Super duper 'cubers' descending on Vancouver for Rubik's Cube competition

Completing a Rubik's Cube — without cheating by just rearranging the stickers — is tough enough. But some Rubik's Cube super fans in Vancouver will take it to the next level on Saturday.

At the Vancouver Convention Centre, a major Rubik's Cube competition will see 150 "cubers" give their best shot at breaking the world record for the fastest Rubik's Cube completion.

"If you want to solve a Rubik's Cube, you can just memorize some algorithms, like formulae," co-organizer Alvin Yang, 18, told On The Coast's Jason D'Souza. "But if you want to get faster, you have to understand the cube. The mechanism or the principle behind the Rubik's Cube.

"But the most important thing is practice."

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The World Cube Association record stands at 4.73 seconds for completing a three-by-three Rubik's Cube.

Yang's fellow co-organizer, 16-year-old Tom Wang, has a best time of about seven seconds.

For him, the love of the cube began eight years ago when his mom brought a cheap one home one day.

"I asked my mom, 'Why did you buy that? You can't solve it!'" Wang said. "My mom was like, 'You don't believe me? I can make sure I can solve it.'"

She learned online how to do it, and after a month, he saw her solve it.

"I was shocked!" he said. "And she taught me how to solve it."

While Saturday's event is too full to accept any more cubers, it is free for the public to watch.

The record attempts will take place between 1 and 2 p.m. PT, and Yang is extremely optimistic about the odds of a new record.

"70 to 80 per cent chance," he squarely said.

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast

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