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. You could also be on the waiting list. The competitor limit can be found on the General Info page, and you can see the number on accepted competitors on the Competitors page. If you have done everything correctly and the competition is not full 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 the events you would like to change. If registration is closed then please do not email us with event changes. If at the competition you decide that you do not want to compete in an event, come up to the scramble table when your group is called and simply tell the scramblers that you are not going to compete.

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.

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 venue is Rhiw Syr Dafydd Primary School in South Wales, which is proud to host the Welsh Open Cube Championship for the second year. In our first year we were delighted to see several national records broken at the competition. The main entrance to the school will be open and staff will guide you to the venue from there.

The school is based in the village of Oakdale, which is approximately 18 miles from Cardiff, 14 miles from Newport, and 11 miles from Caerphilly.

Travel

Train: Newbridge is the closest train station to the venue and bus links from the train station are frequent for onward travel to the venue.

Bus: Bus services are available to Blackwood from all major cities and towns. When at Blackwood a local bus service will take you directly to the venue.

Plane: Cardiff Wales Airport is the nearest airport to Oakdale. Car rental is available from there, or a taxi can be taken from there to connect with train services.

Car: Parking in the large car park on site is free for competitors.

Shuttle Service: CANCELLED

Accommodation

As the school is within easy commuting distance of two large cities there are many places to stay, there are also several more local to the venue places to stay, with several budget hotels in Pontypool (Best Western), Caerphilly and Ebbw Vale (Premier Inn), which are only 15 minutes away by car.

Two hotels are in close proximity to the venue:

• Maes Manor Hotel
• Brewers Lodge

You are able to secure a discounted rate for the Maes Manor Hotel by contacting the hotel (01495 220011) quoting 'Rubik's Cube'. We are no longer running a shuttle bus service for competitors.

There is plenty to see and do in the local area, with Blaenavon (World heritage site) the oldest mine in Wales only a short journey away, as well as Caerphilly Castle (Second largest in the UK). The Major Cities of Cardiff and Newport also have plenty of places of interest to visit as well as the World renowned Brecon Beacons within easy commuting distance to to venue.

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.

Welsh Open 2019 Live Results