Qualification Requirements for 4x4x4 Blindfolded, 5x5x5 Blindfolded, 3x3x3 Multi-Blind

The following events are only accepting the top competitors who are registered, based on the psych sheet.

• 3x3x3 Fewest Moves Challenge: Top 40 competitors (Sorted by mean)
• 4x4x4 Blindfolded: Top 16 competitors (Sorted by single)
• 5x5x5 Blindfolded: Top 16 competitors (Sorted by single)
• 3x3x3 Multi-Blind: Top 16 competitors (Sorted by single)

Any result used to qualify must be achieved on or before Friday, May 8th, 2026.

There are NO qualification requirements for any of the other events.

Anyone (even first-time competitors!) can register and compete in these events!

• 3x3x3
• 2x2x2
• 4x4x4
• 5x5x5
• 6x6x6
• 7x7x7
• 3x3x3 Blindfolded
• 3x3x3 One-Handed
• Clock
• Megaminx
• Pyraminx
• Skewb
• Square-1

Before You Register

All prospective registrants need a WCA account. New competitors can create their own WCA account by clicking here and entering the required information.

How to Register Online

The competitor limit for this competition is 300.

Prospective competitors register by:

1. Signing into their WCA account;
2. Clicking "Register" on the left side of this webpage, selecting the events they would like to compete in, and submitting their registration;
3. Paying the registration cost of $85.00. (The registration cost is the same, regardless of how many events are selected.) Your registration is not complete until you have paid the registration fee.

PLEASE NOTE: If you paid but don't see your name on the registration list within 48 hours of payment (assuming 300 competitors aren't on the competitor list already), please email the organizers. Organizers still have to manually move competitors to the approved competitor list following payment.

How to Pay for Registration Online

Payment is processed through Stripe.

Click on the "Register" tab on the left side of the webpage to register and pay all in one place! You can start the payment process by clicking "Pay your fees with card."

Withdrawing Registration

Registering and paying demonstrates your commitment to attend the competition. However, if you have registered and are no longer able to attend, please contact us via email.

Refunds

If you withdraw your registration before registration closes (Thursday, April 30th, 2026, 11:59PM CDT), you are eligible for a refund for half (50%) of your registration cost. After this date, no refund requests will be honored.

There will be no refunds issued after this date. Attempting to file a chargeback for the registration fee will lead to being blacklisted from future WCA events.

Any requested changes to registration before registration closes will be honored. Your registration is not complete until your name shows up on the list. If you believe you paid and your name isn't showing up, please contact us so that we can assist you.

Competitors MUST register and pay online in order to compete. No at-the-door registrations or payments will be accepted.

Waitlist Information

We will be keeping a waitlist for this competition. To secure a place on the waitlist once 300 competitors have paid, simply pay the registration fee. If a competitor emails us to drop out before the cancellation deadline of April 30, 2026, you will be notified if you are the next competitor on the waitlist.

Once the deadline to request a refund has passed, all remaining competitors on the waitlist will be emailed letting them know they did not get off the waitlist and will be refunded.

Unoffical Events - Saturday Evening

 7:30 - 8:15     Parent/Child Team Blind
 8:15 - 9:00     2-Man Mini-Guilford

Parent/Child Team Blind

Parents (or guardians) and their children will be competing in a Best of 2 event format. This unofficial event will consist of a competitor and a blindfolded parent/legal guardian. Team BLD is an event in which one person is blindfolded and turning the cube while the other person tells you what moves to do. See this video for a demonstration of how this works. Note the parent does NOT need to know how to solve a cube to participate (although knowing some notation may be helpful).

Requirements to participate:

• A registered competitor
• A parent or legal guardian of the registered comeptitor
• One 3x3 cube
• One Blindfold

Parent/Child Team BLD Format:

• Bo2 (Best of 2)
• Cutoff: None
• Time Limit: 10 minutes cumulative (for both solves)

Competitor Limit:

20 teams of 2

How Parent/Child Team BLD Works:

In this specific event, the parent will be the one blindfolded and turning the puzzle while the competitor instructs the parent what moves to apply to the puzzle. The type of communication is completely up to the team. Similar to a usual WCA event, when our group is called up, both participants will bring their one cube up to the drop off station to be scrambled. Once your team is called up to a station, the parent will sit down and place the blindfold over their eyes. The competitor standing beside the parent will be able to inspect the cube for up to 15 seconds. Once both competitors are ready, the competitor will place the cube on the mat in front of the parent, the parent will place their hands on the timer, and will begin the solve. From this point forward, only the parent may apply moves to the cube. The competitor beside the parent can communicate however they would like to their parent so long as they do not purposefully try and distract competitors at the stations around them (i.e. no screaming or intentionally trying to interfere with other teams' solves - this will result in a DNF). The same penalties are still applied to the final resting state of the puzzle.

Click here to register!

2-Man Mini Guildford

Teams of 2 will try to get the fastest time doing the Mini Guildford events, which are 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, OH, Clock, Pyraminx, Skewb, and Square-1.

Requirements to participate:

• A registered competitor
• A teammate that is also a registered competitor
• Access to and ability to solve the cubes included in the event

2-Man Mini Guildford Format:

• Format: Bo2
• Time Limit: 10:00

Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules under “Team Events” and
“2-Man Mini Guildford”. Notably:

• There is a 15 second inspection period.
• Both competitors must start the timer (e.g one hand on timer each)
• The competitor to finish the last puzzle must stop the timer by themselves

Competitor Limit:

20 teams of 2

Click here to register!

