Turning in Townsville 2023

Thirty-eight competitors gathered inside the sports hall at Heatley Secondary College on January 14 and 15 for Turning in Townsville 2023. The school venue provided an expansive staging ground across two full days of high-intensity speedcubing, accommodating 11 distinct events and 18 scheduled rounds on the official schedule. With tables lined across the hall and timers running simultaneously, the venue served as an energetic central hub for puzzle enthusiasts from across the region who traveled to Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

The 2023 tournament offered a deep program of events, spanning standard Rubik's Cube categories alongside specialty formats and larger mechanical puzzles. Throughout the weekend, competitors navigated the transition from rapid-fire solves to long, methodical rounds. Jayden McNeill from Australia delivered a massive individual performance across the board, securing seven first-place finishes and dominating the podiums across short sprints and marathon puzzles alike.

In the classic 3x3x3 Cube event, which brought together 37 participants across three progressive rounds, McNeill posted a winning average of 8.22 seconds alongside the round's best single solve of 6.48 seconds. Chris Mills of the United Kingdom followed in second place with an average of 10.08 seconds, while Australia's Jolina Chen took third on the podium with a mark of 10.85. The 3x3 results highlighted intense technical execution among the finalists who reached the concluding phase at Heatley Secondary College.

McNeill continued his winning run in the short-format brackets, capturing the 2x2x2 Cube final with a 2.70-second average, where Mills took second at 3.28 and Declan Flowers took third at 3.77. In the Skewb event, McNeill secured another title with a 5.35-second average, narrowly besting Mills who averaged 5.52, while Liam Pipia claimed third with 5.83. McNeill also proved his versatility by taking the 3x3x3 One-Handed title with a 13.86 average and dominating the 3x3x3 Fewest Moves contest with a 21.67 average.

Chris Mills found the top step of the podium across multiple specialized puzzles. In the Pyraminx final, Mills secured victory with a 4.01-second average ahead of Liam Pipia's 4.65 and Jolina Chen's 6.23. Mills also captured the Megaminx title with a 43.55-second winning average, ahead of McNeill at 1:01.86 and David McLean at 1:13.56. In the 5x5x5 Cube, Mills stood atop the podium with a 1:03.29 mark, leading Chen who averaged 1:34.69 and Edward Hollingdale who posted 1:36.88.

Beyond the top podium steps, this cubing competition featured substantial breakthroughs for contenders throughout the ranks. Marcus Ritchie demonstrated dramatic personal bests, cutting his 2x2x2 single down to 7.84 seconds, which was 45 percent faster than his previous standard, while also dropping his 3x3x3 single to 27.35 seconds, an improvement of 24.1 percent. Jackson Rogers lowered his 2x2x2 personal best to 7.93 seconds, marking a 32.7 percent drop, and took on his first ever attempt at Skewb with a 29.42. Bailey Murdoch reached fourth place in 2x2x2 Cube while cutting his personal best by 31.1 percent down to 3.23 seconds, in addition to making a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed at 35.32.

The competition hall also served as the debut arena for multiple competitors tackling new events for the first time. Luke Alan Hill attended his first WCA competition, taking on seven events and logging an opening 6x6x6 Cube effort of 9:17.42 alongside an initial 3x3x3 Cube solve of 19.37 seconds. Ed Bentley also attended his first WCA competition, completing three events and registering a first attempt of 11.53 in 2x2x2 Cube. Sam Clements entered eight events, achieving a fourth-place finish in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves and recording a first ever attempt at Clock with 20.08. Max Alidenes took on nine events, logging a first 5x5x5 Cube solve of 2:41.89, while Lawson Foster entered seven disciplines and posted a first Megaminx result of 2:08.90.

The long-format events tested endurance in the main hall during the weekend. McNeill captured both remaining big cube events, winning the 6x6x6 Cube with a 2:13.54 average over Mills at 2:22.09 and Chen at 3:05.49, before claiming the 7x7x7 Cube with a 3:35.76 average ahead of Mills at 4:06.00 and Patrick Kleverlaan at 4:41.98. In the standalone Clock final, Declan Flowers secured first place with an average of 6.58 seconds.

Across two days of intense speed cubing, Turning in Townsville 2023 brought together a dedicated field of solvers at Heatley Secondary College. The final medal counts reflected 24 podium placements for Australian competitors and nine for the United Kingdom. With multi-event milestones achieved across every age and skill bracket, the gathering in Townsville concluded an active weekend on the regional circuit.