How fast can you do a jigsaw? It might be time to find out in Canberra's first jigsaw competition

From the age of seven, Maddie Rivers was in and out of hospital for regular treatment of her cystic fibrosis.

To stave off the boredom in the countless hours spent waiting, she would complete jigsaw puzzles with her auntie and nana.

“They both enjoyed doing jigsaws, and jigsaws were something I could do in hospital to take my mind off the treatments,” she says.

“It really helped me.”

Maddie hasn’t had to return to hospital for two years now thanks to new medication, but the love of puzzles has stuck with her. So far this year, she estimates she’s completed nearly 60 – each varying in size between 500 and 5000 pieces – almost the same total as all of last year’s.

“It’s so hard to do the big ones and find a space for a 5000-piece one because my husband and I are only in a two-bedroom apartment,” she says.

“I had one on the floor for maybe nine months, collecting dust because I had to sit on the ground to do it. And now we’ve got a dog, so I definitely can’t do that again.”

A full-time public servant and student of commerce at university, Maddie finds the old-school appeal of picking through jigsaw pieces not only a welcome break from the busyness, but also an aid in “critical thinking and attention to detail”.

Turns out she’s not alone. In fact, she’ll be among many Canberrans joining the first official ACT jigsaw competition next month.

Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Association (AJPA), a not-for-profit run entirely by “puzzle-loving volunteers”, already hosts national and state jigsaw puzzle competitions across the country to “bring jigsaw puzzlers closer together”.

“In the last couple of years, we’ve been working to develop the Canberra community, and now we’re large enough to have our own ‘state’ competition,” AJPA ACT representative Tammy Hayes says.

Tammy has “very early childhood memories of doing jigsaws” alongside her grandmother and can’t remember a year when she hasn’t completed at least one.

She helped create a local Facebook group in 2021 so local puzzlers could share their latest efforts and arrange social meets at pubs or clubs where they meet to complete puzzles together, have a drink and chat, or swap puzzles. There are now more than 400 members.

“It’s becoming a bigger thing here,” Tammy says.

“I think a lot of people are silent achievers – they like doing their jigsaws at home, I guess because there’s a stigma around it like it’s seen as an old person’s hobby.”

It was at a social occasion two years ago that Maddie met Tammy and was introduced to the idea of ‘speed puzzling’.

“Tammy mentioned how they had an online competition coming up and asked if I wanted to join, so I did,” Maddie says.

“It was a really hard puzzle, and I think I got like ninth or 10th place.”

The ACT competition will be held from 8 am on Saturday, 19 October, at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) and is made up of two rounds.

The first involves pairs, where two people have to complete a 500-piece puzzle within two hours.

“Obviously, the shortest time wins, and if you don’t finish within the two hours, the remaining pieces are counted up and you get a ranking,” Tammy explains.

This is followed by the individual round, where you’re given three hours to complete a different 500-piece puzzle on your own.

Each state crowns a winner, with second and third finalists, and the times are recorded and published on the AJPA website. Regardless of whether they win, everyone is welcome to enter the national competition, which will be held in December this year.

Is there a winning tactic? Not really.

“Depending on the puzzle, sometimes it’s easier to start with the edges or a with a bright coloured section in the middle,” Maddie says.

“My strategy is – as soon as the timer goes off – to unwrap the box, tip all the pieces out, stand up and flip all the pieces over.

“The world champion last year said he aims to get all his pieces flipped over the right way and the edges sorted in under three minutes. I’m nowhere near that fast yet. But it’s fascinating seeing all the different strategies.”

Sorting remains the best part for Maddie.

“Some people do, but I don’t use earphones or anything like that. Hearing all the pieces being sorted is like music to me. It’s like scratching that weird itch I didn’t know I had.”

The ACT State Jigsaw Puzzle Competition 2024 will be held on 19 October at EPIC. It is open to all jigsaw puzzlers – serious or not. It costs $54.26 to enter the individual round and $86.02 for the pairs round. Jigsaws are provided.

Visit the Eventbrite listing for more information or to register.