About

We are the UK Cube Association and we are a completely volunteer-ran organisation that hosts all cubing competitions in the UK. We are made up of a team of WCA Delegates as well as a team of general volunteers and additional social media and graphic design volunteers. We're passionate about giving people as many opportunities to compete in the UK as we can. We have organised hundreds of competitions up and down the country with many more on the horizon and are always trying to find new locations to make cubing competitions as accessible as possible.

History of the UKCA

The UK was the 15th country to hold a World Cube Association (WCA) competition, UK Open 2006, which was the 68th competition ever held. In the following years there were only a couple of competitions each year until 2012 when the UKCA was founded by Daniel Sheppard, shortly after he became a Delegate. The UKCA was to act as a central location for all WCA competitions in the UK, as well as a general hub for UK cubing. Since founding the UKCA, the number of competitions in the UK has increased significantly and competitions have been held consistently ever since, including the annual UK Championships.

As of March 2025, the UK has held a total of 252 competitions. 5789 competitors have competed under the UK flag and collectively they have broken 833 National Records, 39 Continental Records, and 22 World Records!

In 2019 the UKCA started looking outside of the main Delegates to get some extra help as cubing community has only been getting larger. The UKCA operates under a non-profit basis, where all the workers are volunteers. To see who helps out, check out the team below!

Check out our social media!

The UKCA Team

Directors

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Bertie Longden

- UKCA President & WCA Delegate (South)

Bertie has been cubing since 2014 and joined the UKCA team to assist in the upkeep of the website. Since then he was promoted to a Delegate. He has also served as a member of the WCA Quality Assurance Committee and is now a member of the WCA Integrity Committee.

Oliver Wheat

- UKCA Vice-President & WCA Delegate (South West)

Oliver began competing back in 2016 and was promoted to a Delegate in 2022. Oliver is well versed in the WCA Regulations, being able to recite them in full by the age of 3. He was on the WCA Regulations Committee from 2022-2024, when he left to join the WCA Appeals Committee, where he is now a Senior Member.

Eleanor Sinnott

Eleanor Sinnott

- UKCA Treasurer & WCA Delegate (Scotland)

Eleanor first competed in 2016 and was promoted to a Delegate in 2022, in which year she also joined the WCA Results Team where she is now a Senior Member. Eleanor rose to fame in the community with her rapid lettuce eating abilities, but has since traded salad for a seat at the Directors table, where she now tosses ideas instead of greens.

Nevins Chan

UKCA Director without Portfolio & WCA Delegate (North West)

Nevins attended his first competition in 2010 in Malaysia, before attending his first UK competition in 2012, and has been competing here regularly since as well as organising some competitions of his own. In 2022 Nevins was promoted to a Delegate, and is now a Senior Member of the WCA Competitions Announcement Team.

Additional Delegates

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Sam Spendla

- WCA Regional Delegate (UK & Ireland) & WCA Delegate (East Midlands)

Sam's first competition was UK Championship 2015. Since then, he became a Delegate in 2018, is a current member of the WCA Sports Organisation Team, and has worked on the WCA Quality Assurance Committee, WCA Data Protection Committee and WCA Results Team previously.

Edward Hollingdale

Edward Hollingdale

- WCA Delegate (London)

Edward has been competing in Australia since way back in 2011 and he became a Delegate there in 2018. A move to the UK in 2023 has led to him joining the UKCA team. Stay hydrated, everyone!

Adam Swaine

- WCA Delegate (East of England)

Adam started competing in 2017 before organising his first competition in 2019. In early 2022 he joined the UKCA team as Community Manager, and went on to become a Delegate not too long after.

Oliver Hexter

- WCA Delegate (London)

Hex’s first competition was in 2022, and he was made a Delegate just a year later. Around that time he joined the WCA Results Team but currently holds a role as a Senior Member of the WCA Regulations Committee.

AJ Nicholls

- WCA Delegate (South West)

AJ’s first competition was in 2015 and since then he has attended a UK record of 250+ competitions across 24 countries! AJ first organised a competition in 2017 and has been involved in volunteering and organising ever since. In late 2023 he also joined the Delegate ranks.

