AUA’s First International Cubing Competition

Hosting international competitions contributes to gaining recognition of Armenia’s history and culture and increasing tourism. AUA continues to organize events that also contribute to Armenia’s development.

On Dec. 10, 2021, AUA held its first international cubing competition. AUA Open 2021 brought together global and local cubers to challenge themselves and break records in the cubing world.

This was the second World Cube Association (WCA) competition in Armenia organized by Mayis Jraghatspanyan, a Business freshman student. He began solving Rubik’s cube from a very young age. “My little brother and I were bored at home, so my mother gave us a Rubik’s cube,” recalls Mayis. “She taught us how to solve one. At first, I could solve it in five minutes. After a year, I could do it in a minute.” Ten years later, he does it in a matter of seconds. Mayis’s current record is 5.9 seconds and he makes the time to solve the Rubik’s cube at least 400 times a day. He practiced as much as he could while in the army right before coming back to AUA.

The co-founder of the WCA, Ron van Bruchem reached out to Mayis, wanting to organize a competition in Armenia. “Cubing competitions are mostly held in Europe, the US, China, Australia, ” says Mayis. “I really wanted to organize a competition myself here in Armenia, but I thought of it as just a dream. I came to Student Affairs at AUA and asked if we would be able to host a competition here and they happily agreed.”

The competition was planned and organized for over 60 participants from nine different countries. With the help of Student Affairs, Mayis was able to prepare for the event. “It took us a long time to prepare for it,” shares Mayis. “We created the logo, the certificates, bought the prizes, booked the place and opened the registration.” He mentions that they could organize the competition with no participation fee, but space was limited due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Alexander Katyukov and Ron van Bruchem, delegates from WCA present at the event, were participants themselves and made sure that all the rules were being followed at the competition. The participants competed in five different cubing categories: three by three, two by two, three-by-three one-handed, the Pyraminx and the four by four. All the cubes were scrambled in the same way, to be fair.

AUA students Mane Mkhitaryan and Eduard Betanyan were also participating in the contest. Eduard Betanyan was in the top eight in the final round. Mayis details that together with Eduard, they opened a student cubing club where they teach AUA students how to solve Rubik’s cubes from scratch.

With overall 52 competitors from Russia, Israel, Ukraine, Finland, Netherlands and Armenia, the event became an excellent opportunity for local and international cubers to connect. “A lot of my speedcuber friends were always asking me if I could organize a competition in Armenia. It’s a great opportunity for network,” adds Mayis.

Besides the older speedcubers, there were many younger competitors in the contest as well. Razmik Harutyunyan, an 11-year-old cuber, was eagerly waiting for his turn to solve the colorful puzzle. “He really enjoys solving Rubik’s cube; so, when we heard about AUA hosting this competition, I signed him up immediately,” recalls Razmik’s father, who was proudly watching his son compete.

In the final round of the three by three event, Andrey Che from Russia won with an average of 7.62 seconds and became a Rubik’s Cube-solving champion in the AUA Open 2021 competition. Aramayis Adloyan from Armenia hit a record with an average of 25.69 seconds in the three-by-three one-handed category.

AUA’s first international cubing competition gave young and talented local speedcubers the chance to interact with the international community, renew their results, and break their own records.