Older cubers discussions

WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (AUG 29-31)
Six big cube 50+ WR demolitions, ten new 80+ WRs, and a 60+ WR in a monumental week in which I followed 24 top solvers...

I get to take the lead story spot myself this week. Yours truly Shen Flindell set six 50+ world records and six senior Oceanic records at Please Be Finished Brisbane 2025, based on the WCA regulations that records on different days at the same competition count separately. 6x6 mean 2:49.66 and best 2:32.15 both take me from 2nd to 1st ahead of Chris Wright in 50+ and 10th to 3rd ahead of Daniel Houghton in 40+, with both records beating Chris's PRs by about 20 seconds. I beat my 7x7 50+ world records twice on consecutive days – I actually made 5 consecutive best times, but only the best solve on a day counts as a record. On day 1 I made a 7x7 mean PR 4:29.02 and best 4:26.87, following it up the next day in the finals with mean 4:13.83 (9th to 3rd ahead of Glyn Brown in 40+) and best 4:11.06 (10th to 7th ahead of Modest Podzolkin in 40+). The best time is an 18 second improvement and the mean time almost 30 second improvement on my previous records. My other PRs at the comp were all new senior Oceanic records: 5x5 average 1:36.98 (40+ OcR, remains 2nd in 50+ worldwide); 5BLD best 14:17.00 (first time for 40+ Oceania, enters 50+ at 7th); 4BLD best 7:32.49 (40+ OcR, 11th to 9th in 50+); 3BLD mean 1:34.27 (first time for 40+ Oceania, enters 50+ rankings at 9th) and best 1:30.70 (50+ OcR, 16th to 12th in 50+); and Megaminx best 2:21.64 (50+ OcR, enters 50+ at 22nd). I also earned a 3rd place podium with my 4BLD results. These results haven't reached the WCA page yet, so we'll have to confirm Kinch ranking changes next week, but by my calculations this takes me from 12th to 9th in the 50+ Kinch rankings, close to a bunch of top solvers with around 48 points.

Also in Brisbane, Ming Dao Ting (3OH SWR2) didn't make any PRs but as a new senior competitor there's plenty of news: 5x5 average 1:46.27 takes him from 25th to 24th ahead of Guttorm Syvertsen-Wiig, and best 1:39.56 from 37th to 27th; 7x7 mean 5:40.91 enters the rankings at 27th and best 5:19.29 takes him from 57th to 31st; and Square-1 average 38.39 enters at 45th, while best 32.97 takes him from 68th to 65th. Ming promised me that his Tingman Youtube video on entering the senior cubing rankings at Qld State Championships earlier this year is in the final editing phase and will be coming out soon!

Finally from Brisbane, Samuel Michael Gaffney (MM top five) set double PRs on 5x5: average 1:49.09 takes him from 32nd to 26th and best 1:31.77 from 38th to 20th. Sam had much more to give at the comp but was called away early.

Over to the Mid-Atlantic Championship 2025, where Gary Miller had his first comp as an 80+ competitor. Until now the only entries for 80+ have been in 3x3 and 3BLD, and Gary competed in 7 other events so set ten new 80+ world records as well as making 3 PRs: Clock best PR 31.06 also improves his 70+ world record, while Square-1 best PR 7:53.71, 2x2 average 46.63 and best 25.95, 4x4 best 7:29.58, 3OH best 4:14.78, Pyraminx average 50.42 and best 45.64, and Skewb average 1:15.96 and best 39.30 are all firsts for 80+. He also set a 3x3 average PR 1:59.62, entering the 80+ rankings at 8th, and entered at 10th with 3x3 best 1:49.73.

Also at the MAC, Kerry Go (60+ MM WR) made 3 PRs: 3OH average 47.30 and best 36.99 both take him from 4th to 2nd ahead of Lisa Kucala; and Clock best 11.83 remains 11th. Non-PR Skewb best 13.97 improves his 60+ record but remains ranked 17th.

Maria Oey (60+ Kinch #10) set a new 4x4 best 60+ WR as part of 2 PRs at Schnelle Solves Siegen v2 2025: 4x4 best 1:04.85 takes her from 3rd to 1st ahead of partner Ton Dennenbroek; and 5x5 best 3:29.67 remains 9th. How nice to see Maria and Ton in the top two spots of 4x4 best 60+ rankings!

Three top solvers improved their 5x5 rankings at Kanto Summer PM 2025. Yuji Suse (4x4 and 5x5 top ten) set a 5x5 average PR 1:25.10, taking him from 6th to 3rd. Fumiki Koseki (big cube top tens) set his first 5x5 times in 50+: average 1:38.44 and best 1:31.20 both enter at 3rd ahead of Chris Wright. Kazutaka Watanabe (4x4 SWR2) set double PRs on his first senior 5x5 outing: average 1:29.84 enters at 8th ahead of Fumiki-san, and best 1:26.12 at 10th ahead of Julio Perugorria Lorente.

Junya Tomita (50+ 2x2 WR) improved his 50+ record with non-PR 2x2 best 2.94 at Kanto Summer AM 2025, remaining ranked 10th.

Also in Kanto, Akatsuki Kitamura (50+ Kinch top 5) also improved his 50+ record in 2x2 with non-PR results: average 6.83 (68th to 40th) and best 6.01 (126th to about 117th).

AJ Nicholls (senior Kinch #8) made double 3BLD PRs at Bristol August 2025: mean 1:04.88 (18th to 11th), and best 53.55 (20th to 17th ahead of Mike Hughey). He also earned a 2nd place podium with best 1:02.37 in the final.

Also in Bristol, Glyn Brown (big cubes top fives) made 2 PRs and a double PR: 5x5 average 1:38.95 (18th to 17th ahead of Chris Wright); Square-1 average 47.59 (enters at 67th) and best 35.76 (101st to 76th); and 3BLD best 3:08.65 (162nd to 126th).

Lars Vennike Nielsson (OH SWRs) made a PR and double PR at Sommerdag I Lille Friheden 2025: Megaminx average 1:43.53 (22nd to 16th ahead of Jochen Bauer) and best 1:35.01 (29th to 23rd); and 7x7 best 5:59.52 (enters at 45th).

Jason Krug (7x7 SWR9) made a PR and a double PR at Hancock County Summer 2025: Megaminx average 1:45.14 (27th to 19th ahead of Ming Dao Ting); and Clock best 9.91 (113th to 69th) and average 12.60 (117th to 91st).

Finally, Daniel Houghton (4x4-7x7 top tens) made 3 PRs at Swisscubing Cup MB II 2025: MBLD 5/7 in 52:20 remains ranked 77th; and FMC mean 59.67 enters the rankings at 116th and best 51 at 154th.

It looks like there have been a couple of new registrations resulting in a bunch of new top ten results from outside my watchlist, which I found via Phil Lewis' Recent Senior Records page.

Chan Tak Chuen (40+) joins my watchlist with qualifying rankings in several events over the last month. At Maru Cube Day Taiwan 2025: 3OH best 17.79 (6th) and 4x4 best 41.87 (10th). At Vietnam Championship 2025: 3OH average 19.77 (3rd), Square-1 average 18.20 (3rd) and best 13.88 (4th); 3x3 best 10.26 (10th); and 5x5 average 1:34.70 (10th). At Jiangmen Open 2025: Clock average 8.03 (10th) and 4x4 average 46.83 (6th).