Ben Ridley

- WCA Junior Delegate (East of England)

Ben has been competing since 2016 and is notable for his skills in blindfolded solving, as well as his National Records in the discontinued event 3x3x3 with feet. Ben made a welcome return to regular competitions in 2023, and was appointed as a Delegate.

James Golding

- WCA Delegate (South East)

James has been competing since 2017 and began his journey as a Delegate in late 2023. For those of you who love a fun fact, James is the first and only UK competitor to have competed in Malta and even managed to gain a podium finish in the process!

Rich Casey

- WCA Delegate (Wales)

Rich began competing in early 2023 and became involved in volunteering at UKCA competitions, and became a Delegate the same year! He has also worked in the WCA Integrity Committee and was the first UK cuber to have competed in Sri Lanka.

Ada Cooke

- WCA Junior Delegate (North East)

Ada’s first competition was in 2020, right before the COVID lockdowns. On returning to a considerable amount of competitions in 2024, Ada joined the Delegate team.

Adam Leyton

- WCA Junior Delegate (Scotland)

Adam began attending competitions with his son and went on to compete himself in 2024 and joined the Delegate team then too. Feel free to ask him about his Guinness World Records.

Ryan Eckersley

- WCA Junior Delegate (Scotland)

Ryan began competing in 2019 and became a Delegate in 2024. His cubing career has included multiple European Records and he is regarded as one of the top BigBLD competitors globally.

Scott Hunter

- WCA Junior Delegate (North East)

Scott began competing in 2024 and is one of our new key figures in the North East of England. Hopefully we will see a surge of new competitions in that area in the months and years to come.

Specialist Roles

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Ryan Simpson

- UKCA Graphics Designer

Ryan’s first competition was in 2016 and after leaving university with a BA (Hons) degree in Illustration, he started work as the graphic designer for the UKCA in 2019. In 2020 he found further use for his graphic design skills by joining the WCA Communications Team and was promoted to Senior Member in 2021.

Sarah Pieren

- UKCA Graphics Designer

Sarah joined the UKCA team in 2024. With a background in graphic design she is here to bring her skills and creativity to the role and help out with all things design. She may be a pro at creating visuals, but don’t ask her to solve a cube in under a minute!

Jason Harley

- UKCA Social Media Manager

Jason’s first competition was in 2016 and in 2022 he became responsible for overseeing the social media presence of the UKCA (alongside Beary of course).

General Volunteer Team

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Jake Brown

- UKCA General Volunteer

Jake’s first competition was in 2020, and since then they have become a talented all-rounder with impressive results in many events. They are an Oxford student, a UKCA volunteer and a talented solver. Is there anything Jake can’t do?

Maria Holton

- UKCA General Volunteer

Maria's first competition was in 2022 and she quickly became known for the help she offered at competitions. She is studying Maths & Physics at University of Glasgow and was our first ever Scottish UKCA volunteer!

Charlie Butler

- UKCA General Volunteer

Charlie’s first competition was at the 2022 UK Championship. The former Secretary of University of Warwick’s cubing society is a welcome face amongst our General Volunteer Team and brings a lot of admin experience with him to help out the UKCA!

Eli Jay

- UKCA General Volunteer

Eli began competing in 2014 and has gone on to amass an amazing 50+ National Records and over 20 UK Championship podium finishes. In late 2024 he volunteered some of his time to helping the UKCA as part of our General Volunteer team!

Max Kwok U Sam

- UKCA General Volunteer

Max’s first competition was in China in 2018, with a long break before he burst back onto the cubing scene in 2022 in his new home of Scotland. Since his return he has amassed over 200 Macanese National Records and joined the UKCA!

Tyler Gatenby

- UKCA General Volunteer

Tyler can often be found at UKCA competitions, whether competing or not! Known for her cheerful Geordie disposition and frequent help at competitions, she is a welcome recent addition to the UKCA Volunteer Team.