Welcome to 2018´s edition of the Swedish Decathlon Challenge held in Flen, Sweden! We welcome you to a two day competition in the traditional Swedish Decathlon style, including this year's mystery event: Swedish Supersolve! More information about the competition, the Decathlon and the Swedish Supersolve can be found below. 

General Information

• Events: 3x3, 2x2, 4x4, 5x5, 3x3 BLD, 3x3 OH, Megaminx, Pyraminx, Skewb, Square-1.
• Date: June 30 - July 1, 2018
• City: Flen, Sweden
• Venue: Skjortan, Flen. The competition will take place in the big conference room, called "Stora Manschetten". https://flen.se/uppleva-gora/aktivitetshuset-skjortan/
• Adress: Drottninggatan 24, 64281, Flen
• Organisers: Daniel Wallin
• WCA Delegate: Anders Berggren
• Entry fee: 150 SEK
• Contact: danne_wallain@live.se

New Competitors

If this is your first competition, welcome! There should not be much to worry about at all, but if you want to understand the competition procedure before the competition, feel free to watch this short video which explains it in a very clear way. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPL3eV-A0ww

The procedure may vary from competition to competition but we will cover those things at the competition, at the competitor tutorial which will be held before 2x2 on Saturday. 

FAQ:

• Q: Will I have to register on Saturday morning, before the competition starts?
• A: No, typically you only need to register about 20 minutes before your first event begins. However, all competitors must register before 13:40 on Saturday, before 2x2 begins. 
• Q: Do I have to be present during both days of the competition?
• A: No, you only need to be present when your events are being held. However, it can be hard to estimate if you will proceed to the next round of a given event. You can check the rankings list for every event as the competition approaches, by clicking at an event icon under the competitiors page on the competition´s WCA-page here: (x)

If you have any further questions regarding the competition, feel free to contact the organisation team thorugh e-mail (found at the top and bottom of this page).

Registration and Payment

Registration: Registration is made through the competitions WCA website which can be found here: https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/competitions/SwedishDecathlonChallenge2018 There is a limit of competitors which has been set to 80 due to venue constraints. The big conference hall of Skjortan is currently also being used as a gymnastics hall, which limits how we can organise this competition. This is why we had to lower the competitior limit compared to two years ago. 

Payment: The entry fee is set to 150 SEK. This fee must be transferred in advance by all competitiors before the registration will be accepted. Please use one of the following options for the payment:

Option 1: Pay using the WCA payments system which appears directly after registration on the events WCA-page (which can be found here: https://www.worldcubeassociation.org/competitions/SwedishDecathlonChallenge2018 ). Note that this is the preferred option of payment since it eases the handling of registrations for the organiser. 

Option 2: Pay the registration fee via Swish to 0704267678. Please note your name or WCA-ID as the payment message.

 If you can´t use these options, please contact me using my mail adress found above.  

Accomodation 

Accomodation: We have arranged for those who want, to come to sleep at "Gula längan" at the sports ground, about 250 meters away from the competition venue. It will cost 250 SEK per night, breakfast included. (We had to increase the price for accomodation since "Gula Längan" has become more expensive to book since two years ago.) Sleeping at Gula längan is possible on the night before Saturday and Sunday. We have 32 beds, first come first served. One sleeps in hostels standard (don´t forget your sleeping stuff). To book accommodations at "Gula längan", email: danne_wallain@live.se The cost for this accommodation should be sent in through swish or bank-transfer. Remember that breakfast is included!

Swish: 0704267678

Bank: Nordea. Bank account number: 3068 24 00033.

Foreigners have the possibility to pay either at the venue or through Paypal. If the competitor wants to pay through Paypal, they need to send an e-mail to the organisers (danne_wallain@live.se) to recieve the link where payment is done. Payment through Paypal will add 10 SEK to the original 250 SEK making it 260 SEK per person per night. This is due to Paypal transfer fees. Foreigners who wants to pay for the stay at the venue will just need to send an email to me in order to get there booking confirmed.

• The booking will not be accepted before we receive the payment.
  

"Idrottsgården" is another option, if you want to stay in Flen over the weekend. Also "Idrottsgården" is a hostel, located at 2,1 kilometer walk from the venue. For more information visit: https://www.idrottsgarden.webnode.se 

N.B. Their webpage seems to be down at the moment, please check this page regularly for updates.

There are several hotels within 20 minutes of the venue. These can be booked through sites such as https://www.booking.com If we manage to find a deal with one of these hotels, then information will appear here so please check this page regularly. 

Food

If you book accommodation at "Gula längan" a breakfast is included adjacent to the rooms. Many supermarkets are located close to the venue, in the city center. Pizzeria and a few restaurants are also located at the city center, about 700 meters away from the venue.

We will look into the option of having a café open this year as well, more information about this will follow.