Other recent top ten results over the last month are:
: Kate Stuart (70+) CubingUSA Heartland Championship 2025 – Skewb average 40.93 (enters at 4th) and best 25.27 (enters at 6th)
- Pyraminx average 34.26 (enters at 8th)
: André Romain (40+) at Cube Plan Baie 2025 – Skewb average 6.17 (enters at 5th)
: Chris Lillios (60+) at Berkeley August Weekday 2025 – 3x3 average 24.59 (13th to 9th)

This week I also followed Thor Muto Asmund, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Kanako Eguchi, Chris Wright, Ton Dennenbroek, Ulrich Spies, Ming Chai, and Rich Tayag, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

In 70+ Kinch rankings, new competitor Kate Stuart enters at 9th above recent new competitor Donna Leiber. As mentioned above, most of thisweek's SWRs haven't propagated to the WCA pages just yet, so there will no doubt be some big changes in Kinch rankings by next week.

Next week: Lisa Kucala, Ron van Bruchem, Sander Kaspers, Ton Dennenbroek, Bobby Mapp, Gary Miller, AJ Nicholls, Helmut Heilig, Jochen Bauer, Michael Stocker, Jae Park, Daniel Houghton, and Olivier Wirz, in 8 competitions around the world.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 3 average and single 40+, top 2 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 104 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (SEP 5-7)
Improvements in 40+, 60+ and 80+ WRs...

Michael Stocker improved his 7x7 mean 40+ WR by 0.21s with a non-PR 3:57.78 at Cubing Days Neuburg 2025 this weekend. He also made 2 PRs and 2 double PRs: 6x6 best 2:26.12 remains ranked 2nd; 3x3 best 10.29 takes him from 37th to 11th equal with Natán Riggenbach, while consecutive 3x3 average PRs 13.64 then 12.61 take him from 22nd to 6th ahead of Bobby Mapp (thus pushing Chris Hardwick from my watchlist); and 3BLD mean 1:50.71 takes him from 37th to 31st, and best 1:38.96 from 63rd to 50th.

Also in Neuburg, Jochen Bauer (50+ Kinch #3) made a 6x6 best PR 3:17.15, moving from 4th to 3rd ahead of Ron van Bruchem. His non-PR 5x5 best 1:44.97 is an improvement on his 50+ record but remains ranked 7th.

Finally from Neuburg, Helmut Heilig (50+ 3OH, 4x4-7x7 top tens) made a 4x4 average PR 58.33, remaining ranked 4th among 50+.

Lisa Kucala improved her Clock average 60+ WR at Clock on the Madison Rocks 2025 with a PR 8.73, an improvement of 0.16s on her July record, also remaining 5th among 50+. She also made a Clock PR single 7.75, remaining ranked 2nd among 60+ and 6th among 50+.

New 80+ Kinch #1 Gary Miller improved last week's Pyraminx average SWR at Fredericksburg Summer PM 2025 with a PR 37.78, which also remains 10th among 70+. I note that the SCR website has his results listed as 2nd, with a missing 1st place. He also made a 3x3 average PR 1:44.77, moving from 10th to 9th ahead of Adelina Estevao.

Sander Kaspers (50+ MM WRs) made a PR and a double PR at Dutch Nationals 2025: FMC mean 32.00 enters the 50+ rankings at 10th ahead of Laurent Reynaud, and best 30 at 12th equal with Akatsuki Kitamura; and 3BLD mean 2:03.46 enters at 13th. Two non-PR results improve his 50+ rankings: 3BLD best 1:50.75 enters at 23rd, and Pyraminx best 12.37 remains 144th.

Also at the Dutch Nationals, Ron van Bruchem (50+ 3x3-5x5 WRs) improved his 50+ Square-1 record with a best time of 1:06.92, remaining ranked 53rd.

Olivier Wirz (60+ 2x2 WR) made a PR and a double PR at Swisscubing Cub V 2025: Clock average 10.60 (6th to 5th ahead of Ulrich Spies) and best 9.59 (remains 5th just 0.01s behind Martin Ernesto Melcop); and Square-1 best 1:35.62 (enters at 10th ahead of Didier Limal).

Also in Switzerland, Daniel Houghton (big cubes top tens) also made a PR and a double PR in new events: Square-1 best 32.32 (enters at 60th) and average 1:09.07 (104th); and Megaminx best 3:19.30 (150th).

There were several new top ten results from outside my watchlist last week, which I found via Phil Lewis' Recent Senior Records page:
: Guus Razoux Schultz (60+) - FMC best 29 (remains 2nd)
: Thomas Schukraft (50+) at Cubing Days Neuburg 2025 – 6x6 best 3:53.33 (11th to 8th)
: Joe Kucala (60+) Clock on the Madison Rocks 2025 - Clock average 13.03 (8th) and best 10.55 (9th)

This week I also followed Ton Dennenbroek, Bobby Mapp, and AJ Nicholls, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

In 50+ Kinch rankings, my big cube world record demolition last week has changed a lot of people's points differently, with lots of resulting shuffling. Akatsuki Kitamura is up from 5th to 4th ahead of Ron van Bruchem. Shen Flindell is up from 12th to 9th ahead of Eric Dodson, entering a tight bunch between 6th and 9th. Thomas Schukraft moves down from 14th to 16th behind Dan Smith and Mark Rivers. Brent Boswell moves into 25th place pushing Helmut Heilig out of the top 25.

In 80+ Kinch rankings, new octagenarian Gary Miller storms to the top of the rankings with his massive haul of 80+ world records last week.

Next week: Daniel Houghton, Mats Bergsten, Sonja Black, Lisa Kucala, Kerry Go, Bobby Mapp, Gary Miller, Maria Oey, Ton Dennenbroek, Ulrich Spies, Chris Hardwick, Petr Kundera, Jesús Masanet García, Jae Park, AJ Nicholls, Chris Wright, Glyn Brown, Timothy Lawrance, Konsta Jukka, Doug Li, Lars Vennike Nielsson, Olivier Wirz, Choi Goho, Akatsuki Kitamura, and Fumiki Koseki, in 18 competitions around the world.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 3 average and single 40+, top 2 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 103 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (SEP 11-15)
New and improved 60+ to 80+ SWRs, and a PR blitz in Finland...

Ulrich Spies claimed the 60+ Megaminx WR from Kerry Go as part of double PRs at Visé Saturday Open 2025: average 2:00.90 takes him from 2nd to 1st on the 60+ list, while remaining ranked 9th in 50+, and best 1:47.75 remains 2nd in 60+ while moving from 10th to 9th in 50+.

Ton Dennenbroek (60+ 3x3, Pyra WRs) also improved his Megaminx results in Visé with average 2:10.58, remaining ranked 4th in 60+.

Shinichi Ono joins my watchlist having set a new 60+ Skewb WR as part of 2 PRs and a double PR at Katano Summer 2025: Skewb best 4.31 takes Shinichi from 11th to 1st ahead of Lisa Kucala, and also from 50th to 6th ahead of Ulrich Spies among 50+; Pyraminx average 9.59 takes him from 10th to 6th ahead of Ulrich, and best 7.86 from 12th to 11th; and 2x2 average 11.87 enters the 60+ rankings at 21st. Non-PR 2x2 best 10.34 enters the rankings at 36th. Shinichi moves up from 17th to 14th in the 60+ Kinch rankings.

Also in Katano, Shinji Mochizuki (3BLD best SWR4) made two double PRs: Pyraminx average 4.33 takes him from 3rd to 2nd ahead of Pablo Say, and best 3.16 from 12th to 5th ahead of Eric Dodson; and 2x2 average 7.24 enters the rankings at 194th and best 5.29 at 283rd.

Finally from Katano, Akatsuki Kitamura (50+ Kinch #4) made double Skewb PRs: average 8.15 takes him from 28th to 10th and best 6.73 from 35th to 29th. He has entered the 40+ Kinch top 25.

