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 staff and additional social media and graphic design staff. 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 the end of 2023, the UK has held a total of 173 competitions. 4504 competitors have competed under the UK flag and collectively they have broken 769 National Records, 31 Continental Records and 19 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
Sam Spendla - President, Regional delegate (UK & Ireland)
Sam's first competition was UK Championship 2015. Since then, he became a Delegate in 2018, is a current WCA Results Team member and has worked on the WCA Quality Assurance Committee and WCA Data Protection Committee previously.
Oliver wheat - vice-president, delegate
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.
Eleanor Sinnott - Treasurer, delegate
Eleanor first competed in 2016 and was promoted to a Delegate in 2022, in which year she also joined the WCA Results Team. 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 - director without portfolio, delegate
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 also joined the WCA Competitions Announcement Team.
Additional Delegates
Adam Swaine - delegate
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!
Bertie Longden - Delegate
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.
EDWARD HOLLINGDALE - delegate
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!
Oliver Hexter - delegate
Oliver’s first competition was in 2022, and he was made a Delegate just a year later. Oliver joined the WCA Results Team the same year and has since been promoted to Senior Member, and has also joined the WCA Regulations Committee!
AJ Nicholls - junior Delegate
AJ’s first competition was in 2015 and since then he has attended a UK record of 200+ competitions! AJ first organised a competition in 2017 and has been involved in staffing and organising ever since. In late 2023 he also joined the Delegate ranks!
ADA COOKE - TRAINEE delegate
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!
Ben Ridley - JUNIOR delegate
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!
ADAM LeYTON - Junior delegate
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!
James Golding - JUNIOR Delegate
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!
RYAN ECKERSLEY - JUNIOR delegate
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!
Rich Casey - junior delegate
Rich began competing in early 2023 and became extremely involved in the staffing of UKCA competitions, and became a Delegate the same year! He also joined the WCA Results Team and WCA Integrity Committee and was the first UK cuber to have competed in Sri Lanka.
SCOTT HUNTER - TRAINEE delegate
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
ryan simpson - graphic 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 - GRAPHIC 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 - social media
Jason’s first competition was in 2016 and in 2022 he became responsible for overseeing the social media presence of the UKCA. Until recently he also boasted the fastest 3x3 results of the UKCA team, with a speedy single of 5.26!
Kirsty grainger - PARENTS LIAISON
As a parent, Kirsty's first competition was in 2018 and she was finally persuaded to compete in 2022. She has organised 10 competitions (and counting!) Kirsty also manages the UKCA parent community group on Facebook, check it out at UKCA Parent Community!
General Staff Team
Jake Brown -
General Staff
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 staff member and a talented solver. Is there anything Jake can’t do?
MARIA HOLTON -
General Staff
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 General Staff member!
CHARLIE BUTLER -
General Staff
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 Staff Team and brings a lot of admin experience with him to help out the UKCA!
MAX KWOK U SAM -
General Staff
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 150 Macanese National Records and joined the UKCA!
ELI JAY -
General Staff
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 Staff team!