Quebec teen breaks national record for fastest Rubik's cube solve while blindfolded
Quebec teen breaks national record for fastest Rubik's cube solve while blindfolded
Quebec teen breaks national record for fastest Rubik's cube solve while blindfolded
A Quebec teen has broken a national record for the fastest time to solve a Rubik's cube while wearing a blindfold.
In a flurry of colour, Elliott Kobelansky twisted a three-by-three cube into order in just 15.86 seconds – a period which includes studying the unsolved puzzle before putting on the blindfold.
"I feel great," he told CTV News Saturday afternoon, just hours after breaking former world champion Jake Klassen's previous record of 16.56 seconds.
"I've been working towards this for a while, and it's good to see all my practice pay off," he said.
Kobelansky first picked up a Rubik's cube when he was six years old. After solving it the first time, his father says, he was hooked.
These days, regular practice can take up to five hours every day.
"It's a lot of training," said his dad, Allan Kobelansky. "This is not something you can take lightly."
For the blind category, there are no physical markings on the cube to help its solver. In other words, after Kobelansky peeks at the scrambled cube, he solves it completely from memory.
"In my head, I have sort of a mental image of the cube. Not the colours, just a blank cube, and I'm seeing the moves as I do them," he said.
"I have a method to transform the cube into letters, a string of letters that I memorize. Then, when I put the blindfold on, I have a way of transforming those letters into moves on the cube to solve it."
He says he was proud of the record, adding that he's been able to do it even faster at home.
He was one of dozens competing in a competition hosted by the World Cube Association. His talents have taken him far from home in Canada and south of the border. There are plans to compete in Korea next year.
Kobelansky said his success was made possible by the support of his father, who accompanied him to the event Saturday.
"Basically I told him any event we can drive to we will go to without question," said Allan Kobelansky.
Several competitors told CTV Saturday that they felt happy to appear at the event after a two-year pandemic hiatus.
Athletes of all ages signed up, and none were turned away for a lack of experience.
"Cubing is a very inclusive sport, everyone is invited to join no matter how fast or how slow you are. I don't feel any different being relatively new," said Maxence Leboeuf, a young cuber who picked up the sport in December.
It's a philosophy shared by the event's organizers.
"Competitions are meant to be fun for everyone," said World Cube Association Delegate Nathan Dwyer, who specializes in four-by-four and five-by-five categories.
"Even though it is technically a competitive event, everyone is just here to support each other and have fun," he said, adding that most people come to "race against their own personal times rather than being cutthroat with others."
At least five people are dead and 19 were taken to hospitals after a shooting at a July Fourth parade in a Chicago suburb, and officers are searching for a suspect, police said Monday.
COVID-19 cases are rising again in Canada, with the two fast-spreading Omicron sub-variants known as BA.4 and BA.5 to blame. CTVNews.ca has a guide to what you need to know about the new variants.
More witnesses are coming forward with new details on the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot following former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's devastating testimony last week against former U.S. President Donald Trump, says a member of a U.S. House committee investigating the insurrection.
A pair of new reports from the Bank of Canada point to rising inflation expectations by Canadian businesses and consumers. In its business outlook survey released Monday, the central bank said businesses' expectations for near-term inflation have increased, and firms expect inflation to be high for longer than they did in the previous survey.
The family of an Ottawa man killed in a Canada Day crash in the west end says Tom Bergeron died exactly as he lived: selflessly thinking of others before himself.
Chronic staff shortages in Canada's health-care system have been exacerbated by waves of COVID-19 infections, and are pushing the system to the brink, warns a medical advocate for Doctors Manitoba.
An 'incredibly ill-advised stunt' is being investigated by the Toronto Transit Commission after video emerged of two masked men carrying Canadian flags while surfing on top of a train.
An 'incredibly ill-advised stunt' is being investigated by the Toronto Transit Commission after video emerged of two masked men carrying Canadian flags while surfing on top of a train.
A Toronto woman says a dog she rescued from the Dominican Republic has been traumatized after being left in a corner of Toronto Pearson International Airport with baggage for about 21 hours.
A Puslinch, Ont. woman says her driveway will need to be repaved less than month after she came home to find strangers working on it without her prior consent.
One of the biggest spending scandals in the history of B.C. politics is nearing its conclusion as a court hears sentencing recommendations for the former clerk of the legislature.
COVID-19 cases are rising again in Canada, with the two fast-spreading Omicron sub-variants known as BA.4 and BA.5 to blame. CTVNews.ca has a guide to what you need to know about the new variants.
At least five people are dead and 19 were taken to hospitals after a shooting at a July Fourth parade in a Chicago suburb, and officers are searching for a suspect, police said Monday.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is urging parents and students to plan ahead to avoid suspension in September due to incomplete immunization records.
The Government of Saskatchewan is set to provide $1.498 million in additional funding to Family Services Saskatchewan (FSSK), for the purpose of expanding access to free, rapid counselling to the southern and west central regions of the province.
A man was seriously injured after a stolen City of Regina truck collided with his vehicle early Saturday morning, the Regina Police Service (RPS) said in a news release.
The family of an Ottawa man killed in a Canada Day crash in the west end says Tom Bergeron died exactly as he lived: selflessly thinking of others before himself.
The number of homes for sale in Saskatoon has increased but the number of places to buy remains 20 per cent lower than last year, according to the Saskatchewan Realtors Association.