Mats Bergsten (multiple 60+ and 70+ WRs) improved one of his 70+ WRs and claimed 2 more as part of 5 PRs at Stockholmsligan Moja - Ng'ombe 2025. Clock average 29.95 and best 22.73 both take him from 2nd past Gary Miller's 70+ WRs. The Clock average PR is an improvement of more than 20 seconds. 3OH average 1:28.47 is an improvement of his 70+ WR from June. Pyraminx best 28.32 remains ranked 8th and average 37.55 remains 9th. Mat's 70+ SWR tally is up to 14 for 2025.

Gary Miller (multiple 80+ WRs) may have lost his Clock 70+ WRs, but he improved a couple of his own 80+ WRs* at ODU Big Blue Open 2025: Pyraminx average PR 33.17 and best PR 29.05 both beat the 80+ WRs* he set two weeks ago. Non-PR 2x2 average 33.46 and best 25.47 also beat his previous 80+ WRs*, taking his 80+ SWR tally to 18 since he entered the 80+ category. (* The SCW website lists all these results as SWR2s, with a missing 80+ #1.)

Konsta Jukka (3x3 ave #3) made an incredible 6 double PRs at Willimiehen Kuutiopäivät 2025, in many cases his first comp in the event since 2016 or earlier: 7x7 average 4:38.43 and best 4:22.90 (both enter at 8th ahead of Modest Podzolkin); Megaminx best 1:21.38 (enters at 8th) and average 1:26.60 (enters at 9th ahead of Geoffrey Hartnell); 2x2 average 4.59 (23rd to equal 9th with Javier Tirado Ortiz) and best 3.28 (106th to 53rd); 4x4 average 50.99 (22nd to 12th ahead of Daniel Houghton) and best 43.53 (44th to 12th); 5x5 average 1:37.60 (32nd to 15th) and best 1:30.87 (25th to 18th); and 6x6 best 3:24.15 (enters at 28th) and average 3:40.22 (enters at 31st). His 3OH results were not PRs but enter the senior rankings with average 26.58 (21st) and best 22.94 (25th).

Guttorm Syvertsen-Wiig rejoins my watchlist with a top ten 6x6 result at part of 2 PRs and 3 double PRs at Sandnes Open 2025: 6x6 mean 3:09.10 takes him from 13th to 10th ahead of Modest Podzolkin; 7x7 best 4:21.69 takes him from 19th to 8th also ahead of Modest and mean 5:02.88 from 15th to 14th; 3OH average 32.72 followed by 28.36 in the second round takes him from 57th to 27th and best 24.96 then 23.72 from 53rd to 34th; and 4x4 best 52.56 takes him from 75th to 42nd. He has now reached 24th in the senior Kinch rankings.

Kerry Go (60+ Kinch #4) improved his 60+ Clock results at Manhattan Megaminx Mayhem 2 2025 with average 15.01, remaining ranked 11th.

Olivier Wirz (60+ 2x2 WR) made a 4x4 best PR 1:41.40 at La Clock-de-Fonds 2025, taking him from 12th to 11th past Ulrich Spies.

Also at La Clock-de-Fonds, Daniel Houghton (big cubes top tens) made two PRs: Pyraminx average 10.81 (146th to 137th) and Clock best 12.68 (153rd to 139th, ahead of Kristina Lim).

Lars Vennike Nielsson (3OH SWRs) made a Megaminx best PR 1:32.62 at Friheden Open 2025, taking him from 23rd to 19th.

Four top solvers made PRs at Weston-super-Mare Autumn 2025. Chris Wright (50+ Kinch top ten) made a Clock average PR 13.03, moving from 49th to 23rd among 50+, equal with Joe Kucala, and improving his 50+ Kinch ranking from 8th to 7th. Glyn Brown (40+ 6x6, 7x7 top fives) made a 4x4 best PR 49.97, remaining ranked 29th. Timothy Lawrance (40+ 4BLD WR) made a 7x7 mean PR 6:20.39, moving from 48th to 43rd. Finally from WSM, AJ Nicholls (40+ Kinch #8) made 2 PRs: Clock best 9.25 (remains 53rd) and Pyraminx average 13.30 (298th to 238th).

There were several new top ten results from outside my watchlist last week, which I found via Phil Lewis' Recent Senior Records page:
: Carlos Acosta (70+) at Kansas Air Capital Cubing 2025- 3x3 best 30.62 (4th to 3rd)
: Doyle Cline (60+) at Corny Cubers Iowa Classic 2025 - Pyraminx average 10.37 (10th to 9th)
: Makoto Asano (50+) at Katano Summer 2025 – Skewb average 7.64 (10th to 9th)

This week I also followed Sonja Black, Lisa Kucala, Bobby Mapp, Maria Oey, Petr Kundera, Jesús Masanet García, Choi Goho, and Fumiki Koseki, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

In 40+ Kinch rankings, Fabio Bini Graciose is up from 23rd to 22nd ahead of Vasily Stasyev. Guttorm Syvertsen-Wiig and Akatsuki Kitamura have entered the top 25 at 24th and 25th, pushing out Yi-Wei Chen and Stefan Lidström.

In 50+, Chris Wright's Clock results bring him from 8th to 7th ahead of Christian Sachgau.

In 60+, Shinichi Ono's new Skewb WR takes him from 17th to 14th ahead of Doyle Cline.

In 70+, Yang-Mo Sung has fallen from 15th to 18th, allowing Hideaki Tomoyori into the top 15.

Next week: AJ Nicholls, Ben Coppin, Daniel Houghton, Lars Vennike Nielsson, Michael Stocker, Modest Podzolkin, Thor Muto Asmund, Timothy Lawrance, Chan Tak Chuen, Anthony Rochester, John Cook, Doug Li, Aaron Soley, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Michał Sozański, Helmut Heilig, Jochen Bauer, Olivier Wirz, Peter Andersson, and Jae Park, in 12 competitions around the world.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 5 average and single 40+, top 3 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 107 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (SEP 19-22)
A new senior sprint star from Colombia, but our SWR streak ends after 13 weeks...

Dennis Rosero (40+ Kinch #7) has recently registered on the SCW website and has numerous top ten results to his name, most notably the 2x2 best SWR2 and SWR3s in Pyraminx and Square-1. Dennis had two comps this weekend. At PS Levels UD Bogotá 2025 he set a 2x2 average 3.89, ranked 4th, as well as picking up a third place podium in Pyraminx with average 6.62. Then at Zipaquirá Cundinamarca 2025 he made a Square-1 average 17.67, ranked 3rd in the senior rankings and also worth a first place podium at the comp, along with another 3rd place Pyraminx podium with average 5.75. His 6x6 results also entered the rankings at 21st with best 3:15.08 and 30th with average 3:37.75. His entry into the senior Kinch rankings at 7th pushes Aaron Soley from my watchlist.

John Cook (60+ FMC SWR2) made a 5x5 average PR 3:38.57 at North Tasmania Spring 2025, remaining ranked 6th among 60+.

Also in Tasmania, Anthony Rochester (MBLD SWR2) made a PR and two double PRs: Megaminx average 2:36.25 (83rd to 85th despite improvement) and best 2:18.88 (104th to 90th); 5x5 average 2:58.41 (enters at 149th) and best 2:31.40 (194th to 155th); and 4x4 best 1:09.38 (190th to 166th). These results take him to 24th in the senior Kinch rankings.

Jochen Bauer (50+ Kinch #3) made 3 PRs and a double PR at Munich Open 2025: Square-1 average 32.67 (14th to 7th ahead of Eric Dodson) and best 30.00 followed by 28.65 in the second round (16th to 11th); Clock average 9.53 (10th to 8th); and Pyraminx average 10.23 (43rd to 33rd).

Also in Munich, Helmut Heilig (50+ multiple top tens) made a 3x3 average PR 15.94, taking him from 12th to 11th.

