What should be fair cutoffs for competitions.

[Zagros]

My biggest problem with cutoffs is that they (logically, but it is still annoying) disproportionately affect big cubes, which are what I want to compete in most. I would contest that the reason a lot of people aren't into big cubes is because you probably will be sub-15 on 3x3 by the time you can make a 5 minute 7x7 cutoff. People don't practice big cubes until later in their cubing because it isn't viable for them. Something like a 1:00 OH cutoff is more reasonable because that can be obtained by a fairly new cuber if they put in effort, but often the big cube cutoffs aren't obtainable until one is a lot more experienced.

 

[One Wheel]

My biggest problem with cutoffs is that they (logically, but it is still annoying) disproportionately affect big cubes, which are what I want to compete in most. I would contest that the reason a lot of people aren't into big cubes is because you probably will be sub-15 on 3x3 by the time you can make a 5 minute 7x7 cutoff. People don't practice big cubes until later in their cubing because it isn't viable for them. Something like a 1:00 OH cutoff is more reasonable because that can be obtained by a fairly new cuber if they put in effort, but often the big cube cutoffs aren't obtainable until one is a lot more experienced.

I’ve dealt with that by organizing my own competitions and arguing strongly for lenient cutoffs, and I’ve noticed a few competitions in my area since I started doing that have had what seem to be more lenient cutoffs. Best of luck, if you’re in the upper Midwest keep an eye out for cheese-themed competitions.