Trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube is frustrating for most people. But, not for Burkley Robertson. He was in kindergarten when he first solved the cube.
“It took a week or two to learn how to solve it, and then when I memorized everything, it took about two minutes,” says Burkley, now 13 and a seventh grader at Moody Middle School.
Shannon Wakefield, gifted lead teacher with Henrico County’s Central Office, oversaw morning clubs, including the Rubik’s Cube Club, when she taught at Greenwood Elementary. “Burkley could solve the cube, and it was incredible,” she says.
Burkley has been competing in both Henrico school as well as outside competitions since those kindergarten years. And, as you would expect, he has been able to cut down his solving time, now sitting at about 10 seconds.
“I’ve gotten into a pattern,” he explains. “There are certain steps you can do every time to solve it correctly no matter what’s on the cube. I solve certain blocks at a time and then put them together.”
Burkley’s father, Tim Robertson, helped his son learn to solve the cube initially and now supports him at his competitions.
“He’s put in a lot of time into both practicing and investigation,” says Tim, a well-known pharmacist at Publix. “In kindergarten, he had a long seven-step process. It’s about algorithms. You have to memorize shortcuts. If you follow that, anyone can solve it.”
Burkley, who has coached the team for Greenwood Elementary with his friend Jacob Lumpkin, is a regular at competitions. As he explains, county competitions differ from other competitions, especially ones hosted by the World Cube Association, which governs twisty puzzles — think Rubik’s Cube competitions.
With Henrico competitions, the cubes are “scrambled randomly,” says Tim. “You have one try to put it together.”
With outside competitions, every competitor gets the same scramble. “You do it five times and average the three in the middle to get the overall average,” he says.
If you aren’t a regular solver, you wouldn’t know that there are different types of competitions. For example, Burkley competed in a 3×3 (size of the standard cube) competition for Henrico and won first place. Other competitions include cubes with different layer sizes and shapes, such as 2×2, 4×4, 5×5, 6×6 and 7×7.
When you register as a competitor with the WCA, which has had over 245,000 competitors, it puts you in their system. “Then you know where your personal best ranks in the U.S. and the world,” says Burkley who owns 50 different cubes of varying sizes.
“It’s fun to see where you stand and better your time,” adds Tim.
Most of the competitions Burkley competes in are local, no more than two hours away. “But, they have them all around the world,” he says.
Being fast enough to win competitions requires “good dexterity,” he adds. “You have to have fast fingers and enjoy doing it.”
His dad finds the competitions fascinating. “You are rooting on your team and our kids. You see the same kids at the competitions and you get to know the other competitors and their families,” he says.
Since Burkley started competing, the Henrico County tournaments, held each year through a grant and open to Henrico County schools, have grown in size and production.
“The tournament is fun and a place for schools to have camaraderie and school spirit,” Wakefield says. “It’s a great thing for everyone to enjoy.”
Wakefield continues to be one of Burkley’s supporters. “It’s cool to witness and be part of his history, watching him through elementary and middle school,” she says. “He has a lot of perseverance. He has helped friends and other students along the way.”
“Burkley is a true leader,” she says.