Jae Park (50+ 3BLD and 4BLD SWRs) made a MBLD PR 12/15 in 57:21 at CK Travancore Open 2025, earning a 2nd place podium and taking him from 14th to 11th. He also earned a 2nd place podium in 3BLD with best 58.88.

Thor Muto Asmund (50+ Kinch #1) made an FMC best PR 32 at FMC Europe 2025, taking him from 30th to 16th.

Daniel Houghton (big cubes top tens) made an MBLD PR 5/6 in 45:07 at Finnish Champs Qualifier 2025, moving from 80th to 59th and earning a first place podium.

Doug Li (FMC SWR) improved his 5x5 senior record with a non-PR average 2:12.29, taking him from 62nd to 59th.

There were a couple of new top ten results from outside my watchlist last week, which I found via Phil Lewis' Recent Senior Records page:
: Adam Leyton (40+) at Edinburgh Autumn 2025 – Pyraminx average 5.51 (12th to 8th)
: André Raunehaug (40+) at Nittedal Mental Breakdown Fall 2025 – MBLD best 14/14 in 54:02 (19th to 10th)

This week I also followed AJ Nicholls, Ben Coppin, Lars Vennike Nielsson, Michael Stocker, Modest Podzolkin, Timothy Lawrance, Chan Tak Chuen, Aaron Soley, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Michał Sozański, and Olivier Wirz, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

In 40+ Kinch rankings, new registrant Igor Aipkin has entered the senior Kinch rankings at 5th, ahead of Thor Muto Asmund. Igor is a genuine all-rounder whose best single ranking is 7th for 4BLD mean. As reported above, another new registrant Dennis Romero has entered at 7th, ahead of Mike Hughey. Anthony Rochester has entered the top 25 at 24th, ahead of Fabio Bini Graciose. Vasily Stasyev, Guttorm Syvertsen-Wiig, and Akatsuki Kitamura are out of the top 25.

In 50+, Thomas Schukraft is up from 16th to 15th ahead of Mark Rivers.

Next week: Akatsuki Kitamura, Fumiki Koseki, Kanako Eguchi, Yuji Suse, Jesús Masanet García, Michael Stocker, Ron van Bruchem, Ulrich Spies, Timothy Lawrance, AJ Nicholls, Daniel Houghton, John Cook, Michał Sozański, Robert Ślesicki, Kerry Go, Lars Vennike Nielsson, Rich Tayag, Ming Dao Ting, and Shen Flindell, in 13 competitions around the world.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 5 average and single 40+, top 3 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 108 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
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WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (SEP 23-28)
A Tuesday comp extends our SWR streak to 14 weeks...

Fumiki Koseki set a new 7x7 best 50+ WR as part of 3 PRs at Tokyo Autumn 2025: 7x7 best 4:08.02 enters the 50+ rankings at the top, beating the record I set 3 weeks ago by 3 seconds, and also remaining ranked 5th among 40+. 6x6 mean 3:00.34 enters 50+ at 2nd ahead of Chris Wright and remains 7th among 40+, being an improvement of 0.01s on his previous PR. 6x6 best 2:34.69 enters 50+ at 2nd ahead of Chris and takes him from 9th to 4th ahead of Yuji Suse (see below) in 40+. All of his remaining results were 50+ PRs: 7x7 mean 4:48.13 also enters the 50+ rankings at 2nd ahead of Chris; and Clock average 12.07 (23rd to 17th) and best 10.09 (27th to 21st). This was Fumiki-san's first big cube comp since 2023 on 7x7 and 2020 on 6x6, and only his third big cube comp since 2019. I saw him post a 7x7 practice time of 3:36.97, so if he gets opportunities there is 40+ SWR potential there. (Personal note: I really thought that after a couple of years of owning the 7x7 50+ WRs, my most recent huge improvement in times would have been safe for a while yet...)

Also in Tokyo, Kanako Eguchi (3BLD SWR2) made double Clock PRs including a new SWR: Clock average 6.36 takes her from 7th to 1st ahead of Ming Chai, and best 5.58 remains ranked 2nd.

Finally from Tokyo, Yuji Suse (4x4 top ten) set 2 double PRs: 6x6 mean 2:54.62 and best 2:34.73 both enter the senior rankings at 5th; and 7x7 mean 4:21.84 enters at 6th and best 4:14.68 at 8th. This was Yuji-san's first big cube comp since 2019!

Michael Stocker (7x7 SWR) made a 5x5 average PR 1:25.32 at Rubik's German Nationals 2025, improving the PR he set at the same comp in 2024 and moving from 6th to 4th ahead of Yongtao Sun.

Dennis Rosero (Senior Kinch #3) made a Pyraminx PR average 4.35 at Avenida Chile XXVI 2025, remaining ranked 3rd. He also made two senior PRs: Pyraminx best 3.08 takes him from 18th to 4th, equal with Kevin Gray; and 6x6 mean 3:36.26 takes him from 30th to 27th.

Yours truly Shen Flindell (6x6 and 7x7 50+ SWRs) made an FMC best PR 29 at Australian Nationals FMC 2025, moving from 20th to 11th among 50+, equal with Laurent Reynard.

Also at OzNats FMC, Ming Dao Ting (OH SWR2s) made an FMC best 40+ PR 40, moving from 108th to 92nd.

Lars Vennike Nielsson (OH SWRs) made a PR and a double PR at Sej Sejere Sejs 2025: 4x4 best 43.22 takes him from 15th to 13th ahead of Konsta Jukka; Square-1 best 25.22 takes him from 62nd to 39th and average 41.43 from 70th to 53rd.

John Cook (FMC 60+ WR2) made a Clock best PR 16.56 at Cammeray Clock Clash 2025, remaining ranked 16th among 60+.

Timothy Lawrance (4BLD SWR) made 3 PRs at CubeCo Durban Spring 2025: Pyraminx best 4.02 (21st to 20th), which also earned a 2nd place podium; 7x7 best 5:41.90 (50th to 42nd); and 3x3 average 17.98 (186th to equal 168th with Jochen Bauer).

Ron van Bruchem (3x3-5x5 50+ WRs) made a 50+ PR Square-1 best 56.56 at Beveren Saturday Open 2025, taking him from 53rd to 43rd among 50+.

AJ Nicholls (Senior Kinch #10) made a Megaminx best PR 1:49.85 at Manchester Favourites I 2025, taking him from 50th to 45th.

Rich Tayag (OH/Mega top fives) made a 4x4 best PR 54.02 at Slow N Steady UMD Fall 2025, moving from 69th to 56th.

Daniel Houghton (big cubes top tens) made a Square-1 average PR 1:00.34 at Bündner Open 2025, taking him from 108th to 98th.

You might notice that I've made a small change in terminology this week. Rather than referring to non-PRs, I'm now calling them age group PRs, eg 40+ PR for a PR since turning 40.

There were a couple of new top ten results from outside my watchlist last week, which I found via Phil Lewis' Recent Senior Records page:
: Doyle Cline (60+) at Cornhusker Cubing Classic 2025 – Clock average 9.20 (60+ remains 2nd, 50+ 10th to 7th) and best 7.77 (60+ remains 3rd, 50+ 8th to 7th)
: Klaus Diller (70+) at Rubik's German Nationals 2025 - Skewb single 21.54 (5th to 3rd)

This week I also followed Akatsuki Kitamura, Jesús Masanet García, Ulrich Spies, and Robert Ślesicki, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

In 40+ Kinch rankings, Aaron Soley has slipped from 11th to 12th behind Dieter Amberger, both losing points following Kanako Eguchi's new Clock SWR.

In 50+, Fumiki Koseki has entered the top 25 at 11th ahead of Chad Harris, pushing Brent Boswell out of the top 25. (I expect my FMC PR to take me from 9th to 8th, but it hasn't propagated yet.)

