Q: Why did you start cubing?
Junior Gabe Coleman: In 2017, a lot of my friends were bringing Rubix Cubes to school. I had also seen cubing videos on YouTube. I bought a cube around that time, but I didn’t really use it much until around 2020, when the pandemic hit. Then, I went to my first competition in October 2021. I decided to start going to competitions because I knew that even if I was really good, if I didn’t have official results as proof, it would be pointless.
Q: What are your practices like?
GC: I practice everyday for at least half an hour. Most people don’t actually do serious practice, they just solve without thinking and hope for good times. My usual solving time when I’m practicing is on average 11 to 12 seconds.
Q: What do you like about cubing?
GC: I’ve never understood why I like cubing, I just know that It’s fun. The best part is going to competitions and breaking my personal records. I really like seeing my place on the rankings go up after every competition.
Q: What is your cube collection?
GC: I have somewhere between 40-50 cubes, but the RS3M V5 3×3 is my favorite cube. It’s usually the first one that I pick up when I don’t know what to pick. Some of the other cubes I have are the Square-1 which is a shapeshifter, Megaminx which is a dodecahedron and Mirror blocks which is just a 3×3, but it’s all one color and the pieces are different sizes.
Q: What is your favorite cube to solve?
GC: My favorite kind of cube to solve is a 3×3 one handed. I like it because one handed doesn’t involve learning any new concepts in order to improve. I use the same method regardless of whether I’m using one hand or both. One handed also doesn’t require you to be good at two handed, my best time with one hand is 9.77 seconds and that’s faster than my average time with both hands.
Q: What are competitions like?
GC: Everyone brings their cubes and does five solves for each round at the competition. 3×3 always has at least three rounds, but other events usually only have one or two. Everyone has their own duties for when they aren’t competing. Some people are asked to judge or scramble for the competitors. I usually go to competitions once every two months, but the time between one competition and another can be as long as four or five months.
Q: What is your fastest time?
GC: My fastest solve with a 3×3 was 6.85 seconds. 3×3 means the cube is three squares long and three squares wide. To solve a 3×3, I use a CFOP method which is an acronym for the steps to solve. C stands for cross, F for F2L, O for OLL and P for PLL. Cross solves the first four edge pieces, F2L gets the cube to the point where there’s only one side unsolved, OLL takes the unsolved side so it’s all the same color on top and PLL solves the rest of the unsolved pieces.
