WCA World Championship 2019 + CubingUSA Nationals 2019

This summer, I attended two of the biggest competitions the cubing community has seen this year:

-The WCA World Championship 2019, which took place in Melbourne, Australia from July 11-14 and hosted about 830 competitors

-The CubingUSA Nationals 2019, located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, from August 1-4, consisting of almost 800 competitors

Here are a few highlights/firsts from the competitions:

WCA World Championship:

-I broke a total of 12 personal records, three of which were Washington State records (4×4 blindfolded single (3:17.12), 4×4 blindfolded mean of 3 (3:51.27), and 3×3 multiple blindfolded (13/14 in 43:58))

-It was because of cubing that I was able to visit an entirely new continent for the very first time!

-I was given the opportunity to be interviewed twice; one by The Age Newspaper, based in Melbourne, and the other by Rubik’s themselves.
-The article from The Age can be found here:
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/a-bit-of-a-freak-show-the-novel-way-these-kids-solve-rubik-s-cubes-in-seconds-20190711-p526bd.html

-Unfortunately, I cannot find the video by Rubik’s, but when I do locate it, it can be found here:

CubingUSA Nationals 2019:

-I broke a total of 9 personal records, one of which was tied with two others for state record (Fewest Moves Single (26 moves))

-I made the final round for 8 out of the 13 events consisting of at least two rounds, the most out of everybody at the competition!

-Some notable placings that I achieve include an 8th place finish in 3×3, as well as a 5th place finish in 4×4, Square-1, and 5×5 blindfolded.

-I was interviewed for being one of the sixteen finalists for the 3×3 cube, and my interview will be featured in an upcoming Netflix documentary on speedcubing!

Overall, I experienced some of the best moments of my life in the span of just 3 weeks. This summer was filled with so many firsts and experiences that I’m sure I will never forget for as long as I live! I hope the upcoming years will be even more action-filled than they were this year.