In 70+, Klaus Diller has risen from 13th to 9th ahead of Kate Stuart.

Next week: John Cook, Ming Dao Ting, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Rodney Topor, Shen Flindell, Kerry Go, Timothy Lawrance, Lisa Kucala, Dennis Rosero, Sonja Black, Martin Ernesto Melcop, Jesús Masanet García, Daniel Houghton, Olivier Wirz, and Igor Aipkin, in 12 competitions around the world.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 5 average and single 40+, top 3 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 107 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (OCT 2-5)
New SWRs in 7x7, Skewb and OH this weekend...

Yours truly Shen Flindell (6x6 and 7x7 50+ WRs) made 4 PRs including a reclaimed 50+ WR at Australian Nationals 2025 this weekend: 7x7 best 4:00.82 takes me from 2nd past the world record Fumiki Koseki set last week, and also from 7th to 4th or 5th in the 40+ rankings; 4BLD best 7:09.93 remains ranked 9th; 3BLD best 1:05.74 takes me from 12th to 9th ahead of Steve Clarke; and Megaminx best 1:56.27 from 23rd to 13th. According to my calculations these results will take me to 7th in the 50+ Kinch rankings, but we'll need to confirm that once results have propagated next week.

Also at OzNats, Rodney Topor improved his Skewb average 70+ WR with 20.87, also moving from 19th to 16th in 60+.

Finally from OzNats, Ming Dao Ting (OH SWR2s) made 11 senior PRs: Megaminx best 1:30.86 (23rd to 19th ahead of Michael Stocker) and average 1:44.74 (24th to 22nd); 2x2 average 5.14 (46th to 22nd ahead of Ron van Bruchem); 5x5 average 1:39.59 (28th to 20th ahead of Chris Wright) and best 1:36.89 (30th to 26th ahead of Yi-Wei Chen); 6x6 best 3:24.81 (35th to 30th); MBLD 9/11 in 54:30 (80th to 41st ahead of Chris Hardwick); Square-1 best 30.63 (69th to 60th ahead of Anthony Rochester); Skewb average 9.98 (105th to equal 73rd) and best 6.52 (190th to equal 95th); and Pyraminx average 9.53 (136th to 86th).

Lisa Kucala (Clock 60+ WR) made double OH PRs including a new 60+ WR at Grand Forks 2025: 3OH best 28.41 takes her from 3rd into 1st place ahead of Mike Hughey (and 37th to 14th in 50+), and average 43.77 from 3rd to 2nd ahead of Kerry Go.

Recent registrant Dennis Rosero (Senior Kinch #7) made 3x3 average PRs at consecutive competitions this weekend. Firstly at Himalaya School II 2025 he set a 12.35, then at Centro Sub Bogotá VI 2025 he improved on that with 12.28, taking him from 7th to 6th ahead of Michael Stocker. He did the same with 3x3 best senior PRs, making 10.67 at Himalaya School followed by 10.60 at Centro, taking him from 20th to 16th equal with Bobby Mapp. There were a couple more senior PRs at Centro: 4x4 average 50.36 (remains 10th) and 3BLD best 3:45.84 (155th to 147th). To cap off a great weekend he earned a 3rd place podium at Centro with Square-1 average 20.73.

Another new senior Igor Aipkin (Senior Kinch #5) made 2 PRs and 3 double PRs at UzCubing Open 2025: 5x5 average 1:36.01 (27th to 12th ahead of Shen Flindell) and best 1:28.31 (24th to 14th ahead of Frank Morris); Square-1 average 29.02 (28th to 21st equal with Dieter Amberger) and best 24.78 (50th to 36th); 2x2 average 6.28 (148th to equal 84th); Clock best 10.16 (104th to 86th) and average 12.45 (99th to 92nd); and Pyraminx best 10.00 (344th to 323rd).

Timothy Lawrance (4BLD mean SWR) made a 3OH best PR 42.47 at Howick Spring 2025, taking him from 220th to 214th. He also earned 3 podiums at Howick Spring plus another at CubingZA FMC Championship 2025: 1st place for FMC with mean 29.00, 1st for 3BLD with best 1:52.57, 1st for 4BLD with best 5:49.85, and 3rd for Clock with average 13.67.

Recent Senior Records page has stalled this week, but there was one new top ten result from outside my watchlist last week:
: Enrymar Cisneros (40+) at Venezuela Nationals 2025 - Megaminx best 1:19.40 (9th to 8th)

This week I also followed John Cook, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Kerry Go, Sonja Black, Jesús Masanet García, and Olivier Wirz, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

The Senior Kinch ranking page has not updated in a few days, but one change has propagated based on last week's results. My FMC results have taken me from 9th to 8th past Christian Sachgau. According to my calculations, once this weeks' results are registered I'll be at 7th. Let's confirm next week...

Next week: Mats Bergsten, Ulrich Spies, Javier Tirado Ortiz, Jason Krug, Kanako Eguchi, Yuki Suse, Akatsuki Kitamura, Fumiki Koseki, Dan Smith, Doug Li, Bobby Mapp, Gary Miller, Lars Vennike Nielsson, Thor Muto Asmund, Ming Chai, Igor Aipkin, Maria Oey, Ton Dennenbroek, AJ Nicholls, John Cook, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Rodney Topor, Daniel Houghton, Chan Tak Chuen, in 18 competitions around the world.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 5 average and single 40+, top 3 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 107 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (OCT 7-12)
Eleven SWRs and an NR this week, plus a bunch of PRs in big cubes, Megaminx and more...

Doug Li (FMC SWRs) equalled both of his SWRs with FMC average 22.67 in both rounds and best 20 in the first round at Oberlin Challenge I 2025.

Mats Bergsten (70+ Kinch #1) made 4 new 70+ SWRs as part of two pairs of PRs and a senior PR at Stockholmsligan – Mbwa 2025: Square-1 average 1:27.80 takes him from 2nd to the top ahead of Mike Stone and also from 9th past John Cook to 6th among 60+, and best 1:06.48 improves his existing 70+ WR as well as taking him from 12th to 7th ahead of John Cook in 60+; 2x2 best 6.85 takes him from 5th to 1st ahead of David Salvia, and average 13.21 from 7th to 3rd ahead of David Kleiner; 4x4 best 1:54.08 was a 70+ PR and improves his existing 70+ WR. Mats' 70+ world record tally for the year so far is 18, and he now holds 18 current 70+ world records as well as six current 60+ world records.

Take Your Time Sydney 2025 proved to be a huge PR opportunity for 3 top solvers this weekend. Rodney Topor (70+ Skewb WRs) made 4 PRs and 2 double PRs including a new 70+ WR: 7x7 best 38:00:00 is a first for 70+ competitors; 4x4 best 2:59.99 remains ranked 2nd; 5x5 best 8:28.52 enters at 4th; 6x6 best 20:59.00 enters at 2nd; 3OH average 3:03.18 and best 1:48.47 both enter at 2nd ahead of Gary Miller; Clock average 40.64 enters at 2nd ahead of Gary and best 38.92 at 4th ahead of Yang-Mo Sung. Highly notable was the 4x4 time 2:59.99, the second solve following a DNF and chasing a cutoff of 3 minutes! His 7x7 time was also just 2 minutes short of the cumulative event time limit and shows admirable determination.

Also in Sydney, comp organiser John Cook (60+ FMC WR2) made 4 pairs of PRs: 4x4 average 1:55.60 (remains 8th) and best 1:37.70 (10th to 9th ahead of Jeanne-Marie Deconninck); 6x6 mean 6:53.15 (enters at 5th) and best 6:26.22 (7th to 5th ahead of Ulrich Spies); 7x7 mean 11:29.00 (enters at 5th) and best 11:08.00 (enters at 5th ahead of Mats Bergsten); and 3OH average 1:41.55 (enters at 10th ahead of Joe Kucala) and best 1:04.55 (12th to 10th ahead of Miki Ito).

