All competitions in the UK are run by the UKCA with the help of our many organisers from all over the country. We have organised over 40 competitions in the UK and have also helped run competitions over in Ireland to help their community grow. Our delegates have over 200 combined competitions of experience with many more to come.

Make sure to subscribe to our mailing list on the UKCA website for all up to date information on UK competitions. And follow our social media pages to keep up to date with the latest content and media!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I register?
A: First you need to make sure you have created a WCA account. You can do this by going to the sign-up page and creating an account. Once you have created the account and confirmed your email address, go to the Register section and follow the instructions carefully.

Q: Why am I not on the registration list yet?
A: Please make sure that you have followed the instructions in the Register section. If you have done everything correctly then just be patient. We have to manually approve registrations and the organisers aren't available all the time. If you believe you have followed the steps correctly but still are not on the registration list after 2 days, then feel free to email us at the contact link on the General Info page.

Q: Can I change the events I am registered for?
A: As long as registration is still open, yes you are allowed to change events. Email us at the contact link on the General Info page with your name, the competition, and the events you would like to change. If registration is closed then please do not email us with event changes.

Q: I am no longer able to attend, what do I do?
A: The first thing you need to do is tell us as soon as you know via the contact link on the General Info page. Competitions generally fill up quite quickly and letting us know that you can't attend means we can add someone from the waiting list.

Q: If I do not attend do I get a refund?
A: If you inform us you are no longer attending and registration is still open, we will issue a full refund. If registration is closed we will offer a 50% refund. If you do not tell us you are not attending then you will receive no refund.

Q: How fast do I have to be to compete?
A: We recommend that you check out the Schedule tab - if you can make the time limit for the events you want to compete in, then you're fast enough! Loads of people come to competitions just to beat their own personal bests, and meet likeminded people, with no intention of winning or even making it past the first round.

Q: Are there different age categories?
A: All competitors compete on the same level and all ages are welcome. In general most are aged 10-20 but we have plenty of regulars who are older or younger than this!

Q: Do I use my own cubes to compete?
A: Yes! Make sure to bring cubes for all events you are competing in and look after them, you don't want them to go missing.

Q: Can I come only to spectate?
A: Yes! Spectating this competition will be free for everyone. Unless you are attending with a competitor, we would highly recommend to come to spectate only in the afternoons, as the venue will be extremely busy in the morning on both days!

Q: When do I arrive at the competition?
A: If you are a new competitor, we highly recommend that you show up for the introduction to competing which is held as the first thing on both days. Otherwise, we recommend you turn up at least 15 minutes before your first event, you can check when this is on the Schedule tab. This will give you enough time to register, find a seat, and warm-up.

Q: What do I do when I arrive?
A: The first thing you do when you arrive is find the registration desk if registration is open. If you arrive before registration opens, we will make an announcement as to when it does open. If there is nobody present at the registration desk then find a staff member and we will make sure to register you.

Q: When can I leave the competition?
A: You are more than welcome to leave whenever you want. If you have no more events left then you are not required to stay. But you may stay and help judge or spectate at your leisure.

Q: How do I find results?
A: All the results will be found on this page a couple of days after the competition, once they have all been checked and uploaded. If you are looking for live results, they can all be found on the Live Results tab.

New Competitors

If you are a new competitor, it is important that you are familiar with the Regulations. The regulations are very long and are quite a lot to take in so don't worry if you don't remember it all! Because of this, we have a video that explains the competing procedure which we recommend to watch before attending: Competing Tutorial. We will also be holding an introduction to competing as per the Schedule which we recommend you attend as well.

New competitors must bring some form of ID to show at the competition to confirm the name, the country they wish to compete for, and the date of birth registered with. The usual items of ID that people bring are Passports, Birth Certificates, Driver's Licenses, etc. As long as it has your name, date of birth, and country, then it will be fine.

If you have any questions, we recommend that you check the FAQ in case it has been asked before. But you are more than welcome to contact us at the link on the General Info page. We also recommend you check out the UKCA tab to sign up to our mailing list for announcements of future competitions, among other things.

