Yes indeed – speedcubing is most definitely a sport! And it all started with the invention of the Rubik’s cube in 1974.
Today, there are many different types of “cubing” with competitions for the fastest cubers held all over the world.
Sebastian Lee, Year 9 student at Marist College Eastwood, recently broke the world record time in Pyraminx at the recent competition organised by World Cube Association. “Pyraminx is essentially a pyramid shaped Rubik’s cube”, explains Sebastian. After five attempts at solving the puzzle, Sebastian’s average time was 1.15 seconds setting a new world record. “Sebastian’s nearest competitor averaged 2.60 seconds which gives us an idea of just how talented Sebastian is” commented Principal, Silvana Rossetti.
Sebastian was crowned Australian National Champion in 2023 and 2024, after coming second in the World Championships in Korea in 2022. Sebastian says, “I was really relaxed prior to the competition this time. I had come to terms with my previous failures and thought I would just have a go and have fun”. And I won!”
Sebastian started cubing in 2018 and then stopped for a couple of years. “I decided to pick it back up during the COVID lockdown as a hobby”, explains Sebastian who now practices for two to three hours a day in preparation for the 2025 world championships to be held in Seattle. Sebastian’s talent has been recognised and rewarded with a sponsorship from the American company Speed Cube Shop who provide him with free cubes as well as financial assistance to attend competitions.
The world’s first world championship event was held in Hungary in 1982 where only 19 people competed with the winner recording a time of 22.95 seconds. Today, hundreds of people compete in events around the world in a variety of “cubing” challenges including pyraminx, megaminx, blindfolded and one-handed events.
You can see Sebastian in action here: