Kidderminster - British Blind Off 2022


Date
Mar 12 - 13, 2022
City
Kidderminster, Worcestershire, United Kingdom
Venue

Geek Retreat

Address
11-17 Worcester Street, Kidderminster, DY10 1EA
Details

First floor, through cafe

Contact
Organization team
Organizer
Christopher Morris
WCA Delegates
Bertie Longden, Christopher Morris, James Molloy, and Nevins Chan Pak Hoong (陈百鸿)
Download all the competition's details as PDF here.
Information

PLEASE NOTE: This is a Blindfolded & Fewest Moves specialist competition. There will be no regular speedsolving events held. We do not recommend this competition to first time competitors. Please make sure to read all the information in the tabs above.

The winner of 5x5 Blindfolded will be announced as the winner of the competition.

ALL competitors must read the COVID-19 tab to make sure that they are aware of the differences to prior competitions in the UK.

If you are a new competitor, please make sure to read all the information in the FAQ and the Important Information tabs before registering. All competitors should be familiar with the information in these tabs.

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Events
Main event
Competitors
28
Registration period

Online registration opened and closed .

Registration requirements
This competition is over, click here to display the registration requirements it used.
Create a WCA account here if you don't have one.
If this is not your first competition, associate your WCA ID to your WCA account here.
Register for this competition here.
There is a competitor limit of 30 competitors.
The base registration fee for this competition is £25 (British Pound).
If your registration is cancelled before you will be refunded 75% of your registration fee.
Registrants on the waiting list may be accepted onto the competitor list until .
If you are a registered competitor you may change your registered events until by contacting the organization team.
No on the spot registrations will be accepted.


Make sure to register and pay for the competition to be accepted. We will not accept any registrations at the competition.

Once you have been accepted you will receive a confirmation email. If registration is full by the time you pay then you will not receive this confirmation email and you will be on the waiting list. If you do not make the competitor list by the limit date for refunds (specified above), then you will be refunded 100% of your registration fee. You may contact us to ask for your current position on the waiting list.

If you can no longer attend, let us know as soon as possible through the contact link on the General Info page. We often have waiting lists so letting us know you cannot attend allows us to add another person to the competition. By not telling us you are denying someone a chance to compete.

If you have any problems check out the FAQ, or feel free to contact us.

Highlights
Click here to display the highlights of the competition.

Ezra Hirschi won with a single solve of 6:53.15 in the 5x5x5 Blindfolded event. Kamil Przybylski finished second (8:21.68) and Nevins Chan Pak Hoong (陈百鸿) finished third (9:29.34).

Event Name Best Average Representing Solves
3x3x3 Blindfolded Christopher Morris 22.88 DNF United Kingdom 22.88DNFDNF
3x3x3 Fewest Moves Harry Savage 23 27.33 United Kingdom 282331
4x4x4 Blindfolded Kamil Przybylski 2:20.41 DNF Poland DNF2:20.41DNF
5x5x5 Blindfolded Ezra Hirschi 6:53.15 NR 7:00.17 NR Switzerland 6:53.157:03.707:03.67
3x3x3 Multi-Blind Kamil Przybylski 39/46 1:00:00 Poland 37/46 1:00:0035/46 1:00:0039/46 1:00:00

UKCA

All competitions in the UK are run by the UKCA with the help of our many organisers from all over the country. We have organised over 60 competitions in the UK and have also helped run competitions over in Ireland to help their community grow. Our delegates have over 300 combined competitions of experience with many more to come.

Make sure to follow our social media pages to keep up to date with the latest content and media!

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Due to current circumstances regarding COVID-19, multiple precautions will be taken during the competition. The following restrictions will be in effect:

  • If you show any signs of illness or have been exposed to anyone with COVID-19 in the past week, please do not attend the competition.
  • Hand sanitizer will be available during the competition.
  • We would highly encourage every person within the venue to wear a mask as often as possible.