Information for All Competitors

• Please help judge! We rely very heavily on regular competitors to make the competition run to schedule. It is not very difficult to do, and even parents can do it! If you'd like to learn the procedure then we will explain it during the introduction to competing, and if you still don't quite understand we can show you during the rounds as well. And you may judge whenever you want.
• However, if you are competing in an event then you are expected to help judge for that event. Obviously you need time to warm-up so we would really appreciate if you can help out the group immediately following the one you compete in. For example, if you are competing in group 2, please help to judge for group 3, etc. If there are only 2 groups, you would be expected to help for the other group.
• No flash photography under any circumstance within the venue. It is extremely distracting for competitors.
• If you are a spectator, please stay 1.5m away from competitors at all times as per Regulation 7b.
• Please treat the venue with respect, put all of your rubbish in bins, black bin bags, or take it home with you and keep your area tidy.
• There are thousands of puzzles at these events, make sure to keep yours together so you don't lose them! Keeping them in a bag and looking after it at all times is recommended.
• During blindfolded events, please stay silent within the venue. These events require a high amount of concentration and any noise can be distracting. We will announce when the silence will begin and when you may talk within the venue again.

Venue

The competition will be held at Stratford-upon-Avon College, The Willows North, Alcester Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 9QR - opposite Morrison’s garage. There is a small island at Morrison’s, enter towards the college grounds, go to the right and 50-100 yards on the right hand side will be the car park. The entrance to the venue is opposite the car park, shown as Reception. The actual room called 'Space' and is by the main reception.

Travel

Car: The venue has its own car park which is free.
From M40
Head from the M40 (Junction 15) Longbridge Island towards Stratford-upon-Avon, A46, follow that road for about 2 miles and then go left at the small island on the A439 to Stratford-upon-Avon, then 7 to 8 minutes later and you will be at the bottom of Stratford town centre. Follow the ring road round to the right, do NOT go over the bridge, keep to the right and then merge to the left. Head up through the main high street in the town centre and go straight over a small island and go over the next 2 sets of traffic lights and then over a bridge and you will see the Morrison’s garage and turn left at that island.
Train: The nearest train station is Stratford-upon-Avon (NOT Stratford Parkway station), it is very near the Morrison’s island, about 400 yards from the college, as you come out of the station bear right and follow road for 300 yards past a new flat/housing development. At the traffic lights turn right and 100 yards up and over the bridge is the Morrison’s island, right by the College.
Plane: Nearest airport is Birmingham International. From here you would need to get train into Birmingham New Street take a 5 minute walk to Birmingham Moor Street and then take the train to Stratford-upon-Avon.
Coach: Coaches will either drop you off in town or at the Stratford-upon-Avon leisure centre (on the Ring Road), only a 15-20 minute walk from the town centre to the college.

Accommodation

• Premier Inn - Stratford-upon-Avon Central
• Best Western - Grosvenor Hotel
• Travelodge - Stratford-upon-Avon
• There are many bed and breakfast places nearby as it is a tourist town, just check on google!

Food

• It's a 15 minute walk into town from the college. Subway, chip shops, Costa Coffee and many eating places at night including Nandos in town. McDonalds about 10 minute walk away, up past the train station.
• There are many supermarkets such as Morrisons and Tesco very nearby.
• It can get busy on the weekends so allow extra time getting into the town.

Round: All competitors will compete in Round 1 for each event they are registered for.
Proceed: This shows how many people move onto the next round for the event.
Format: The format of the round: B = "Best of", A = "Average of", M = "Mean of". If the round has two formats (B2/A5 or B1/M3) that means there is a cutoff for the round.
Cutoff: You must achieve a single time under this time in one of your first two solves to complete the average of 5. If the format is mean of 3, then the cutoff applies after 1 solve.
Time Limit: If you take longer than this on a single solve you will be stopped, and given a DNF result for that attempt.
Cumulative Time: All solves for the round must be completed within this time. For example if the total time is 10 minutes and you take 4 minutes for the first attempt, you will have 6 minutes left for your remaining attempts.

Saturday - 22 September

* 4x4 & 5x5 Blindfolded: You will have a total time of 1 hour to complete all 4x4 and 5x5 blindfolded attempts. Both events are best of 3.

Sunday - 23 September

The following events are not being held:

• 6x6
• 7x7
• 3x3 Fewest Moves
• 3x3 With Feet
• Pyraminx
• 3x3 Multi-Blind

Each event is run in groups, depending on how many people are competing in the event depends on how many groups there are. We call each group up one at a time in order to complete their solves during the scheduled time for the round. We have software that automatically picks what groups you are in, the judges, and who scrambles for each group. This is the minimum amount you should be helping out as it only is for first rounds. We always appreciate extra help!

Please note down which groups you are competing and scrambling in before arriving at the competition!

Groups

Live results at the competition are provided courtesy of Cubecomps. Please note that the results may not be entered immediately. It is important that the competition is running smoothly before we can enter data. Sometimes there might be a delay of up to an hour before the results for a round are entered.

Stratford-upon-Avon Open Live Results