We will try to organise a pizza buffet at the venue during dinner on Saturday. Competitors and relatives will register for the buffet during registration on Saturday morning. If you have any special reqirements or requests, we want to know that during registration and we will do what we can to fulfill those. Registration for the pizza buffet has to be done before 13:40 on Saturday. The price for the pizza buffet is not yet determined, information will follow. We calculate for 3.5 persons per family pizza.

Travel

Map: Using this link, you can find a simple map showing points of interest during your weekend in Flen: https://imgur.com/a/STLbZdh An explanation to each point can be found below:

1. Gula Längan, competitor accomodation.
2. Skjortan, competition venue.
3. Flens railway and bus station, including the tunnel under the railway, not shown on maps.
4. Coop, the closest grocery store.
5. City center, where restaurants and other shops are found.
6. Hammarvallen car park, which can be used if parking in front of Skjortan gets full.

Adress of the venue: Drottninggatan 24, 64281 Flen, Sweden (Aktivitetshuset Skjortan) Map: https://bit.ly/2ngRsZc

Car: Main roads 55 and 57 go through Flen, which you access from the E4 and E20 roads. Head against the city center in the roundabout close to the petrol stations. Follow "Södra Kungsgatan" until you drive over the railroad for the second time. Then take the first left onto "Drottninggatan". Continue 1 kilometer, and you will have the venue on your right. Car parking is available in front of the venue, and 100 meter further down the road at "Hammarvallen".

Train: Take the train to Flen station. The venue is then 700 meters away from the station. Walk through the tunnel under the railway, shown on the map above.

• The train from Stockholm on Saturday morning arrives in Flen 09:22, so you will not miss any events of the competition. A second train from Stockholm arrive in Flen 13:22, just in time for the main events on Saturday. 
• Trains from Gothenburg and Malmö/Copenhagen arrive 11:13 and 13:13, meaning that you will not miss any of the main events after lunch. However, if you want to participate in all events, you will have to arrive on friday evening. 
• The train that leaves Flen bound for Stockholm at 18:34 on Sunday leaves late enough so that you wont miss  any of the events or the prize ceremony on Sunday.
• The same applies to the trains leavning 18:42 bound for both Gothenburg and Malmö/Copenhagen.

Train seats can be booked through: https://www.sj.se

If any delays occur, then please contact me directly through my phone number 0704267678, so we can sort that out for the best.

Schedule

The time schedule for Swedish Decathlon Challenge 2017 can be found through the following link: https://bit.ly/2IWvmpG 

Decathlon Challenge

During the competition, a decathlon will be held. Competitors signing up and competing in 9 or 10 events will automatically be signed up for the decathlon. Competitors have the possibility to add events to their registration before the registration deadline and by that getting signed up for the decathlon. The competitors will compete as usual in all events, but in each round, you will get points depending how good averages you get. The best result in either the first round, 2nd round or final will be counted. If you set a new world record average, you will get maximum points for that event, 100 points. Then, there is a sliding scale where one gets a certain amount of points depending on the time span you end up in. 3x3 BLD works the same way, but it is the best singles of your three solves that count. You will also be able to collect points during the Swedish Supersolve. More information about the Swedish Supersolve can be found further down this page.

More information about the Decathlon and the Swedish Supersolve will be provided at the venue. Remember that the decathlon is unofficial, no results from it will be posted on the WCA.

• Link to document which shows how points are distributed: https://bit.ly/2p9yh5b
• Results from the Decathlon Challenge will be posted here: https://bit.ly/2p9sJrf

Swedish Supersolve

This years mystery event will be "Swedish Supersolve". The top 16 competitors from the 3x3 2nd Round will automaticaly be entered into the bracket type tournament, according to the link below. Those who place 17-32 in the 3x3 2nd round are expected to judge the tournament. 

The two cubers who compete in each match will sit down at a pair of timing stations. The match will last for 10 minutes, so when the judge starts his/hers stopwatch, the competitors are given a sheet with the same scramble. They now have to try to solve their scramble in several different ways during the beginning of the 10 minutes and find a solution they are happy with. When the competitor has found their preferred solution, they use the last of their 10 minutes to try to solve the scramble as fast as possible, using a stackmat timer. The judge will keep track of all the times performed, while also checking that all attempts are correctly executed. At the end of the 10 minutes, the competitor with the fastest time will proceed to the next stage of the bracket. 

Competitors who are also entered into the Decathlon will earn points in the Swedish Supersolve.

• Competitors who lose their 1/8 final will receive 10 points.
• Competitors who lose their 1/4 final will receive 20 points.
• The competitors who place 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st will receive 30, 35, 40 and 50 points respectively.

The Swedish Supersolve bracket can be found through the following link: https://bit.ly/2nUaSV0

More information about this event will be given at the competition, before it starts on Sunday. Remember that the event is unofficial meaning that no results from it will be uploaded to WCA. 

Contact

If you have any further questions about the competition, feel free to contact the organizers thorugh email.

Daniel Wallin: danne_wallain@live.se