Please be aware, that the situation may change and government restrictions and recommendations may change as well. As a result, the competition may be affected or cancelled at any time. Any changes will be communicated by email. If the event is cancelled, we will issue full refunds on the registration fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I register?
A: First you need to make sure you have created a WCA account. You can do this by going to the sign-up page and creating an account. Once you have created the account and confirmed your email address, follow the menu bar to the Register page and follow the instructions fully and carefully.

Q: Why am I not on the registration list yet?
A: Please make sure that you have followed the instructions listed on the Register page. You could also be on the waiting list. The competitor limit can be found on the General Info page, and you can see the number on accepted competitors on the Competitors page also on the menu. If you have done everything correctly and the competition is not full then just be patient. We have to manually approve registrations and the organisers aren't available all the time. If you believe you have followed the steps correctly but still are not on the registration list after 2-3 days, then feel free to email us at the contact link on the General Info page. You can contact us at any time to check your place on the waiting list as well.

Q: I am no longer able to attend, what do I do?
A: The first thing you need to do is tell us as soon as you know via the contact link on the General Info page. Competitions generally fill up quite quickly and letting us know that you can't attend means we can add someone from the waiting list.

Q: If I do not attend do I get a refund?
A: If you inform us you are no longer attending before the limit date for refunds on the General Info page then you will receive a 75% refund. If this time has passed then you will receive no refund.

Q: How fast do I have to be to compete?
A: We recommend that you check out the Events and Schedule tabs - if you can make the time limit for the events you want to compete in, then you're fast enough! Loads of people come to competitions just to beat their own personal bests, and meet likeminded people, with no intention of winning or even making it past the first round.

Q: Are there different age categories?
A: All competitors compete on the same level and all ages are welcome. In general most are aged 10-20 but we have plenty of regulars who are older or younger than this!

Q: Do I use my own cubes to compete?
A: Yes! Whilst COVID-19 is still around, you will not be able to borrow puzzles. Make sure to bring cubes for all events you are competing in and look after them, you don't want them to go missing.

Q: Am I allowed to bring a guest?
A: Yes, you are allowed to bring a guest, however you will not be allowed to bring more than 1 guest per competitor.

Q: Can I come only to spectate?
A: No, spectators will not be allowed.

Q: I'm a parent, what can I do to get involved?
A: If you're looking for something to do then you can certainly help out with the running and judging! We pretty much always need help with this and they are really easy procedures to follow. You can come to the introduction to competing where we go through all of it there, and there is a tutorial on the Important Information tab as well. Running is also great for step count and requires zero knowledge of cubing if you're worried about that!

Q: When do I arrive at the competition?
A: If you are a new competitor, we highly recommend that you show up for the introduction to competing which is held as the first thing on both days. Otherwise, we recommend you turn up at least 15 minutes before your first event, you can check when this is on the Schedule tab. This will give you enough time to register, find a seat, and warm-up.

Q: What do I do when I arrive?
A: The first thing you do when you arrive is find the registration desk if registration is open. If you arrive before registration opens, we will make an announcement as to when it does open. If there is nobody present at the registration desk then find a staff member and we will make sure to register you.

Q: When can I leave the competition?
A: You are more than welcome to leave whenever you want. If you have no more events left then you are not required to stay.

Q: How do I find results?
A: All the results will be found on this page a couple of days after the competition, once they have all been checked and uploaded. If you are looking for live results, in the Menu Bar at the top go to Results ≫ WCA Live.

BLD and FMC Specialist Competition

As listed on the main page, this competition is a BLD and FMC specialist competition. This means that the only events being held are 3BLD, 4BLD, 5BLD, MultiBLD and Fewest Moves. No other conventional speedsolving events will be held. Due to this, we highly recommend that if you have not attended a WCA competition before that you attend a different one to this as your first competition since this is a very different format to regular competitions.

