Sydney Spring Sunday 2024

A total of 104 competitors gathered on November 17, 2024, as the late-season calendar brought high-energy action to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Staged at the Sydney Secondary College Leichhardt Campus, Sydney Spring Sunday 2024 offered a focused three-event schedule featuring seven rounds of competition. As the year approaches its closing stretch, speedcubing athletes from across the region arrived eager to lock in benchmark times and showcase their progress in a compact, one-day championship atmosphere.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew a massive field of 102 competitors through three demanding stages of competition. In the decisive final, Ryan Tan delivered a stellar performance to capture first place with a winning average of 7.02 seconds, backed by a tournament-best single of 6.39 seconds. Sora Sato pressed hard throughout the round to claim the second step on the podium with a 7.50 average, while Thomas Liao rounded out the top three with an 8.54 mark.

The 3x3 results demonstrated remarkable depth across the entire roster, highlighted by high-level executions in earlier stages. Earlier rounds saw Ryan Tan post a 6.86 single and a 7.38 average, while Thomas Liao recorded a 6.84 single and a 7.80 average. Sora Sato turned in marks of 7.03 and 8.12, alongside sub-eight single solves from Peri Le Dain at 7.55 and Harrison Jonathan Newbery-Chunn at 7.57. International competitor Ganesh Bhat of India also posted strong numbers with a 9.21 single and 10.18 average, while Finn Burke registered an 8.28 single and 10.94 average.

Big-cube enthusiasts enjoyed a rapid 4x4x4 Cube contest that welcomed 66 participants across two rounds. Sora Sato commanded the event with authority, securing the gold medal thanks to a 29.19 winning average and a sharp 25.50 single solve. Thomas Liao followed in second place with an average of 31.26 seconds, while Cass Hopkins locked up the bronze medal with a 34.32 average, cementing a clean sweep of podium positions for the home nation.

Skewb rounded out the puzzle lineup with 65 competitors tackling the corner-turning event over two fast rounds. Thomas Tinlin set the pace for the entire division, taking the victory with an impressive winning average of 3.29 seconds and producing the fastest single of the day at 1.87 seconds. Sora Sato picked up another podium by finishing second with a 4.96 average, narrowly edging out Benjamin Goodwin, who claimed third place with an average of 5.05 seconds.

Away from the top of the podium, the open floor provided an ideal stage for breakthroughs that often slip beneath the surface of the final standings. Agam Singh Khural entered all three disciplines and produced a massive leap on Skewb, setting a personal best of 3.59 seconds that was 36.1 percent faster than his previous mark, while also cutting time on the standard Rubik's Cube with a 12.42 personal best. Jonah Dax Downes achieved an even larger drop on Skewb with a 9.20 personal best, eclipsing his former mark by 37.5 percent, alongside a 30.77 personal best in the 3x3x3 Cube.

Other competitors took on brand new challenges at this cubing competition with tremendous success. Nicholas Baines tackled 4x4x4 Cube for the first time with a 58.65 while improving his 3x3x3 Cube best to 15.18, a 29.3 percent improvement. Noah Best made inaugural attempts in both 4x4x4 Cube at 1:29.24 and Skewb at 10.53, while dropping his 3x3x3 mark by 28.6 percent to 14.90. Taj Thorne posted first attempts of 11.53 on Skewb and 1:02.64 on 4x4x4 Cube alongside a 14.17 personal best in 3x3x3 Cube. Yun-xi Wang registered a 54.57 on 4x4x4 Cube and an 11.84 in 3x3x3 Cube, while Monty Muston and Luke Hickson each completed their very first WCA competition by taking on all three events on the program.

With Australia claiming all nine podium spots across the three disciplines, Sydney Spring Sunday 2024 proved to be an efficient, high-yield gathering for the local speed cubing community. From elite sub-eight averages to promising debuts across larger puzzles, the single-day gathering provided vital momentum as the 2024 season moves toward its grand finale.