Is 12 too young for a competition?

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pcharles93

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I really want my little brother to get involved in cubing and he's like 12, yeah sad I'm not sure about his age. He averages like 2 minutes. He might be intimidated by big names in the cubing world like Tyson and Toby Mao. He isn't very confident about hobbies(I use the word hobby instead of sport because speedcubing isn't decided yet) I want him to start young. I'm gonna try to register both of us in the Princeton Open over spring break. Is this a good idea or should I let him refine his skills?
 
I actually had this exact same predicament. I, as an avid cuber, decided to get my brother into it. He is also 12 and I almost forced him to go to Pleasantville. He had some inclination to go, but wasn't to thrilled. The thing was, when he got there, he loved the competition atmosphere. He averaged around 1:15 and didn't feel intimidated at all.

To answer the topic question, look at Justin Adsuara (edd1?? can't remember the number). He has a 16.xx average and is only 10. He is also one of the youngest BLD cubers. So 12 is definitely not too young.
 
My daughters, who are 8 and 7 years old, both competed at the VA Open, and they were about the same ability as your brother is now. The 7 year old actually got a 1:36 average, and the 8 year old got a 1:43, and I think they both had a great time there. So I think it's not a bad idea.

The only thing is that since the competition they've lost a bit of their interest. I think part of the problem is that I taught them to solve Magic, and now they'd rather do that than the cube because it's so much easier. Their times on the 3x3x3 have slid since then. But I think they might get motivated again if they had another competition to go to. I really doubt that starting them off so young had any negative impact on their progress - they probably would have lost interest even more if they hadn't gone to a competition.

They were pretty happy to meet some of the "stars" - they especially seemed to like meeting Chris Hardwick. Rebecca (the 7 year old) thinks he's good luck for her solves - she had her best solve (1:22) while Chris was judging her.
 
I was 12 when I went to my first competition, the VA Open..
Of coarse I'm 13 now, as of Jan. 14(I have the same B-Day as Matyas K.!!)
I say that he should go, but if he doesn't want to go, don't let him go, consider it..an opportunity for him to go to a comp.
 
At the Minnesota Open, one of the competitors was 10 years old. It was a good chance for him to show off his talent in front of people, which he had never done before.

They simply have their own PR's to beat (or set). Don't be intimidated by anyone else.
 
Haha I thought I was too OLD when I was 12 to learn cubing, because I saw how Macky said he started cubing at 9ish (but i didn't catch on that part where he said not until 12 that he actually did speedcubing). I felt so stupid now thinking back at that haha.

Seems like 12 years old (plus or minus a few years) is a popular (optimum?) age for new generation of cubers thesedays. Will cubing be dominated by little kids (I'm talking under 12!) in the future, like sportstacking? I hope not :P
 
pcharles93 said:
I really want my little brother to get involved in cubing and he's like 12, yeah sad I'm not sure about his age. He averages like 2 minutes. He might be intimidated by big names in the cubing world like Tyson and Toby Mao. He isn't very confident about hobbies(I use the word hobby instead of sport because speedcubing isn't decided yet) I want him to start young. I'm gonna try to register both of us in the Princeton Open over spring break. Is this a good idea or should I let him refine his skills?
Click to expand...

I read something about a 7 years old boy, doing it on 15 sec. So I don't think it's too young.
 
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