Solving a Rubik’s Cube would take some hours, even days. However, competitors at a cubing competition in Salt Lake City have practiced so that some of them can solve it in under a minute.
Hundreds of cubers gathered to practice their solving skills.
Ben McConkie, a BYU engineering student, was around cubes when he was a kid.
“After time, when I’d seen my dad do it, I started putting it together a little bit, being able to put the pieces where they go,” McConkie said.
McConkie said he owns over twelve hundred cubes, has made cube mosaics, and even designed a few of his own.
“I noticed that it’s definitely a passion I have in my life to keep doing because it’s a good habit, I’d say,” McConkie said. “More of a good addiction than a bad one.”
McConkie said he is a shy person, but cubing helped him connect with others, especially at competitions.
“I’m not as scared when I’m there because I know they’re pretty similar to me,” McConkie said. “If I’m a nerd, they’re a nerd, and so we’ll just get along.”
Young cubers like Cooper Hicks felt the same way. Hicks said that solving the cube is satisfying.
He likes having his times recorded.
“It's just very fun, and I like the community a lot also,” Hicks said.
McConkie said that is why he is starting a cubing club at BYU. The university has more than 180 active clubs on campus to help students connect who have common interests.
Nicole Utley, BYU Experience Design and Management Department staff, said club activities focus on promoting well-being through engagement, relationships and accomplishment.
“I think students are working so hard so much of the time that it’s really nice for students to have a chance to meet together with people that they have some element of connection with already,” Utley said.
McConkie said cubing changed his life. He enjoys sharing it with other people.
“Everyone knows what a cube is, and everyone’s tried to solve it at least once in their life, so they’ll have some sort of story to share,” McConkie said.
McConkie’s goal is to make a place at BYU for cubers to gather and compete like they did at the recent competition.
McConkie said anyone interested in learning is welcome to come try to solve cubes, starting with a classic three-by-three.