Finally from Sydney, Peter Hugosson-Miller (60+ Kinch #3) made an OH best PR 43.48, remaining ranked 5th.

Gary Miller (80+ Kinch #1) improved 4 of his 80+ world records at Virginia Beach Fall 2025: 4x4 best 7:20.80, 3OH best 4:13.78, Skewb average 48.48 and best 33.75, bringing his tally for the year to 22!

Also in Virginia, Bobby Mapp (3x3 and 3OH top tens) made a 3x3 average PR 12.42, moving from 8th to 6th ahead of Michael Stocker.

Fumiki Koseki (50+ big cubes WR2s) had his first comp on Megaminx since turning 50. At Kanto Autumn PM 2025 he made an average 1:38.59, entering at 3rd, and best 1:31.47, entering at 4th, both ahead of Jochen Bauer.

Akatsuki Kitamura (50+ Kinch #4) was also at Kanto PM and made a Megaminx average PR 1:44.19, also moving ahead of Jochen Bauer but remaining 4th due to Fumiki-san's result.

Ulrich Spies (60+ MM WR) made a 6x6 mean PR 7:40.05 at Rhein-Neckar Breakdown 2025, entering the 60+ rankings at 5th. He also made a senior PR with 2x2 best 6.29 at Ranst Autumn 2025, remaining ranked 18th. He made three more 60+ PRs at his third comp of the weekend, Wuppertaler Würfel Wochenende 2025: Pyraminx average 9.48 (7th to 5th) and best 5.93 (9th to 6th, both ahead of Joe Kucala); and Skewb average 11.47 (remains 6th).

Also in Ranst, Maria Oey (60+ 4x4 WR) made 2 PRs: 5x5 best 3:23.72 (9th to 8th ahead of Hans Bennis) and Clock best 21.77 (19th to 17th).

Jason Krug (3x3 top ten) made double Megaminx PRs at Cincinnati Cube Challenge 2025: best 1:18.73 takes him from 28th to 7th ahead of Rich Tayag, and average 1:27.98 from 23rd to 10th ahead of Geoffrey Hartnell.

Daniel Houghton (big cubes top tens) made a 7x7 mean PR 4:26.35 at Ticino Open 2025, remaining ranked 8th. He also earned a 3rd place podium with 3BLD best 1:31.12, sharing the podium with his son Levin in 2nd place.

AJ Nicholls (senior Kinch #10) made double 4BLD PRs at Stevenage October 2025: 4BLD mean 8:18.72 takes him from 16th to 11th ahead of Thor Muto Asmund, while best 7:44.15 remains ranked 23rd.

Igor Aipkin (senior Kinch #5) made a PR and an NR at PBQ in Tashkent 2025: 5BLD 15:47.00 is a new all-ages Uzbekistani national record and also takes him from 17th to 16th in the senior rankings; and FMC mean 35.00 enters the rankings at 33rd equal with Akatsuki Kitamura and Jia-Hong Lu. He also earned podiums in all of the events: 2nd in 5BLD, 2nd in 4BLD with best 6:39.85, and 3rd in FMC, 3BLD with best 1:01.33, and MBLD with 11/14 in 56:08.

Lars Vennike Nielsson (3OH SWRs) made a PR and two doubles at Østervang Side Events 2025: 7x7 mean 5:48.81 (enters at 36th) and best 5:41.46 (50th to 42nd); 3BLD best 1:24.02 (68th to 39th); and 6x6 mean 4:14.13 (enters at 45th) and best 3:58.19 (enters at 54th). It was his first MBLD comp since turning 40, so he enters the rankings at 89th with 3/4 in 29:33. All of these new results will surely have a big impact on his senior Kinch ranking, but we'll have to wait until the rankings pages are fixed up to confirm that.

Yuji Suse (big cubes top tens) made a 3x3 average senior PR 13.69 at Kanto Autumn AM 2025, moving from 22nd to 21st ahead of Chan Tak Chuen.

Also at Kanto AM, Kanako Eguchi (Clock SWR) made a 3x3 best senior PR 13.01, moving from 83rd to 78th.

Ming Chai (Clock SWR) made a PR and a double at Cubing in Westerly RI 2025: 4x4 average 1:17.86 (213th to 149th) and best 1:05.34 (244th to 137th); and Megaminx best 3:04.99 (enters at 140th).

The senior rankings pages have not updated in over a week, so I can't report on other top ten results nor changes in Kinch rankings this week. No doubt there will be lots to catch up on once Michael has time to fix it.

This week I also followed Javier Tirado Ortiz, Dan Smith, Thor Muto Asmund, and Ton Dennenbroek, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

Next week: Konsta Jukka, István Kocza, Dennis Rosero, Modest Podzolkin, AJ Nicholls, Gary Miller, Kerry Go, Rich Tayag, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Robert Ślesicki, Lisa Kucala, Thierry Megard, Choi Goho, Michael Stocker, Maria Oey, Ron van Bruchem, Sander Kaspers, Ton Dennenbroek, Ulrich Spies, in 15 competitions around the world. Please let me know if there are any top solvers who have registered for comps in the last two weeks, as they might be missed otherwise.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 5 average and single 40+, top 3 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 107 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (OCT 18-19)
New senior world records for 3x3 and big blind plus even more 80+ WRs...

Konsta Jukka (3x3 SWR3) made 4 and a half double PRs including a new 3x3 senior world record at Finnish Championship 2025 this weekend: 3x3 average 11.14 takes him from 3rd to 1st, ahead of Jia-Hong Lu by the barest of margins, and best 9.91 from 13th to 6th ahead of Dave Campbell; 2x2 average 4.44 takes him from 10th to 7th ahead of Francois Courtès, and best 2.46 from 54th to 19th; 3OH average 24.90 in the first round followed by 23.44 in the second round takes him from 21st to 11th, and best 20.48 from 31st to 18th; and Skewb average 15.11 enters the rankings at 190th while best 13.31 enters at about 301st.

Jia-Hong Lu (nBLD SWRs) may have lost his 3x3 average SWR, but he improved two of his other senior world records at Please Be Quiet Taiwan 2025: 4BLD best 2:16.22 and 5BLD best 4:42.52 are both not only improvements on his previous SWRs by over 20 seconds, they are also improvements on his Taiwanese national records and also earned first place podiums at the competition.

Gary Miller (80+ Kinch #1) made four 80+ PRs including 3 new 80+ world records at UMBC Fall 2025: Skewb best 24.16, 2x2 average 28.80 and best 21.15 are all improvements of his previous 80+ WRs (although the 2x2 rankings are listed as 2nd with a missing #1); and 3x3 best 1:37.77 remains ranked 10th.

Also at UMBC, Kerry Go (60+ Kinch #4) made a 3x3 best PR 16.80, taking him from 7th to 5th ahead of John Cook. He also made a Skewb best 60+ PR 13.83, remaining ranked 17th.

Ulrich Spies (60+ MM WR) made a Pyraminx average PR 8.19 at Take Your Time Ermelo 2025, moving from 7th to 2nd ahead of Jesús Masanet García.

Also in Ermelo, Sander Kaspers (50+ MM SWRs) made 4 PRs and a double: 2x2 best 2.97 (17th to 11th); 3BLD best 1:32.17 (23rd to 13th); Square-1 average 1:01.95 (36th to 31st); 4x4 average 1:15.97 (53rd to 33rd); and Clock average 59.49 (enters at 119th) and best 51.07 (enters at 141st). His Pyraminx best 12.36 was a 50+ PR by 0.01s, remaining 148th.

