Hundreds take part in UK Rubik's Cube championship

7 hours ago

Geoff Ward,in Birminghamand

Andrew Dawkins,West Midlands

Five hundred people have competed in Birmingham over three days

BBC A large room containing rows of blue seats in the bottom left. There are various tables with a yellow covering on the right and in the middle with between one and four people sitting at each of them. There are tables with a red covering towards the top left. — Five hundred people have competed in Birmingham over three days

Hundreds of the fastest people to solve a Rubik's Cube in the country have been taking part in the national championships in Birmingham.

The event featured a range of different events between Friday and Sunday, including the standard 3x3 puzzle, as well as other cube sizes from 2x2 all the way up to 7x7.

Some competitors were also trying for the fastest time in challenges, such as completing the standard cube with one hand and blindfolded in the championship at the University of Birmingham's Sport & Fitness Centre.

The Rubik's Cube, a 3D puzzle solved by twisting, was invented by Erno Rubik in 1974 and at least 350 million have been sold worldwide.

Five hundred people have competed, with some travelling from overseas, but only competitors representing the UK were eligible to win the national champion title.

Eleanor Sinnott, one of the organisers of the Kewbz UK Championship 2026, said for a lot of people the Rubik's Cube was "kind of a massive hobby".

"These guys will spend eight hours a day, some of them, just practising, practising, practising," she added.

Eleanor Sinnott, one of the organisers, said the championship featured a "very wide range of ages"

A woman with long brown hair is wearing glasses and a red top. The background, including the championship taking place in a building with blue walls, is blurred. — Eleanor Sinnott, one of the organisers, said the championship featured a "very wide range of ages"

Spectators were permitted to attend the championship, organised by the UK Cube Association, for free.

Sinnott said she expected the winning average at the competition to be about six seconds, but it had competitors going up to "several minutes".

"We've got a very wide range of ages here, so we've got a five-year-old here who goes up to my knee, all the way up [to] a competitor in his 70s and everywhere in between.

"Most of our competitors tend to be teenagers, but there is such a wide variety [in ages] and it really is a hobby for everyone."

The event included standard 3x3x3 Rubik's Cubes - they have nine squares, or other shapes, on each of the six sides and each side, when completed, features a single colour

A Rubik's Cube showing various colours. Someone is holding it with both hands and their face is not visible in this close-up image of the cube. — The event included standard 3x3x3 Rubik's Cubes - they have nine squares, or other shapes, on each of the six sides and each side, when completed, features a single colour

The organiser added "it's something that's bigger now than it ever was".

"Quite a lot of parents are actually quite happy when their kids get into cubing because it does take you away a bit from the screens.

"If you [want to] learn, there's lots of tutorials online... that's how most of our competitors get into the sport."

One woman, whose six-year-old son was taking part, said his average was "16 point something" seconds.

"We had the old Rubik's Cube at home that was unsolved. It was just there on the shelf.

"When he was four-years-old he picked one up and asked me to solve it.

"I couldn't do it, so we've started to browse the internet for some ideas. That's how we've come across this tutorial and so we've learnt together."

Robbie said he averages under 29 seconds with the standard 3x3 puzzle

A man with grey hair and a grey beard is wearing a red top and what could be a blue lanyard. The background including many people, a blue wall and lights near the ceiling is blurred. — Robbie said he averages under 29 seconds with the standard 3x3 puzzle

Another competitor, Robbie, said: "For something that belonged to our generation, I'm officially or unofficially ranked 14th fastest in the UK at the age of 53".

He added with the 3x3 cube he averages under 29 seconds, and his fastest was 24.12 seconds, "which is way faster than I was solving back in 2009/2010".

"I like it because I think it's very inclusive. It's [an] extremely competitive environment, but not intimidating for young people.

"A lot of neurodiverse people compete like myself. I've got [a] confirmed diagnosis for autism and [it] probably explains why my brain is wired to work a certain way."