Beginner and Blind Cape Town 2024

Fifty-three competitors gathered at Kirstenhof Primary School over the weekend of November 9 to November 10 for Beginner and Blind Cape Town 2024. The two-day gathering in Cape Town, South Africa, brought together newcomers and seasoned hands across 13 rounds of action, balancing casual puzzle sharing with high-stakes blindfolded solving. The schedule featured 8 distinct events, giving participants a welcoming environment to try new disciplines while testing their skills in standard speedcubing categories in late 2024.

The spirit of the cubing competition was visible at every practice table, where solvers traded advice between rounds and cheered on those tackling non-standard puzzles. Beyond the familiar turns of the classic Rubik's Cube, side disciplines like Clock and Pyraminx drew passionate involvement. Jesse Osburn showed exceptional versatility across both formats, taking first place in Pyraminx with a winning average of 3.67 and securing victory in Clock with an average of 8.55, finishing ahead of Maverick Pearson and George Guvamatanga.

Daniel Rush delivered standout performances across multiple events throughout Beginner and Blind Cape Town 2024. In the 3x3x3 Cube, which drew 50 entrants, Rush topped the 3x3 results by posting a winning average of 7.21 and a best single of 5.83 across 3 rounds of competition. Hitoki Kidahashi of Japan earned second place with an 8.92 average, while Jahziel Dominic Alonzo secured third with 10.10. Rush repeated his success in the 2x2x2 Cube, claiming the title with a 2.45 average ahead of Kidahashi and Osburn.

A major regional milestone arrived during the 2x2x2 Cube competition when Juniour Kwashira of Zimbabwe posted a single of 1.62 seconds alongside a national record average of 2.63 seconds. The short-format puzzle generated fast times throughout the bracket, as Rush logged an event single of 0.77 and Osburn recorded a 1.20 single during preliminary action, underscoring the deep talent pool present in the host city.

The true heart of the weekend lay with the solvers who expanded their repertoire and marked significant individual progress. Zachary Barter entered three disciplines and made remarkable leaps, dropping his 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 1.82 seconds, an improvement of 47.2 percent, while cutting his Pyraminx personal best to 5.02 seconds for a 47 percent improvement and placing 9th. Luc de Cafmeyer achieved a 9th-place finish in 3x3x3 Cube with a personal best of 10.85 seconds, improved his 2x2x2 Cube best by 43.7 percent to 3.25 seconds, and made his first ever attempt at Pyraminx with an 8.56. Noah Towo also lowered marks drastically, taking 10th in Pyraminx with a 4.90 personal best, a 34.5 percent cut, and dropping his 2x2x2 Cube best by 45.8 percent down to 3.22 seconds. Leonidas Baroutsos improved his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 36 percent down to 4.52 seconds and logged a first ever attempt at Clock with a time of 35.07.

First-time appearances added further excitement to the official WCA competition floor. Stephanus Christiaan Dippenaar competed in his first WCA competition, logging three events with initial marks of 14.21 in 2x2x2 Cube, 8.63 in Pyraminx, and 37.09 in 3x3x3 Cube. Mason Marlo Scholtz also made his debut across three events, placing 12th in Pyraminx with an 8.39 first attempt while establishing times of 6.85 in 2x2x2 Cube and 28.81 in 3x3x3 Cube. Mikayla Reynolds tackled four events, making first career attempts in 2x2x2 Cube at 24.97 and Clock at 45.71 while shaving 22.2 percent off her Pyraminx best down to 10.75 seconds. Juvan de Villiers cut his 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 27.8 percent to 29.25 seconds while recording debut attempts of 16.47 in 2x2x2 Cube and 14.62 in Pyraminx.

The blindfolded events brought silent concentration to the venue, demanding intense memorisation from the four specialists who entered. Timothy Lawrance dominated the memory categories, winning 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a best single of 1:09.24 and capturing the 4x4x4 Blindfolded title with a winning average of 5:55.18. Lawrance completed his blindfolded treble by winning 5x5x5 Blindfolded with a single of 12:45.00, standing as the only competitor to log a successful solve in that demanding event.

Daniel Rush added another triumph to his weekend by capturing the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event, successfully solving 5 out of 5 cubes in a time of 30:53. Maverick Pearson claimed second place with 6 out of 8 cubes solved in 42:06, while Timothy Lawrance took third with 5 out of 7 in 24:35. Across the entire program, South African competitors earned 23 podium places, with Japan claiming 2 podium spots courtesy of Kidahashi.

As the equipment was packed away at Kirstenhof Primary School, Beginner and Blind Cape Town 2024 stood out for its friendly community atmosphere and wide variety of challenges. The blend of introductory events and advanced blindfold solving created opportunities for novices and experienced hands alike to share the floor. With fresh personal bests and national records established, the Cape Town speed cubing community concluded the gathering with strong momentum for future competition.