Two more top senior solvers made Clock PRs in Ermelo. Maria Oey (60+ 4x4 WR) made a Clock average PR 23.39, moving from 18th to 16th, and a Clock best 60+ PR 22.41, moving from 19th to 18th. Ron van Bruchem (50+ 3x3-5x5 WRs) made double Clock PRs: average 16.59 takes him from 53rd to 52nd, and best 14.81 from 54th to 53rd.

Peter Hugosson-Miller (60+ Kinch #3) made a 3OH best PR 38.76 at Apollo Bay Cubing 2025, taking him from 5th to 4th ahead of fellow Swede Lars Petrus.

Choi Goho (senior Kinch #1) made two senior PRs at Okcheon Autumn Breeze 2025: Square-1 average 19.52 takes him from 9th to 6th, and 2x2 best 3.10 from 49th to 44th.

Dennis Rosero (senior Kinch #7) made a senior PR Skewb average 7.51 at 75 por ciento Bogotá 2025, moving from 21st to 19th. He then earned a 1st place podium with FMC mean 40.33 at Fewest Moves Bogotá VIII 2025.

Michael Stocker (7x7 SWR) made a 3BLD best PR 1:19.42 at Strossburi Open 2025, taking him from 51st to 36th.

Robert Ślesicki (50+ Skewb WR) made a 2x2 average PR 6.90 at Cube Factory League Final Łódź 2025, taking him from 56th to 45th.

Modest Podzolkin (FMC SWR2) earned a 2nd place podium with FMC mean 24.67 at FMC Ukrainian Nationals 2025.

István Kocza (50+ MBLD WR) earned a 3rd place podium with 5BLD best 13:41 at 4BLD Madness in Dobřejovice 2025.

There were several new top ten results from outside my watchlist over the last two weeks, which I found via Phil Lewis' Recent Senior Records page:
: Kate Stuart (70+) at Cubetcha MN 2025 – Skewb average 36.04 (4th to 2nd) and best 23.54 (6th to 5th)
- 2x2 average 23.12 (enters at 10th)
: João Luiz Melo Novaes (50+) at MS ao Cubo 2025 – Skewb best 3.04 (10th to 4th, and 34th to 5th in 40+)
: Guttorm Syvertsen-Wiig (40+) at Trondheim Høst 2025 - Megaminx best 1:13.90 (6th to 5th)
: Joe Kucala (60+) at Grand Forks 2025 – Clock average 12.40 (remains 8th)
: Adam Leyton (40+) at Wuppertaler Würfel Wochenende 2025 - Clock average 7.34 (9th to 7th)

This week I also followed AJ Nicholls, Rich Tayag, Lisa Kucala, Thierry Megard, Choi Goho, and Ton Dennenbroek, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

There have been plenty of changes in senior Kinch rankings over the last few weeks. In 40+, AJ Nicholls is up from 10th to 9th, and Lars Vennike Nielsson up from 22nd to 10th, pushing François Courtès to 11th.

In 50+, Fumiki Koseki is up from 11th to 6th ahead of Hanns Hub. Yours truly Shen Flindell has picked up enough points to remain ranked 8th, with Chris Wright being pushed to 9th. Rainer Fürstenfeld is up from 23rd to 22nd ahead of Dieter Amberger.

In 60+, John Cook is up from 8th to 6th ahead of Ton Dennenbroek, Joe Kucala is up from 13th to 12th ahead of Jeanne-Marie Deconninck, and Rodney Topor has entered the top 25 at 25th ahead of Roger L. Goff.

In 70+, Rodney Topor is up from 4th to 2nd ahead of Mike Stone, and Kate Stuart is up from 10th to 6th ahead of Haruo Aoki.

Next week: AJ Nicholls, Dennis Rosero, Daniel Houghton, Chris Wright, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Ron van Bruchem, and Thierry Megard, in 7 competitions around the world.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 5 average and single 40+, top 3 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 107 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
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WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (OCT 24-26)
My shortest report ever brings 17 weeks of SWRs to an end...

Dennis Rosero (senior Kinch #7) made four senior PRs at Avenida Chile XXVII 2025: Megaminx best 1:14.84 takes him from 17th to 6th ahead of Sam Gaffney and average 1:30.37 from 16th to 12th ahead of Chris Wright; 7x7 best 5:33.38 takes him from 42nd to 39th; and 3BLD best 3:36.08 takes him from 148th to 145th. He also earned two podiums at the comp: 2nd in FMC with best 37, and 3rd in Square-1 with average 19.10.

There were several new top ten results from outside my watchlist over the last two weeks, which I found via Phil Lewis' Recent Senior Records page:
: Laurent Reynaud (50+) at FMC Ménival 2025 – FMC best 24 (12th to 2nd in 50+, 38th to 8th in 40+)
: Adam Leyton (40+) Glasgow Favourites Evening IV 2025 - Pyraminx average 5.41 (8th to 7th)

This week I also followed AJ Nicholls, Daniel Houghton, Chris Wright, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Ron van Bruchem, and Thierry Megard, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

In 40+ Kinch rankings, Dennis Rosero is up from 7th to 6th ahead of Thor Muto Asmund.

Being a quiet week, how about some factoids on the 113 senior world records set so far this year? Four people account for more than half of those: Gary Miller has made twenty-five 80+ SWRs; Mats Bergsten has eighteen in the 70+ bracket; I have made nine big cube 50+ world records; and fellow Brisbanite Rodney Topor has made six 70+ WRs. Jia-Hong Lu has set 5, and there are three top solvers who have made 4 SWRs this year: Doug Li, István Kocza, and Ron van Bruchem.

Looking at categories where world records have changed hands this year, we can see some of our most exciting rivalries. Konsta Jukka and Jia-Hong Lu's 3x3 mean PRs are separated by just 0.01s. Kanako Eguchi took the 40+ Clock average record from Ming Chai in September, but Ming still holds the Clock best SWR. Fumiki Koseki briefly held the 7x7 best 50+ WR in September before I reclaimed it two weeks later. István Kocza set the 50+ 3BLD mean and 4BLD best records before losing them to Jae Park. Mats Bergsten seems set on claiming every 70+ record, including taking the OH average and Clock best records off of Gary Miller.

Next week: István Kocza, Dennis Rosero, Lars Vennike Nielsson, Thor Muto Asmund, Chan Tak Chuen, Ulrich Spies, Akatsuki Kitamura, Akihiro Ishida, Ryuji Hamano, Peter Hugosson-Miller, in 8 competitions around the world.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 5 average and single 40+, top 3 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 107 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (OCT 31-NOV 2)
Two weeks no SWRs – just a handful of top ten results this week...

Akatsuki Kitamura (50+ Kinch #4) made double Megaminx PRs at Kansai Mega Day 2025: average 1:34.33 takes him from 4th to 3rd ahead of Fumiki Koseki, and best 1:28.17 remains 3rd.

Ryuji Hamano (50+ Clock SWRs) also made double Megaminx PRs in Kansai: average 2:08.36 enters the rankings at 11th, and best 1:55.72 at 14th.

Finally from Kansai, Akihiro Ishida (Megaminx SWRs) had his first senior comp on 3x3: best 13.03 enters the rankings at 80th, and average 16.25 at 98th.

Lars Vennike Nielsson (OH SWRs) made two PRs at Furesø 3x3 Frenzy 2025: FMC mean PR 27.67 takes him from 11th to 6th ahead of a group of 3 on 28.67 – Anderson Alessandro Pavia, Ben Coppin, and Guus Razoux Shultz; and MBLD 5/6 in 42:19 takes him from 89th to 58th. These results take Lars from 10th to 9th in the senior Kinch rankings.

Also in Furesø, Thor Muto Asmund (50+ Kinch #1) made a 3OH average PR, remaining ranked 27th.

