Alabama Championship 2026
- Date
- Sep 12 - 13, 2026
- City
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States
- Venue
Bryant Conference Center
- Address
- 240 Paul W. Bryant Drive, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
- Details
Ballroom
- Contact
- Organization team
- Organizers
- Alexander Guirgues, Eli Smith, John Shidemantle, Martin Albright, Phillip Lane, Roman Wofford, and Southeast Cubing
- WCA Delegates
- Jared Stinson, Justin Barker, Katie Hull, Phillip Lane, Raymond Goslow, Roman Wofford, and Roxana Johnson
- Download all the competition's details as PDF .
- Information
We are excited to welcome you to Alabama Championship 2026, the second state championship for Alabama! This competition is open to everyone, but only Alabama residents are eligible for Alabama Champion titles - see the Alabama Champion Eligibility tab for more info.
This competition is organized in part by Alabama Crimson Cubing, the University of Alabama's cubing club, and is supported by Southeast Cubing, Inc., the official nonprofit organization for speedcubing in the Southeast! Please check out the Southeast Cubing, Inc. tab to learn more about the organization and what you can do to support the mission.
- Events
- Main event
- Competitor limit
- 200
- Number of times bookmarked
- 24
- Registration period
-
Online registration will be open from to .
- Registration requirements
-
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 200 competitors.
The base registration fee for this competition is $40 (United States Dollar).
The registration fee has to be paid through Stripe here once registered.
If your registration is cancelled before you will be refunded 90% 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 on the Register tab.
No on the spot registrations will be accepted.
Any spectator can attend for free.
Registrations are accepted manually, so please be patient while waiting for your name to appear on the competitor list after you submit payment for your registration. Your registration is not complete until you pay. If you still do not see your name on the competitor list 48 hours after submitting your payment, then please contact the organizers to resolve the issue. You do not have a confirmed spot at the competition until you receive an email with the subject line: "Registration Accepted: Alabama Championship 2026." Any travel plans that you make before receiving the acceptance email are at your own risk.
After the competitor limit has been reached, you may still submit payment for your registration in order to be put on the waiting list. If you are first on the waiting list and someone cancels their registration, then you will receive an email from the organizers notifying you that you are being accepted into the competition. After registration closes, all competitors left on the waiting list will receive a refund for the registration cost, minus processing fees.
First-Time Competitors
- Familiarize yourself with the WCA Regulations before the competition. Watching a competitor tutorial video before the competition can help you become familiar with the key procedures of competing and the relevant regulations, but the full regulations always apply - even those not mentioned in a tutorial.
- Bring documentation showing your name and birthdate and present it during the check-in period (8:00AM-8:30AM on Saturday) to verify the information on your WCA account. Due to the age of the average competitor, a birth certificate is generally the most common document suiting this need, but a drivers license or passport will work perfectly too (as long as it is for the competitor themselves and not a parent/guardian). If you have any concerns about this, please reach out ASAP ahead of the competition.
- Attend the new competitor tutorial at 8:10 AM Saturday. Even if you have read the Regulations and watched an online tutorial, attending an in-person tutorial will help familiarize you with the specific procedures and expectations for this competition, and it's also your chance to ask questions if anything is still puzzling you before you actually compete.
All Competitors
- Reach out at least two weeks before the competition if you need accommodations. If there is any circumstance (e.g. disability) that would prevent you from competing normally. reaching out ahead of the competition will give the organizers and WCA Delegates time to best accommodate your unique needs.
- Be present at least 15 minutes early for any round you are competing in. If the competition gets ahead of schedule, it will stay ahead of schedule, and you may not be able to compete if you miss your scheduled group (especially for subsequent rounds).
- Fulfill all judging assignments throughout the competition. In addition to the groups you are assigned to compete in, you will also be scheduled to judge in certain groups throughout the day. Your judging assignments will usually come immediately after you compete or far enough before you compete to give you time to warm up. If you repeatedly miss your judging assignments, you may be subject to disqualification from the competition - the WCA is a volunteer-driven organization, so everyone is expected to help out at least as much as they compete.
