September 19, 2019 : Interview with Speedsolving.com member Carter Kucala : Currently (at the time of this interview) is ranked 24th in the world for 2x2 average (1.55 seconds), 42nd in the world for FMC mean (26.33 moves), 22nd in Skewb average (2.72 seconds), is the former North America Record holder for Skewb Single and Average, has competed in every WCA event, and is currently overall one of the top speedsolvers in the USA.
Location:
Plymouth, Minnesota, USA
Occupation:
High School Student
What is your favorite event, why?
This may come as a surprise to some people, but my favorite event is actually FMC. There are so many things you can do with just one scramble, and executing a short solution is very satisfying.
What made you become interested in solving puzzles?
In elementary school, I was in this one math program, and for one unit we were working on the Rubik’s Cube. I couldn’t get past the first step, but I saw many people move on to the corners. Later that week I went to Target with my dad and got my first cube. I solved it with help of online tutorials and I was addicted to getting faster from there.
What, in your opinion, is your biggest "cubing" accomplishment?
I think my greatest cubing accomplishment is my 2.86 Skewb NAR average. One year before I got this average, I had a 7.66 average and 2.95 single, so it showed me how much you can do in a year. This was also my first record, so it opened up the door to a new era of speedcubing for me.
You've competed in all events and are ranked well in each. Which event do you dislike most? Which event do you spend more time practicing these days?
The event I dislike the most is probably clock. I don’t really enjoy practicing it and am pretty bad at it compared to my other events. Usually I’ll practice what events I want to do well in at my next competition, but I’ve noticed that I will almost always pick up a skewb if I’m bored. One of my biggest cubing goals at the moment is to get a sub 2 skewb average.
What will the future of cubing be like and how would you like cubing to progress?
The future of cubing is going to be very interesting. We’re starting to see a new era of cubers that are improving really fast. I also think that there will be much more method development as well. We saw Sean Patrick Villanueva get second place at the World Championships using the Roux method. The switch is already starting to happen for One Handed, and people are starting to switch to Yau on 5x5 as well. The hardware is also improving a lot, now with magnets being preinstalled in puzzles. Who knows what the next big innovation will be?
If you could give advice to a new 3x3 solver in the community who is interested in improving, what would it be?
Don’t be lazy. Practice smarter not harder. Just doing solves won’t help you improve very much if you get stuck.
Location:
Plymouth, Minnesota, USA
Occupation:
High School Student
What is your favorite event, why?
This may come as a surprise to some people, but my favorite event is actually FMC. There are so many things you can do with just one scramble, and executing a short solution is very satisfying.
What made you become interested in solving puzzles?
In elementary school, I was in this one math program, and for one unit we were working on the Rubik’s Cube. I couldn’t get past the first step, but I saw many people move on to the corners. Later that week I went to Target with my dad and got my first cube. I solved it with help of online tutorials and I was addicted to getting faster from there.
What, in your opinion, is your biggest "cubing" accomplishment?
I think my greatest cubing accomplishment is my 2.86 Skewb NAR average. One year before I got this average, I had a 7.66 average and 2.95 single, so it showed me how much you can do in a year. This was also my first record, so it opened up the door to a new era of speedcubing for me.
You've competed in all events and are ranked well in each. Which event do you dislike most? Which event do you spend more time practicing these days?
The event I dislike the most is probably clock. I don’t really enjoy practicing it and am pretty bad at it compared to my other events. Usually I’ll practice what events I want to do well in at my next competition, but I’ve noticed that I will almost always pick up a skewb if I’m bored. One of my biggest cubing goals at the moment is to get a sub 2 skewb average.
What will the future of cubing be like and how would you like cubing to progress?
The future of cubing is going to be very interesting. We’re starting to see a new era of cubers that are improving really fast. I also think that there will be much more method development as well. We saw Sean Patrick Villanueva get second place at the World Championships using the Roux method. The switch is already starting to happen for One Handed, and people are starting to switch to Yau on 5x5 as well. The hardware is also improving a lot, now with magnets being preinstalled in puzzles. Who knows what the next big innovation will be?
If you could give advice to a new 3x3 solver in the community who is interested in improving, what would it be?
Don’t be lazy. Practice smarter not harder. Just doing solves won’t help you improve very much if you get stuck.
