Vancouver Southlands Sprint 2024

Inside St. George's Senior School, the focus was absolute as timers clicked and puzzle faces snapped into place. The atmosphere across two full days of competition reflected the delicate balance required at the highest level of speedcubing. Over the weekend of October 19 to October 20, the hall hosted Vancouver Southlands Sprint 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, gathering a diverse field of 107 competitors ready to test their precision across 18 separate rounds.

Nowhere was the pressure more severe than in events scored by a mean-of-3 format, where every single turn carries total weight. Unlike standard average-of-five rounds that discard the best and worst attempts, a three-solve format offers zero protection against a single slip. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, where competitors must fully inspect and memorise the puzzle before solving in darkness, the razor-thin margin between success and elimination decided the podium as Jayce Li delivered an exceptional single of 17.48 seconds to secure first place.

Behind Li in the blindfolded event, Kevin Matthews captured second place with a single of 37.01 seconds, while Mihir A. Rai rounded out the top three in 54.97 seconds. The unforgiving reality of the discipline meant that Li finished with a DNF average, demonstrating how one flawed execution can wipe out a mean while an extraordinary individual solve still claims victory. With 14 competitors taking on the event, the round demanded total composure under strict time constraints.

Across the other tables, the classic 3x3x3 Cube drew an impressive field of 100 competitors through four intense rounds. Brian Sun emerged triumphant, logging a winning average of 7.49 seconds alongside a best single of 7.30 seconds. The 3x3 results showed incredible parity right to the finish, with Luke Jankowiak taking second place on a 7.62 average and Kenny Zhong finishing third at 7.66 seconds, giving Canadian solvers a clean sweep of the podium at Vancouver Southlands Sprint 2024.

Away from the top steps, several competitors delivered massive personal breakthroughs across their events. Riley Gardner cut their Pyraminx personal best down to 5.49 seconds, an improvement of 54.1 percent, while also slicing their 3x3x3 One-Handed best to 1:21.36 and improving their Clock mark to 27.84. Reese Pimentel entered six events, logging a first Clock attempt of 8.72 seconds, an initial 3x3x3 One-Handed solve of 38.97 seconds, and a Skewb personal best of 5.41 seconds that was 53.1 percent faster than their previous mark. Liam Jimenez tackled six events, recording a first Clock attempt of 21.10 seconds alongside huge personal bests of 9.29 in Skewb, 52.6 percent faster, and 2.40 in 2x2x2 Cube.

Progress continued throughout the roster at Vancouver Southlands Sprint 2024 as Max Qi entered four events, posting a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 3.29 seconds, 40.8 percent faster, while recording first career attempts in Pyraminx at 8.25 and Skewb at 14.76. Bobby Moon took on five disciplines, improving their 2x2x2 Cube best by 40.3 percent to 3.16 seconds and dropping their 3x3x3 One-Handed mark to 48.76 seconds. Sihun Yoo took on five events and placed 11th in Pyraminx with a personal best of 4.11 seconds, 38.1 percent faster, while Owen Curtis Wong recorded a first Clock attempt of 17.33 seconds and improved their Pyraminx best by 37.9 percent to 6.39 seconds. Alex Do-Nascimento Hua entered six events, achieving a Skewb personal best of 4.88 seconds, 34.9 percent faster, and registering debut attempts in Clock at 18.38 and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 23.31 seconds.

In the rapid-fire 2x2x2 Cube, 83 competitors battled through three rounds, where Aamir Saifee of India claimed victory with an average of 1.57 seconds and a best single of 1.20 seconds, having also posted an earlier mark of 1.18 single and 1.54 average. Ron G. Arama took second place with a 1.79 average, while Kevin Lê earned third at 2.28 seconds. Lê had even more success in Skewb, winning the event with an average of 3.11 seconds over Arama at 3.54 and Ben Wessels at 4.42 seconds.

The 3x3x3 One-Handed contest tested pure dexterity as Mihir A. Rai earned top honours with a 13.64 average and a single of 9.53 seconds, ahead of Kenny Zhong at 15.10 and Ethan Rusnak at 15.57. In Clock, Dilshawn Sidhu won with a 3.62 average over Ron G. Arama at 4.41 and Alex Moscibroda at 4.80. Jacob Kotai led the Pyraminx field of 71 competitors, securing first place with an average of 1.70 seconds over Rai at 2.00 and Jose Miguel Valdes Rodriguez at 2.55 seconds.

Across seven different events, the speed cubing action demonstrated both elite consistency and individual milestones. With 13 podium finishes for Canada, six for the United States, and one each for India and Switzerland, the cubing competition celebrated technical mastery at every level. Vancouver Southlands Sprint 2024 concluded as a memorable 2024 WCA competition where precision, nerve, and preparation met the classic test of the Rubik's Cube.