Competition in Australia

[Leviticus]

Will there ever be a commpetition in Australia? It would be pretty cool, because theres people that average sub 20. Also NZ'ers would be able to go if they wanted if its in the east coast because there not too far away. Has there ever been a comp in Au?

 

[Bryan]

There's never been a competition in Austrailia. However, with most "It would be cool if there was a competition in X", it comes down to someone actually stepping forward to organize it. You can have a 100 people who would like to have a competition, but never have one. You could also have one person who wants a competition, and if they organize it, it is held.

Most people shy away when they realize that it might take a bit of work, or a bit of money. But if you're able to do that, then go ahead and organize. Many people hear will answer questions if you need them answered.

 

[Leviticus]

Well i dont think im mature enough to hold a competition, considering im 16 and dont have a job

 

[pjk]

That doesn't mean you can't hold one. Find more people around you who could perhaps help, preferably someone who has already been to a competition.

 

[Leviticus]

Thats the the thing theres no one around me who has been to a comp, and if it there were to be one in Au then it would most likley be on the east coast because no-one cubes near me.

 

[Bryan]

Well i dont think im mature enough to hold a competition, considering im 16 and dont have a job

OK, so someone should organize a competition, just not you? There have been people who are 16 who organize competitions. As for the money, you don't have any? Do you buy anything? Of course, someone else should spend their money on a competition for you.

Seriously, you're giving the same excuses everyone else gives. So if there's other Austrailians looking at this, can you at least state what you will provide them to help with a competition. Even if you don't organize one, would you be willing to pay $50 to help the organizer? Would you be willing to travel to the east coast? Are you going to scrambler/judge?

Or are you simply going to state that you would compete, and all the other ugly details of the competition should be handled by others?

 

[Leviticus]

OK, so someone should organize a competition, just not you?

If it were on the East coast, where if there were one then yes, although im quite skeptical about competitions now.

There have been people who are 16 who organize competitions.

Really? Who?

As for the money, you don't have any? Do you buy anything?

I do have money but not enough to buy whats needed for a comp, and yes i do buy things but generally with Christmas/Birthday money.

Of course, someone else should spend their money on a competition for you.

Really? Sweet

Or are you simply going to state that you would compete, and all the other ugly details of the competition should be handled by others?

A lot of other people do.

 

[cubekid]

As for the money, you don't have any? Do you buy anything?

if you were to ask me this when i was in high school, i would have said no, i don't buy anything. anything i got when i was in high school was provided by my parents. i never had any money that was really my own that i could spend on anything i wanted until college. they were also pretty against me cubing when i initially started. it took a few years for them to realize it wasn't a bad thing. this was also the case for most of my friends. if i wanted to host a cube competition in high school, i wouldn't have a way to fund it.

i hope you see what point i'm trying to make. lack of effort shouldn't be an excuse, but lack of money often is a good excuse.

anyway, just my $.02.

edit: i'm not saying it's not possible to do it, just that sometimes there are real reasons why you can't do it.

 

[jtjogobonito]

Sam Boyles is only 16 and he hosted the fourth biggest competition ever, the Princeton Open 2008.(According to Peter Greenwood)

 

[Bryan]

Ethan Rosen and Scott Bedard have also organized competitions.

cubekid, when I was in high school, before I got a job, I had money for birthdays and other occasions (no allowance, but I was able to build up savings and buy stuff I wanted). Once I was old enough to work, I was able to buy things I wanted faster, but still saved. When people say they have a lack of money, many times it seems like they're stating they don't want to spend their money for a purpose. For example, someone may blow $100 on an iPod or a Pyraminx Crystal, but also claim they have no money to run a competition.

If you don't have money, that just means you have to work harder to find sponsors. While it is a pain, it's still possible. So lack of money excuse then becomes a lack of effort excuse.

 

[Dene]

On a side note, if there were a competition in Australia during the Christmas holidays I would do my best to be there and could help with scrambling and judging and whatever. I don't think it's a good idea to organise a competition if you've never been to one before though.

 

[coopersacatfilms]

You can check at worldcubeassociation.org
or I'm sure they have an E-mail address you can E-mail

 

[povatix]

Where would you reckon will be the best city to hold it in?

 

[Leviticus]

Either Sydney or Melbourne. But thats if there is one.

 

[36duong]

I don't think It will be an official Tournament because we don't have a Delegate. The WCA likes delegates to have attended a WCA comp, and sadly, overseas travel is expensive to say the least.

Do you remember Gareth White from Nerds FC Season 2? He left this comment on Speedcubing.com's old guest book

"Hello, my name is Gareth and I am a maths student of Sydney Uni. The Head of the School of Maths at our Uni is none other than Don Taylor (yes, the guy who wrote the book)! Every year, he gives a talk on Rubik's cubes. My times are around the 50 sec mark (using my own algorithms), while my friend Stewart Wilcox is around the 40 sec mark (using his own method/algorithms). He has actually found a general solution for any size and any dimension, but I'm not sure how easy it is to apply in practice. It would be great if there was a national competition, but Australia is so large that it would be very hard to organise such a thing.
Gareth White
Sydney, NSW Australia - Wednesday, September 29, 2004 at 00:25:08 (PDT)"

Maybe if we had better communication organising a comp might be easy. A local cubers meeting in each city might be a good place to start....

 

[Dene]

Well a delegate would have to come from overseas, that in itself would be a lot to expect, although one might be prepared to fly over for a holiday. A mational competition would be hard to roganise, but you at least need something. If you had a competition, the "Australian Open" would be the obvious option for the first ever one over there.

 

[Leviticus]

OMG that guy was crazy, lol. He could solve it in 14 seconds on the show, so hes probably really fast now. But yeh, Do you need a delegate to make the comp official?

 

[36duong]

@Dene
Check for roganise and mational

@leviticus
The Regulations state that
"1a) A competition must have the following officials: an organisation team (with one or more members), a WCA delegate, a main judge per event, judges, scramblers and score takers."
So yes, you do need to have a delegate. Oh well, maybe eventually we might have a delegate.....

I would think a weekend in the Christmas holidays would be a good time, it would cater for Students, being a holiday, and for those working (and "working families"), being on a weekend.
Only problem is that Jetstar raises its prices dramatically, discouraging travel over long distances (for example Perth to Sydney)

Mr White had a meeting on April 11 on Puzzles (If your wondering, I did a search on the University of Sydney's page and it came up) which leads me to believe there is some kind of cubing activity going on away from all these forums.

All in all, a comp is quite far, but reachable for the meantime, I will just hide in a corner and dream.

 

[ccchips296]

hmm all of this talk of competitions in australia is great but as bryan and others said, it takes quite a lot of work to organise and you have to pay a fair bit of money for it. for me, a competition in australia would be a dream BUT for me, i dont really want to personally chase after it. its not one of those things i really want more than anything else and the $50 for example being spent on the organising i would much rather spend on cubes themselves. im only 14 so yeah, i couldnt really imagine organising and the truth is, if the competition was anywhere outside of Sydney, i probably wouldnt go.

 

[36duong]

hmm all of this talk of competitions in australia is great but as bryan and others said, it takes quite a lot of work to organise and you have to pay a fair bit of money for it. for me, a competition in australia would be a dream BUT for me, i dont really want to personally chase after it. its not one of those things i really want more than anything else and the $50 for example being spent on the organising i would much rather spend on cubes themselves. im only 14 so yeah, i couldnt really imagine organising and the truth is, if the competition was anywhere outside of Sydney, i probably wouldnt go.

So Out of Sydney = Too far from the dark corner to hide from Yu Nakijima?