By Rachel Chloe Palang
UP Cebu Mass Comm Intern

IT LOOKS like Speedracer is not the only one playing with speed.

Meet the “speedcubers,” a group of guys with a flair for solving the colorful Rubik’s cube in less than half a minute.

First on our list of speed-loving cubers is the competitive 20-year-old Norman Mejares.

“Speedcubing was just a hobby,” he said. “But when I saw my friends doing it, I also wanted to compete. I had to be good enough to compete.” Norman, an engineering student of the University of San Carlos (USC), hopes to take speedcubing to another level someday. “My goal is to solve all the cubes blindfolded,” he said.

Although the only commonly known cube is sized 3×3, there are also cubes that measure 5×5. And at the advent of the cube mania, other puzzles have surfaced as well–some appearing in the shape of a star and–believe it or not–snakes.

Norman’s fastest cube solving lasted only 12 seconds. But the speed lover claims that he is not particular and too concerned with time. “I’m more of the blindfold person,” he said.

Another speedcubing enthusiast is an aspiring photographer and Fine Arts student, John Cañares. The 22-yr-old enjoys the challenge in solving the puzzle in a matter of seconds.

“I enjoy the pressure of having to do it fast,” he said. His fastest cube solving record lasted 15 seconds. “It takes determination,” he said, “and if you really want to do this well, you shouldn’t allow yourself to be spoon-fed. You have to learn it yourself.”

Last on our list, but definitely not the least, is the current Philippine record holder for speedcubing. Meet James Benedict “JB” Cañares, a Management Accounting student who solved the 3×3 cube in just 10.68 seconds! He broke his own record of 14 seconds just recently, in the Rubik’s Cube Cebu Open 2007. “There’s so much pressure if you’re a title holder,” he said, “there are times when I feel intimidated and hopeless.”

At 20, JB has been able to share his skills, which he learned through practice, interest, time and determination. His involvement in speedcubing activities taught him to handle different people. “When we organized the Cebu open, I learned leadership and people skills,” he said.

And although these speedcubers seem especially intelligent and analytical, they admit to having a strange side. “I noticed that most of us speedcubers are a bit weird,” JB said. “For example, I am so caught up in keeping the things in my bag in order. There should be specific layers for notebooks and other things. They have to be organized.”

Norman also admitted to having a much stranger side, amusing himself and his friends at times. “Sometimes, I talk to myself. I just do,” he shares.

This speedcubing weirdness is something JB believes to be a common ground among all speedcubers, and others who have showin interest in it.

“I think we all have a certain weirdness in us,” he says, “and that’s why speedcubing is open to everybody. You don’t have to be so analytical to be good at it.”

These lads have proven that cars aren’t the only things that can go fast. And as they continue to try breaking their own records, they ask everyone: “How fast can you go?” (Sun.Star Cebu Zup!)