Francisco Hamlin, a Year 12 student at Sunmarke school, was the brains behind the recent Emirates Open Speedcubing competition hosted by the World Cube Association. Not only did he instigate and organize the day long event, he was an avid competitor himself.

Our local restaurants, Noa’s Delices and Forni, were on hand to keep everyone’s thirst quenched and bellies full as they went through both lunch and dinner in the school gymnasium. The winners out of 102 registered participants were crowned late in the day on Saturday, 14th January.

The winners of the each category were:

• 3x3x3: Fransisco Hamlin (Sunmarke School) Best Overall score – 9.4 secs
• 2x2x2: Fransisco Hamlin (Sunmarke School) Best Overall Score – 2.26
• 4x4x4: Fransisco Hamlin (Sunmarke School) Best Overall Score – 8.79
• 5x5x5: Fransisco Hamlin (Sunmarke School) Best Overall Score – 8.79
• 3x3x3 One-handed: Fransisco Hamlin (Sunmarke School) Best Overall Score – 13.15
• 3x3x3 Blind-folded:Mayur Ukey Best (Dubai based School) Overall Score – 02.32.2

The action-packed day was concluded with an awards ceremony where all participants received an official certificate from the Emirates Open 2017 sponsors.

Have a look at some pictures I took on the day:

Check out all the amazing videos on the Sunmarke school’s Facebook page. Here is one that demonstrates all the skill and dexterity needed to become a master at speedcubing.