BC Championship 2024

A total of 136 competitors gathered across three full days of action as the Beban Park Social Centre hosted BC Championship 2024. Running from August 16 to August 18, the event brought together seasoned contenders and fresh faces in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Across 31 rounds and 13 official World Cube Association disciplines, the tournament delivered high-stakes racing alongside the unique energy of debut solvers taking their first turns under official timing lights. For dozens stepping up to solve in front of judges for the very first time, the gathering showed the full scope of modern speedcubing.

The journey through a major cubing competition begins with mastering tournament routine, from presenting a puzzle at the drop-off table to managing nerves when the timer starts. Throughout the weekend in Nanaimo, the classic 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube brought out the largest field with 129 entrants navigating four demanding rounds. In the deciding final, Luke Jankowiak secured the title with a winning average of 7.71 seconds, edging out Timothy Castle on a tiebreak after both posted identical 7.71 marks. Ash Black rounded out the podium in third with a 7.93 average in one of the tightest finishes of the 2024 season.

Beyond the premier 3x3 results, the competition offered a sweeping variety of formats from lightning-fast short solves to grueling endurance puzzles. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Kevin Lê captured first place with an average of 2.30 seconds, leading a Canadian sweep of the podium ahead of Achilles Standring at 2.49 and Peter Barnwell at 2.62. The single-handed solving event saw Ash Black take top honours, securing the 3x3x3 One-Handed crown with an average of 14.39 seconds. In the Pyraminx division, Jacob Kotai delivered a winning 1.99 average to finish ahead of a 95-person field.

Away from the top of the standings, the real heart of the weekend lived in the personal milestones earned across the floor. Finlay Mckinnon Grant delivered one of the weekend's sharpest breakthroughs, trimming their 2x2x2 mark by 51.3 percent to 4.21 seconds alongside a first ever attempt at Pyraminx of 13.32. Mattias Haugli took on ten separate events, cutting their Megaminx personal best by 38.3 percent down to 1:35.72, dropping their 3x3x3 One-Handed best by 36.6 percent to 21.63, and posting a 14.79 in their first official Clock attempt. Hiroki Nariyoshi improved their 4x4x4 Cube time by 32.1 percent to 44.88, secured a 15th-place finish in 7x7x7 Cube with a first attempt of 5:27.41, and knocked 19.6 percent off their one-handed standard.

The momentum continued across every corner of the tournament schedule as solvers expanded their competitive repertoires. Easton Grey Bartlett dropped their 3x3x3 single by 33.3 percent down to 19.05 seconds while registering debut marks of 5.67 in 2x2x2 and 11.35 in Pyraminx. Devin Raghu logged a 35.2 percent improvement on Skewb with a 9.61 personal best and recorded first career attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 41.11 and 2x2x2 at 4.13. Emery Lang stepped up for maiden attempts in three categories, recording 1:17.16 in One-Handed, 15.53 in Pyraminx, and 4:49.25 in Megaminx. Spencer Fraser logged debut solves of 5.85 in 2x2x2, 2:32.20 in 4x4x4, and 50.57 in One-Handed, while Liam Jimenez posted initial marks in Skewb at 19.59, Pyraminx at 6.47, and Megaminx at 3:22.65.

The big cubes provided their own drama as puzzle sizes scaled upward. Jack Anderson earned the 6x6x6 Cube victory with a mean time of 1:43.59, leading Ash Black at 1:48.52 and Timothy Castle at 1:50.25. Castle turned the tables in the other large categories, winning the 5x5x5 Cube in 57.00 seconds ahead of Jacob Kotai and Jack Anderson, before claiming the 7x7x7 Cube title in 2:33.91 over Anderson and Black. Noah Stelting topped the 4x4x4 Cube standings with an average of 33.26 seconds, outlasting a 61-person bracket.

Specialist categories drew strong fields as well. Dilshawn Sidhu captured the Clock event with a sharp 4.27 average, holding off Wesley Haas and Jose Miguel Valdes Rodriguez. In Square-1, Eeshir Pannun came away victorious with an average of 9.93 seconds across two rounds of play. Ethan Rusnak mastered the twelve-sided Megaminx, winning the final with an average of 48.07 seconds. In Skewb, Ash Black collected another victory, averaging 2.76 seconds on the podium ahead of Kevin Lê and Kyle Van Straaten, underscoring the deep versatility demanded by high-level speed cubing.

Mental discipline took centre stage in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline, where competitors must commit the puzzle to memory before donning a blindfold to execute their solve. Timothy Castle emerged victorious by recording a best single of 18.77 seconds in the final round, with Kevin Matthews taking second place at 42.45 and Jack Anderson finishing third with 1:26.55. Across the entire program, Canadian competitors secured 21 podium positions while United States entrants claimed 18 spots across the 13 contested events.

When the final timers were packed away, BC Championship 2024 left a lasting impression on both the regional circuit and the individuals who took their very first solves under official conditions. The three days inside the Beban Park venue demonstrated how a WCA competition brings together national title contenders and new participants on the exact same competition stage. With dozens of debut marks registered and personal milestones recorded across every bracket, BC Championship 2024 provided the perfect foundation for the region's developing talent as attention shifts to the upcoming speedcubing calendar.