Macleans College hosts major speedcubing event
Posted on May 05, 2026
Macleans College hosted one of New Zealand’s largest speedcubing events, the Cubing East Auckland Newcomer Open 2026 Rubik’s Cube Competition, over the April school holidays. The competition drew a strong field of 147 competitors and delivered standout performances from its students.
Richard Tao (Kupe House) won the competition with a personal best average of 6.14 seconds in the 3x3 final. He also placed second in 4x4 and 5x5, first in 6x6 and 7x7, second in 3x3 One-Handed, and third in both Megaminx and Skewb.
Several competitors were current or former Macleans College students. Carol Chai (Hillary) placed third in 2x2, second in Pyraminx, and second in Skewb. Edwin Shen (Kupe) placed first in Clock round one and finished fourth in both the Skewb and Clock finals.
Kunvar Singh (Hillary), Melody Chung (Rutherford), Devan Williamson (Rutherford), Mehul Girhotra (Te Kanawa), Yilin Liu (Te Kanawa), Yug Diwan (Upham), Minh Nguyen (Upham) and Brian Zhang (Upham) also competed. Each achieved personal best times during the event.
The competition stood out for offering free entry to first-time participants, resulting in almost half of the competitors attending their first event. Competitors were given 15 seconds to inspect the puzzle before each solve. Times were recorded using a stackmat timer. Most rounds follow an average-of-five format, where the fastest and slowest times are removed and the middle three are averaged. The event also reflected the supportive nature of the speedcubing community, where competitors encourage each other to improve their results.
Speedcubing continues to grow in popularity. 2026 marks the third year of the Macleans College Speedcubing Club. The club develops both algorithm knowledge and problem solving skills, helping students understand how the cube’s pieces interact.
The school is thanked for providing the gymnasium and supporting free entry for first-time competitors. This support contributed to the success of the event.
