A RUBIK’S CHAMP CUBE YOUR ENTHUSIASM: TEEN

IT WAS in a Grovedale living room at Christmas in 2015 that Finn Trass was given his first Rubik’s cube. Finn, 16, the current New Zealand national champion and a former NZ record holder, initially didn’t think he could solve it. But after sitting down, watching online tutorials and practising, he solved the cube in five minutes by the end of the day. “I had no idea how to do it at first,” Finn, pictured, said. “So I just looked it up online and I was hooked from there. I couldn’t stop.” A few weeks and a lot of practise later, he could solve a cube in one minute, a few more weeks and he was down to 20 seconds. “When we got back home from holidays, it was just practising and practising,” he said. “It’s taken me a couple of years to get up to where I am now.” Now averaging nine seconds a solve, Finn has returned to Australia as part of the 40-strong New Zealand team to compete in the World Cube Association (WCA) Championships in Melbourne. The championships cover 18 events “from the lower end of the 2x2 cube, the standard 3x3 cube all the way up to the 7x7 cube”, Finn said. Other events include the megaminx — a 12x12 cube — as well as a pyramid cube and a blindfolded event. It’s Finn’s first world championship, and while he says he’s realistic about his chances, he’s looking forward to competing. Finn has entered the 3x3, 4x4, 5x5 and the megaminx cube events, but says the most important thing is to have fun. “Getting good results is only part of it,” he said. “It’s about the experience.”