- Let the organizers know if you are leaving before your last round. If you need to skip a round that you advanced to, letting the organizers know ahead of time will allow someone else to take your place in the round.
Registration
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Why am I not on the competitor list yet? I already signed up and paid! | Registrations are approved manually, so it may take some time for the organizers/WCA Delegates to see and accept your registration. If you still do not see your name on the competitor list 48 hours after submitting payment, please reach out via the contact link. Please note that if registration is already full when you register and pay, you will remain on the waiting list with a pending registration status until a spot opens up, which may take weeks or months if it happens at all. (All competitors on the waiting list who do not get a spot receive a full refund minus processing fees.) |
| How do I change my events or cancel my registration? | You are able to change your own registered events for this competition on the Register tab. If you need to cancel your registration entirely, please reach out via the contact link and an organizer or WCA Delegate will handle your request. Please note that no refunds, cancellations, event changes, etc. can be processed after the deadlines listed on the General Info tab under "Registration Requirements". |
| Are spectators or guests allowed to attend? Do they have to pay an entrance fee? | At this competition, there are no limits or fees for spectators or guests. You are welcome to attend as a friend/family member of a competitor or even just as a non-competitor who is interested in the event. |
At the Competition
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I use my own cubes to compete? | Yes, you are responsible for providing your own puzzles. Be sure to review Article 3 of the WCA regulations and confirm that your puzzles are competition legal before the event. Some examples of non-legal puzzles are electronic cubes (such as Giiker, GOcube, or GAN356i), cubes with carbon fiber stickers, cubes with more than one logo, and cubes with significantly damaged or missing stickers/pieces. |
| Do I use my own timer to compete? | No, all equipment for the competition (timers, displays, etc.) is provided by the organizers/WCA Delegates. |
| How fast do you have to be to compete? | As long as you are able to solve the puzzle within the time limit listed on the Events tab, you are fast enough to compete! |
| What will the average age of competitors be? | Most competitors are between 10 and 25 years old, with the average age usually falling in the early to mid-teens. However, all ages are welcome - everyone can and should cube! |
| Are competitors divided by gender/age/experience/any other distinction? | All competitors compete on the same even playing field and are recognized in the official WCA results without any distinction. |
| How do I know when/where exactly I will be competing? | About a week before the competition, your first round assignments will become available on Competition Groups, detailing when you will compete in each of your events and on which stage of the competition. (The nametag that you receive at check-in will also list those first round assignments.) If you advance to the next round in any event, information about group assignments for subsequent rounds will be added to Competition Groups before the round begins. Please be familiar with which group you are in and be ready to compete at least 15 minutes before your scheduled time - the competition may run ahead of schedule, and you may not be able to compete if you miss your group. |
| What do I do while I'm not competing? | In addition to the groups you are assigned to compete in, you will also be assigned to judge throughout the competition. Your judging assignments will usually come immediately after you compete (though you are welcome and encouraged to judge as much as you want - it's a fun way to get right up in the middle of the action!) When you're not judging or competing, you'll probably want to hang out at the tables with other cubers and make some new friends! |
| Can I leave in between rounds/go home early for the day if I don't have anything to compete in? | We hope you're having enough fun to stay through the whole competition, but you are welcome to leave in between rounds or leave early for the day. (Please return at least 15 minutes before the scheduled start time of the next round you plan to compete in just in case the competition is running ahead of schedule.) If you plan to leave early and are going to miss a subsequent round that you advanced to, please let the organizers know so they can accept someone else to the round in your place. |
Results
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where do I find my results during the competition? | During the competition, you can see results on WCA Live as they are entered. Please note that all results are entered by hand and there may be delays depending on the availability of volunteers to enter data. |
| How will I know if I made it to the next round? | As the results are entered on WCA Live, the competitors whose names are highlighted in green are the ones who will be advancing to the next round. (Names highlighted in yellow are in a position to advance at the moment but still have the potential to be bumped out as more results are entered.) Please note that the advancing competitors are not 100% locked in until every competitor's results are entered - you can scroll down to the bottom of the page to see if anyone is still missing results. |
| Where do I find my results after the competition? | Within a week of the end of the competition, the results of the competition will be uploaded on the main WCA website and will appear on your WCA profile. You will receive an email notification when this happens. |
If you have any other question about the competition that's not answered here, you can always reach out via the contact link and we'll get back to you shortly!
