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28
Feb
From lockdown fun to daytime TV: meet Harrogate's speed jigsaw puzzler
Jigsaws are a staple part of life for many — often completed leisurely with a drink.
But some people take their jigsaws rather more seriously.
Harrogate resident Anneka Thompson is among them. She takes jigsaw puzzle solving to the next level by competing under timed conditions.
Not only is she a speed puzzling enthusiast, she is also the founder of the UK Jigsaw Puzzle Association.
Speed jigsaw puzzling has become remarkably popular over the last six years. At the first ever World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships in Spain in 2019, 531 people took part. Fast forward to 2024, and 1,777 participants entered.
Anneka Thompson (bottom right) and other competitors at the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships in Spain
The aim of speed puzzling is, unsurprisingly, to finish your jigsaw puzzle in the fastest time possible. Standard rules require that all participants are given the same puzzle and the same number of pieces. Jigsaws are often exclusively made for these tournaments to ensure that no one has done them before.
Speed puzzling championships are split into three events, individual, pairs, and teams, which have different sized jigsaw puzzles to complete. The world record for an individual 500-piece jigsaw is currently 26 minutes and 39 seconds.
‘I knew I had to get involved’
The Stray Ferret asked Anneka how she entered the world of speed puzzling:
Jigsaws have always been around in my life.
During the pandemic in 2020 I found myself doing a lot of jigsaws. I remember getting quite a few comments during the pandemic saying that I was pretty quick at doing them.
I decided to look into how quickly people could complete jigsaws and I stumbled upon the world championships. I hadn’t realised there were jigsaw puzzle solving tournaments, but I knew I had to get involved.
I’m also a CrossFitter, I play sports and I’ve always been competitive, so I wanted to add that competitive edge into my jigsaws.
The speed puzzler told us that when she started, she could complete jigsaws in around three hours. Now, she’s down to around an hour. She said that practice is the key to getting better, and that she does around four puzzles per week.
Daytime TV
On Wednesday, Anneka appeared on This Morning, where she competed against fellow speed puzzler Kirsty Williams and This Morning’s green room host, Fleur. By the time the two experts had finished, Fleur had only just finished the edges.
She told us that she was very excited to go on the show:
In the past few months, I’ve had a few articles written about me, so I’m assuming they must have found me through one of those.
They contacted me on the Monday and I was on air on the Wednesday, it was all so fast.
I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly speed puzzling in the UK is gathering speed!
Anneka finished her jigsaw in one hour and a minute, saving her best for the big stage and producing a personal record.
She told us that everyone has their own way of solving puzzles:
Some like to do the edges first, some like to colour code their pieces. I usually build a border with the edge pieces, but I don’t sort mine into colours.
Anneka said she isn’t sure how relevant IQ is to doing jigsaws at speed, but she noticed that a lot of the people she met at the world championships in Spain had been doctors or lawyers.
Anneka Thompson (left) and Kirsty Williams (centre) compete against This Morning's Green Room host Fleur
The UK Jigsaw Puzzle Association
Anneka is so passionate about her hobby that she decided to establish a nationwide jigsaw association in late 2023.
The association is a voluntary organisation that works with jigsaw companies to organise speed puzzling competitions.
The association is currently sponsored by Ravensburger, a leading jigsaw company, which provides unreleased jigsaws for use in competitions.
The association began by hosting online events on video calls, where contestants would compete virtually from their own living rooms.
Now, the organisation hosts events all over the country, with contestant numbers reaching up to 400.
Anneka told us that the association looks to provide a different service to the already popular Newmarket Jigsaw Festival. Whilst the Newmarket festival stops timing after the top three contestants, the jigsaw association aligns with the world championships rules.
Everyone who competes in the association events will be timed, so that speed puzzlers in the UK can be afforded a national ranking.
The association will be hosting the UK National Championships in Bradford on April 5. Two hundred solo tickets have sold out, and there are less than 50 tickets for the pairs event available. If you would like to book a ticket, click here.
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