Rubik’s Cube masters going for new marks

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – About 40 Rubik’s Cube masters are expected to clip the fastest and fewest moves in the puzzling game on April 30 in an attempt to break a national, Asian or world record in speedcubing competition set at the Capitol Beachfront here.

Featured as a new sports activity for the Pista’y Dayat (Sea Festival) 2014 celebration, the Rubik’s Cube competition is expected to amaze the crowd as the participants display their expertise in solving the puzzle of their scrambled Rubik’s tool as fast as they can, or using the fewest moves possible, a report from the Provincial Information Office said.

Rubik’s Cube national champion Glenn Mark Salgado of Urdaneta City and first-ever world record holder in Skewb category Mar Justin Ampong from Valenzuela, Bulacan will lead the participants coming from various parts of Northern Luzon and other regions.

Salgado said all categories to be played during the competition are considered official, meaning the competition provides a venue for speedcubing enthusiasts to show their best and have an opportunity to break the national record or even the Asian record or the world record at most.

The competitors will vie for the awards in eight categories, including the Rubik’s cube, megaminx, pyraminx ,skewb, BLD-3x3 (blindfolded), 3x3 one-handed, 2x2 and 4x4 categories.

Salgado, who recently set a national record by winning in the Pangasinan Northern Express Open 2014 at Lisland Rainforest Resort in Urdaneta City, now holds the record of the cuber with the fewest move count.

He hopes to break the current record in the blindfold category in the upcoming competition, while Ampong aspires to set a new world record in the speedcubing game.

Salgado organized in 2012 the Northern Luzon Cubers (NLC), which has now a membership of almost 500.

The cubers group, he said, not only welcomes memberships from the north alone but also from other parts of the country.

As this developed, Salgado thanked Gov. Amado Espino Jr. and the provincial government for giving them the opportunity to become part of the province’s celebration of the Pistay Dayat Festival.

“It is our pride to help and be part of the promotion of tourism in Pangasinan,” Salgado said.

The Pistay Dayat competition, Salgado said, is sanctioned by the World Cube Association (WCA) which will acknowledge the winners in the event they break a world record.

WCA will be represented by Filipino delegate Jonathan Papa.