This competition takes place at the Bryant Conference Center on the campus of The University of Alabama. Parking is located at 921 2nd Ave, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 in the Capstone Parking Deck. All competitors will receive information on how to enter the parking deck for free using a code, otherwise, parking is $10/day.
Hotels and restaurants are plentiful around Tuscaloosa, especially 15th St. and McFarland Blvd. (US-82). Lunch options may also be available at The University of Alabama Student Center; however, weekend hours are limited.
We will be recognizing the highest-ranked competitor from Alabama in each event with the title of Alabama Champion! Please declare your residency prior to Saturday, August 29th, 2026 by listing your home state/territory on your CubingUSA account. Anyone may compete in this competition regardless of residency, but only those who declare residency in Alabama by the deadline will be eligible for the Alabama Champion titles. If you achieve an Alabama Champion title, you may be asked to verify your residency at the competition with documentation. (Residency is defined as where you live at least 50% of the year.)
We are recruiting a talented and hard-working Volunteer Team for this competition to carry out scrambling and running, along with any other necessary competition tasks at the direction of the organizers/WCA Delegates. In exchange for this hard work, all Competition Volunteers will receive snacks and lunch during the competition and a refund of the registration fee after the competition.
Please note that all Competition Volunteers are expected to comply with the Southeast Cubing Code of Conduct for Competition Personnel, and all applicants must agree to its terms in order to be considered for a Competition Volunteer role. Failure to act in accordance with these expectations may result in revocation of benefits and/or the inability to serve on the Volunteer Team at future competitions.
Southeast Competition Volunteer Team Application
If you are interested in sponsoring this competition or partnering with Southeast Cubing, please contact Southeast Cubing to discuss your ideas further.
Apparel with the competition logo will be available through the Southeast Cubing merch store. This page will be updated as soon as the merch goes on sale!
About Southeast Cubing, Inc.
Southeast Cubing, Inc. (SECI) is the official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for speedcubing in the Southeast United States! SECI supports current and future cubers across the region by:
- Collecting and sharing information on speedcubing competitions and clubs
- Supporting the organization of more speedcubing competitions and clubs with resources, guidance, and logistical support
- Organizing a regional championship every year
- Engaging in outreach to expand the speedcubing community by visiting local community events
- Providing spaces (both physical and virtual) for Southeast cubers and their supporters to connect and learn
Getting Involved with SECI
You can get involved with SECI in a variety of ways:
- Following SECI's social media pages to keep up with the latest news about Southeast cubing:
- Joining SECI's social media discussion groups to be a part of the online conversation:
- Becoming a competition volunteer, a competition organizer, or a WCA Delegate in the Southeast
- Hosting a cubing club in the Southeast
- Volunteering as an SECI team or Board member
- Donating directly to SECI to support the mission:
SECI Competition Support
This competition is officially supported by SECI through the organization's Supported Competitions Policy, meaning that SECI takes on the overall financial and legal responsibility for the competition by collecting registration fees, paying competition expenses and signing contracts. In return for this support, SECI retains any leftover competition funds to put towards all the important activities listed above that support the organization's nonprofit mission!
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).
Cutoff
The result to beat to proceed to the second phase of a cutoff round (see Regulation 9g).
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.
Advancement Condition
The number of competitors shown as advancing to the next round is the planned maximum. The actual number may be lower if there are fewer competitors than expected, or if there are ties at the boundary.