It’s not easy to find an activity the whole family can enjoy.
But the Jackson family, of Trafalgar in Gippsland, put their heads together and found something outside the box — solving Rubik’s Cubes.
Clockwise from 1 o’clock: Matthew, dad Ben, mum Nicole, Sarah, Hannah and Emma Jackson.Credit:Simon Schluter
Ben Jackson, 47, started cubing four years ago, and was happy when his kids Sarah, 17, Emma, 16, Matthew, 14 and Hannah, 12, got into it, too.
But he says now they’re extremely competitive — and they’re out to beat Dad, which they often do.
Ben’s best time to solve a cube is 21 seconds, Emma’s is 10 seconds and Matthew’s is 16 seconds. (The world record holder is Yusheng Du, of China, at 3.47 seconds).
All six Jacksons, including mum Nicole, will compete on each of the four days of the Rubik’s World Cube Association’s inaugural Oceanic championship, which started at Melbourne Sports Centres in Parkville on Thursday.
There are 17 categories including the standard 3x3x3 cube, the 7x7x7 version and the Pyraminx device. There is also blindfolded and one-handed solving.
The Jacksons will also volunteer in roles such as judging and scrambling cubes.
Nicole, 46, says when her husband and kids started competing across Victoria a year ago, she decided to join them.
Her best time in competition is “only” one minute and 20 seconds. “I’m pretty slow,” she says. “But I’m hoping to beat that in this competition.”
Top five tips for speed-solving Rubik’s Cube
Source: Speedcubing Australia
It’s an achievement for Nicole just to be competing: she has been mostly confined to her home in Trafalgar, suffering from long COVID since June.
Her symptoms include extreme exhaustion, brain fog and heart rate issues. But she was determined to compete.
“It doesn’t have the physical demands of most activities,” she says. Competition heats last only a few minutes. The family are staying near the stadium with a carer.
“It means we can do something as a family,” Nicole says.
Ben Jackson (centre) practises with a Rubik’s Cube as (from left) Nicole, Emma, Matthew, Sarah and Hannah patiently wait.Credit:Simon Schluter
“I’ve missed a lot of things that were special to the kids. This is something I can do.”
Husband Ben says cubing is great activity for the kids that doesn’t involve sitting in front of a screen.
“It requires a bit of discipline. It helps them learn and pick up new skills,” he says. “It’s not physically active in the sense of tennis or hockey, but it is mentally active, and gives your brain a real workout.”
Kerrie Jarman, president of event host Speedcubing Australia, says the pastime has grown from a few competitions 10 years ago to 66 nationally this year.
There will be 726 competitors at the Oceanic championship, second in size in Australia to the 850 at the 2019 world championship in Melbourne. The solving with feet category has been discontinued because it was not popular and logistically hard to manage, Jarman says.
Live spectators are welcome, and the event will be livestreamed via the Speedcubing Australia Instagram page.
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