’s Rumble
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Owen VanDokkumburg competes in the second annual Rubik’s Rumble at Chilliwack middle school last week. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)

Their fingers were flying and the cubes were spinning at the second annual Rubik’s Rumble at Chilliwack middle school last week.

About 25 kids from throughout the school district, including private school students and homeschoolers, took part in the event which saw competitions solving two-by-two Rubik’s cubes, three-by-three cubes, and three-by-three cubes in team relays.

Miguel Rillera of Rosedale Traditional Community School was the fastest to solve the Rubik’s cube in the three-by-three competition. He took home first place with an impressive time of 10.705 seconds. The world record is 4.221 seconds by Feliks Zemdegs of Australia.

Each competition begins with a judge scrambling the cube and then placing it under an overturned box for the competitor. The box is lifted away from the cube, and the competitor then has 15 seconds to observe the cube before beginning to solve it. A special mat is used for timing the competitors. They place their hands on the small mat atop a table and the timer begins when they lift their hands to pick up the cube, and stops when they place their hands back on the mat.

Last year, the event included four-by-four and three-by-three, one-handed competitions.

Here are the results for the Chilliwack School District’s second annual Rubik’s Rumble:

Two-by-two:

First place - Leif Guiaya, A.D. Rundle - 4.692 seconds

Second place - Julin Giesbrecht, homeschool - 6.303 seconds

Third place - Miguel Rillera, Rosedale - 6.405 seconds

Three-by-three:

First place - Miguel Rillera, Rosedale - 10.705 seconds

Second place - Weiliang Shen, Chilliwack middle - 25.397 seconds

Third place - Leif Guiaya, A.D. Rundle - 27.897 seconds

Three-by-three team relay (each team had to solve six Rubik’s cubes):

First place - Khang Chien, Julin Giesbrecht, Miguel Rillera, and Leif Guiaya - 3:59.673 minutes

Second place - Nathan Grills, Liam Shepherd, Myles Thompson, Banyen Phung - 4:44.908 minutes

Third place - Seth Atkinson, Liam Vlaar, Connor Charest, Tristan Dennill - 5:02.647 minutes

READ MORE: Rubik’s Rumble a hit at Chilliwack middle school


 

@PhotoJennalism
jenna.hauck@theprogress.com

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Miguel Rillera placed first in the three-by-three competition with a time of 10.705 seconds. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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One student’s hands are a blur as he solves the Rubik’s cube. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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Kids practise solving cubes between heats during Rubik’s Rumble. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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In the team relay, four competitors need to complete six Rubik’s cubes. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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A judge lifts the box to reveal the unsolved Rubik’s cube to Liam Shepherd. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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Kids wait for their cubes to be mixed in the team relay event. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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A five-by-five and two-by-two cube. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)


Jenna Hauck

About the Author: Jenna Hauck

I started my career at The Chilliwack Progress in 2000 as a photojournalist.
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