István Kocza (50+ MBLD WR) made a Pyraminx average PR 17.36 at Hungarian Open 2025, an improvement of 0.01s remaining ranked 145th. He also made two 50+ PRs: 3x3 average 21.72 (98th to 80th); and 2x2 average 10.21 (152nd to 134th).

Chan Tak Chuen (OH top ten) equalled his 2x2 best senior PR 5.76 at Malaysia Cube Championship 2025, remaining ranked 363rd.

Dennis Rosero (senior Kinch #6) earned two podiums at Nova Plaza Facatativá II 2025: 2nd with Pyraminx average 5.51 and 3rd with Clock average 9.39.

There were several new top ten results from outside my watchlist in the last week, which I found via Phil Lewis' Recent Senior Records page:
: Yongtao Sun (40+) at Xi'an Autumn 2025 – Square-1 best 14.70 (enters at 7th) and average 20.71 (enters at 10th)
: Gianluca Placenti (50+) at Eretum IV 2025 – 4x4 best 54.27 (10th to 9th)

This week I also followed Ulrich Spies and Peter Hugosson-Miller, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

In 40+ Kinch rankings, Lars Vennike Nielsson is up from 10th to 9th ahead of AJ Nicholls.

In 50+, Rainer Fürstenfeld is up from 22nd to 21st ahead of Mickey Doyle.

Next week: Daniel Houghton, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Ron van Bruchem, Maria Oey, Gary Miller, Dennis Rosero, Chan Tak Chuen, Doug Li, Lisa Kucala, John Cook, Fumiki Koseki, Akatsuki Kitamura, Kanako Eguchi, Helmut Heilig, Jochen Bauer, Michael Stocker, AJ Nicholls, Ben Coppin, Chris Wright, Kevin Gray, Steve Clarke, and Jesús Masanet García, in 16 competitions around the world.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 5 average and single 40+, top 3 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 107 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
Congrats Ron

1000138087.jpg
 
WEEKEND COMP ROUNDUP (NOV 6-9)
SWRs are back with a big one in Samoa and a few more...

Ron van Bruchem (50+ 3x3-5x5 WRs) broke not just a 50+ record but the premier 40+ world record at Samoa Nationals 2025: 3x3 best 7.66 takes him from 3rd past Jia-Hong Lu's 2023 PR 8.32. Ron founded the WCA in 2003 and is in the Pacific organising the first competitions in Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. How inspiring to see him not just making PRs but making 40+ world records as he approaches 60. Looking at his sequence of solves reminds us that no matter how things are going, a freak PR is always a possibility: 18.81, DNF, 24.80, 7.66, 23.77. Congratulations Ron!

Michael Stocker (40+ 7x7 WR) made 2 senior PRs including an improved senior world record at Erlangen Open II 2025: 7x7 mean 3:54.96 is almost 3 seconds faster than his previous SWR set in September, and best 3:45.75 remains ranked 2nd a couple of seconds behind Choi Goho's SWR.

Also in Erlangen, Jochen Bauer (50+ Kinch #3) made 2 PRs: 6x6 best 3:16.19 remains ranked 4th; and 5x5 average 1:53.64 remains ranked 5th.

Gary Miller (80 Kinch #1) made double Clock PRs and hence double 80+ world records at Carolina Clock 'Stravaganza 2025: best 30.51 improves the record he set in August, and average 34.40 is a world first for over 80s. Gary has made 24 world records since turning 80 in August!

Kanako Eguchi (Clock SWR) made a 3BLD best PR 31.49 at Ota BLD Autumn 2025, remaining ranked 3rd.

Also in Ota, Akatsuki Kitamura (50+ Kinch #4) made a 5BLD best PR 37:21.00, finally entering the rankings at 16th, at his 9th 5BLD comp over 6 years.

Lisa Kucala (60+ Clock SWR) made a 4x4 average PR 1:34.31 at Gulf Shores 2025, remaining ranked 5th.

John Cook (60+ FMC #2) made a Skewb best PR 6.63 at NT Championship 2025, taking him from 8th to 6th ahead of Ton Dennenbroek.

Fumiki Koseki (50+ 4x4-7x7 top tens) made a Pyraminx average PR 7.28 at Ota Autumn 2025, taking him from 10th to 7th ahead of Akatsuki Kitamura. He also made 3x3 best 50+ PR 12.97, taking him from 33rd to 11th, and entered the 50+ Skewb rankings with average 8.36 (12th) and best 6.02 (23rd).

Chan Tak Chuen (OH/Sq-1 top 5s) made double Clock PRs at Guangzhou Special 2025: average 7.47 (10th to 9th) and best 6.75 (17th to 11th).

Also in Guanghzhou, Doug Li (FMC SWRs) made a Skewb best PR 4.75, taking him from 104th to 22nd.

Ben Coppin (40+ FMC WR) competed in 7 events at Stevenage 10th Anniversary 2025 for the first time since turning 50, so he enters the 50+ rankings with: Skewb average 7.88 (10th) and best 6.92 (36th); 3OH average 40.31 (27th) and best 34.03 (29th); 5x5 best 2:41.86 (55th); Clock best 14.57 (56th) and average 18.49 (63rd); 2x2 average 8.20 (74th) and best 5.22 (81st); 4x4 best 1:23.76 (77th); Pyraminx best 9.70 (106th) and average 14.65 (126th); and 3x3 best 21.30 (140th) and average 29.84 (198th).

Also in Stevenage, Kevin Gray (50+ Pyraminx WRs) made 2 PRs and a senior PR: Megaminx best 2:22.45 (enters at 27th); 5x5 best senior PR 2:58.58 (75th to 62nd); and 4x4 best 1:21.44 (72nd to 67th).

There were no new top ten results from outside my watchlist in the last week, which I usually find via Phil Lewis' Recent Senior Records page.

This week I also followed Daniel Houghton, Peter Hugosson-Miller, Maria Oey, Dennis Rosero, AJ Nicholls, Steve Clarke, Jesús Masanet García, Jia-Hong Lu, and Hung-Tsang Chen, who competed without making any new PRs.

Congratulations to all of these high achievers!

In 40+ Kinch rankings, Akatsuki Kitamura enters the top 25 at 24th, pushing Anthony Rochester to 25th and Fabio Bini Graciose off the first page.

In 50+, Thomas Schukraft is up from 16th to 13th ahead of Chris Tabar, having achieved a first successful 4BLD solve this week.

Next week: Peter Hugosson-Miller, Ron van Bruchem, Robert Ślesicki, Lisa Kucala, István Kocza, Thor Muto Asmund, Choi Goho, Jae Park, Maria Oey, Thierry Boisivon, Chan Tak Chuen, Petr Kundera, Ulrich Spies, John Cook, Jochen Bauer, Michael Stocker, and Dennis Rosero, in 14 competitions around the world.

My watchlist consists of the following:
: Cubes 3x3-7x7 - top 10 average, top 5 single 40+, top 5 average and top 2 single in older age groups
: 2x2, FMC, MM - top 5 average, top 2 single 40+, top 2 average and top single in older age groups
: BLD - top 5 average and single 40+, top 3 average and single in older age groups
: Other events - top 2 average, top single 40+, top average and top single in older age groups
: Kinch rankings – top 10 in 40+, top 5 in older age groups (minimum score 10), top 3 female

This has resulted in a list of 106 "top ranked seniors". Please don't ask me to follow you as well, unless you fit the above criteria and I've missed something.

Please let me know if you know of anyone moving to a new age group who might be a candidate to join the top ranks.

Many thanks to Michael George for creating and maintaining the Senior Cubing Rankings website, and to Phil Lewis for creating the Senior Cubing Tracker site, which can be found via the Useful Links section of the SCR site.
 
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