Atlas Alerre can solve a Rubik's cube in seven seconds.
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At least, unofficially.
Their official time, according to Speedcubing Australia, is 11.01 seconds.
The 19-year-old has been honing their skills since they started speedcubing in year 8.
Speedcubing refers to the competitive solving of Rubik's cubes in the shortest possible time.
Race to cube first
Canberra's speedcubers are coming together this weekend for the Capital Cubing competition, with competitors racing to beat their personal bests.
But for Atlas, the best part about speedcubing is meeting people from all over Australia.
"Going to competitions is more for the social aspect, in my opinion. It's amazing to try my best as well there and to aim to do better, but I just love seeing my friends there," they said.
"[Going to events], I'll be able to meet people that I don't think I would have met in any other type of like circumstances."
"Honestly, there's nothing quite like it."
History of speedcubing
The Rubik's cube was invented by a Hungarian professor in the 1970s, and it was there that the first speedcubing competition was held in Budapest, in 1982.
The world record is currently held by Korean-American Max Park, with a time of 3.13 seconds.
The sport is growing in popularity around the country, with Speedcubing Australia holding events all over the country. Adelaide is hosting this year's Nationals in July.
Many of us will be familiar with the common three-by-three Rubix cube, but there are hundreds of variations on the traditional form.
Atlas said their favourite is the megaminx, which is a 12-sided dodecahedron. It has 50 pieces to fit together in order to solve the puzzle.
"It's really big, it looks really scary!" they said.
"I'm not that fast at it but I just really enjoy solving it because it's fun.
"A lot of people like square ones or Skewbs."
Skewbs are cubic puzzles where the pieces are triangular and on an angle, so you spin the corners rather than the square cubes.
If you're keen on trying your hand at speedcubing, Atlas recommended coming to watch an event.
"Spectators are free, we really encourage everyone to come along to meet others to see what it's like there. And there's plenty of people to answer questions as well," they said.
"You can even try other people's Rubik's cubes if you don't have one yourself."
Capital Cubing kicks off at the Flynn Community Hub this Saturday at 9am.
Lucy Arundell
Lucy is a reporter for the Canberra Times. Originally from the Central West, she has a passion for local and rural news. Email her at lucy.arundell@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Lucy is a reporter for the Canberra Times. Originally from the Central West, she has a passion for local and rural news. Email her at lucy.arundell@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