In addition, since the competitor limit for this competition is much smaller than other competitions we will require that everyone who is attending help out as much as possible throughout the weekend. We also encourage friends and family attending to help out with the judging as well if possible! If you are unfamiliar with the judging procedure for Blindfolded events please read the section on Blindfolded solving in the regulations below.

New Competitors

If you are a new competitor, it is important that you are familiar with the Regulations. The regulations are very long and are quite a lot to take in so don't worry if you don't remember it all! Because of this, we have a video that explains the competing procedure which we recommend to watch before attending: Competing Tutorial. We will also be holding an introduction to competing which we recommend you attend as well.

New competitors must bring some form of ID to show at the competition to confirm the name, the country they wish to compete for, and the date of birth registered with. The usual items of ID that people bring are Passports, Birth Certificates, Driver's Licenses, etc. As long as it has your name, date of birth, and country, then it will be fine.

If you have any questions, we recommend that you check the FAQ in case it has been asked before. But you are more than welcome to contact us at the link on the General Info page. We also recommend you check out the UKCA tab to sign up to our mailing list for announcements of future competitions, among other things.

Information for All Competitors

  • Please help judge! As a competitor, your judging assignments are the absolute minimum you should be doing to help out. As second rounds, third rounds and finals have no assigned judges, we really need people to help out whenever available for these. If you are directly asked to judge, please go and judge for the remainder of the round in progress. If you do not comply then we are within our rights to disqualify you from the competition as per Regulation 1e2. If you're a parent you can also get involved with running and juging, it's really easy!
  • Please note that Carbon-Fiber puzzles are not permitted, and please make sure your cube complies with logo regulations!
  • When you are competing and have handed in your puzzle, please make sure to be waiting in the designated area so that judges and runners do not have to come searching for you.
  • Please DO NOT talk about the scrambles or your solutions whilst the round is in progress as per Regulation 2g3.
  • During blindfolded events, please stay silent within the venue. These events require a high amount of concentration and any noise can be distracting. We will announce when the silence will begin and when you may talk within the venue again.
  • No flash photography under any circumstance within the venue. It is extremely distracting for competitors.
  • If you are a spectator, please stay 1.5m away from competitors at all times as per Regulation 7b. If you are filming someone competing, please stay out of the competitor area.
  • Please treat the venue with respect, put all of your rubbish in bins, black bin bags, or take it home with you and keep your area tidy.
  • There are thousands of puzzles at these events, make sure to keep yours together so you don't lose them! Keeping them in a bag and looking after it at all times is recommended. If you do lose a puzzle, please contact us at the link on the General Info page, it is likely that someone has handed it in to us.
  • We will be taking videos and photographs of the competition and the environment for our social media pages and website. By attending the competition as a competitor or a guest, you are accepting that you may be filmed or photographed for these purposes.

Venue

The venue is above the Geek Retreat Cafe in Kidderminster town centre. It is on one of the main high streets, and you will need to enter the Geek Retreat and sign in with us downstairs first.

Travel

Car: Venue postcode is DY10 1EA - there are multiple suitable car parks just around the corner from the venue. Please note that the small area outside the front of the cafe is for drop-off and loading only and you shouldn't park there.
Train: Kidderminster Station is a 15 minute walk from the venue - connections via Birmingham New Street approximately 1 hour.
Plane: Nearest airport is Birmingham International, which is connected to Birmingham International Station, ten minutes from Birmingham New Street.
Coach: Through Birmingham Coach Station onto local services/train.
Bus: Kidderminster Bus Station is 10 minutes walk away. Please see here for a map of services to and from this station.

Accommodation

There are a few big-name hotel options directly in Kidderminster:

Alternatively there are some smaller independent hotels but these are further from the town centre. The above two are the closest.

Time limit

If you reach the time limit during your solve, the judge will stop you and your result will be DNF (see Regulation A1a4).
A cumulative time limit may be enforced (see Regulation A1a2).

Format

The format describes how to determine the ranking of competitors based on their results. The list of allowed formats per event is described in Regulation 9b. See Regulation 9f for a description of each format.

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