BERWICK, COLUMBIA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The world of Rubik’s cubes and twisty puzzles has become a well-known competitive field with over 100,000 competitors across the globe. One Berwick middle school student took it upon himself to start an official competition right here in NEPA.

15-year-old Shaun Wiggins of Berwick, Columbia County has not been solving puzzles since he was a baby, but he has quickly developed a passion for this very competitive puzzle field.

“I was in second grade and one of the field trips, I went to the Da Vinci Science Center. In the gift shop, I had some money so I decided to buy it, because it looked interesting. I didn’t realize it was going to be so hard, I had to look up a bunch of YouTube videos to figure it out,” Wiggins explained.

After buying his first Rubik’s cube, the obsession only grew from there.

“After that, I was just addicted to trying to get it faster and faster. Eventually, I bought some faster ones and different ones,” Wiggins continued.

While most people know the typical 3×3 Rubik’s cube, there are over a dozen of these so-called twisty puzzles.

“I honestly don’t know. There’s so many. There’s Dyan, Gan, Moyu, Xman, Xi, there’s so many,” Wiggins added.

Shaun is no stranger to competition, he’s been competing in these kinds of events for several years.

“This is my tenth, I’ve been to nine before this,” Wiggins said.

After going to so many competitions, he developed an interest in starting his own.

“I’ve always just been very interested in how they work, and what all the things that the people that host them have to do. To keep them functional and keep them going,” Wiggins continued.

Shaun and his mom put together the Berwick competition, filling up registration with 60 students ready to twist.

“We’ve been working on this for like over a month now. Weve been trying to get, like, all the insurance and food and helpers and all that stuff, donations. A lot of donations helped,” Wiggins added.

The event was part of the World Cube Association (WCA). With competitors in five different events, three cube types, a pyramid, and a clock.

“All the times are recorded in the WCA website. The WCA is entirely volunteer run,” Wiggins stated.

First-place winners got brand-new watches courtesy of local business donations. Shaun hopes to make this more than a one-time event.

“We want to make it an annual thing. Hopefully, we can. Last week there was a Bloomsburg one, we hope that we can combine the two and make it a two-day event instead of one,” Wiggins explained.

Here’s to you, Shaun!

If you have a kid 28/22 News should feature on Here’s To You Kid!, send in a nomination online.