We are looking for Official Volunteers to help support this competition! Volunteers play an integral role for helping competitions run as smoothly as possible, and to create a welcoming and professional environment for all competitors. Duties will include scrambling and running/judging, as well as data entry for interested applicants.

Volunteers will be assigned helping assignments for the majority of groups they are not competing in. Applicants must have previous volunteering experience in order to be considered.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Expectations of Volunteer Team Members
- Proactively complete all assigned helping assignments throughout the weekend
- Follow the directions of a stage lead, and be available for any additional duties that may be needed
- Act professionally - your actions as a volunteer team member reflect on the competition and Midwest Cubing Association

Benefits
- Free volunteer shirt, required to be visible while completing volunteer duties
- Lunch provided on all three days of the competition
- Refunded registration fee after the competition, contigent upon appropriate completion of volunteer duties
- Experience and potential preference for future staffing opportunities

The deadline for volunteer applications is April 1, 2026.

*A volunteers's registration fee is only refunded if the member meets expectations of helping the entire competition, filling in roles where needed and asked.

For questions, please contact Francisco Garcia (see General Information Tab of this Competition Website)

Cubing USA Heartland Championships will have Fine Designs Inc. as the official merchandiser providing onsite t-shirts and customizations.

Fine Designs will be on site May 23 and May 24 during the competition and will have several options for t-shirts, sweatshirts and options for customizations. More to come soon!

Venue

• MidAmerican RecPlex — 6500 Grand Ave, West Des Moines, IA 50266. Exit 69 Grand Avenue W, just off I-35 South.
  
• Large parking lots north of the venue provide plentiful parking. Parking is FREE!
• Enter any of the north facing doors and the venue (basketball courts) is located to the right of the ice rink under the Hy-Vee Fieldhouse sign, enter the first doors on the right.
• Virtual Tour

Hotels Nearby (Many others in the area)

• Courtyard Des Moines West/Jordan Creek, 410 S 68th St, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (8 minutes)
• Drury Inn & Suites West Des Moines, 5505 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (8 minutes)
• Hilton Garden Inn West Des Moines, 205 S 64th St, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (9 minutes)
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites West Des Moines, 240 Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (7 minutes)
• Hyatt Place West Des Moines/Jordan Creek, 295 S 64th St, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (8 minutes)

We have a block of ten rooms at Hyatt Place, here are the reservation details:

Reservation Deadline: April 24, 2026
Rooms in the block are not guaranteed after this date, so please book early.
Rate: $169/nightly taxes & fees not included
Online Booking Link
Use the link below to reserve your room at the group rate:
👉 CubingUSA Heartland Championships 2026 Booking Link
(Please share this with anyone who may need it!)
Guests may adjust their stay dates after selecting a room by clicking the “Edit” button in the top right corner of the booking page.

Phone Reservations
If you prefer to book over the phone, call the hotel’s reservation line:
📞 1-888-492-8847
Use Group Code: G-CUBE

Things to Do Nearby

• Dave & Buster's
• Jordan Creek Mall
• Spare Time
• Top Golf
• West Glen Town Center
• West Grand Golf - Mini Golf

*Approximate drive times from the venue in parenthesis.

Lunch Options

• MidAmerican Recplex RP Grill (On site - Chicken Strips, Hamburgers, Hot Dogs)

Fast Food Nearby

• B-Bop’s (Best of Des Moines Burger/Fries), 6135 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (6 minutes)
• Chick-Fil-A, 6555 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (9 minutes)
• Five Guys, 455 S 64th St #300, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (8 minutes)
• Jimmy John’s, 5465 Mills Civic Pkwy #125, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (7 minutes)
• McAlister’s Deli, 455 S 64th St #100, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (8 minutes)
• McDonald’s, 745 S 51st St, West Des Moines, IA 50265 — (8 minutes)
• Raising Cane’s, 5901 Mills Civic Pkwy Unit 7000, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (6 minutes)
• Steak ‘n Shake, 815 S 51st St, West Des Moines, IA 50265 — (9 minutes)
• Tasty Tacos, 6326 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (7 minutes)

Family Dining Nearby

• Applebee’s, 6190 Mills Civic Pkwy W, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (6 minutes)
• Blaze Pizza, 6305 Mills Civic Pkwy Suite 4200, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (6 minutes)
• Buffalo Wild Wings, 6925 S Jordan Creek Pkwy #115, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (7 minutes)
• IHOP, 5045 Bentley Dr Suite 170, West Des Moines, IA 50265 — (7 minutes)
• Red Robin, 6255 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (6 minutes)
• Texas Roadhouse, 6378 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (7 minutes)
• The Breakfast Club (Closes at 2:30 PM), 5525 Mills Civic Pkwy #100, West Des Moines, IA 50266 — (7 minutes)

This competition will be sponsored by Thecubicle!
They will be providing prizes to our podium finishers and regional champions.

Prizes (gift cards) for this competition are as follows:

3x3 Gold: $70
3x3 Silver: $50
3x3 Bronze: $30
3x3 Heartland Champion: $70

Other events Gold: $20
Other events Silver: $14
Other events Bronze: $10
Other events Heartland Champion: $20

Want to stay connected with the Midwest Cubing community? Join the Midwest Cubing Community Discord Server! Speak with other competitors from around the midwest, keep in touch with fellow competitors, and meet new ones! Find out about competition discussion as it happens in real time, and even announcements for competitions before registration opens!

Click here to be taken directly to the Discord Server!