Cotswold Jigsaw Championships

 In Bourton on the Water where I live there is a local photographer who, like so many others, had to diversify during the pandemic and ended up making puzzles out of his photos of the local area. The business has continued to grow and he decided it would be fun to hold the first ever Cotswold Jigsaw Championships. Now, I’d decided back in 2022 that I’d had enough of competition puzzling. However, people who knew me kept tagging me in the social media posts being sent out and as it was for charity and just 10 minutes down the road I decided to enter - I mean, if nothing else jigsaw people are some of the best and it would be nice to meet others. 

I was surprised when I arrived to see some really serious jiggers there - including ones who had competed at the world championships in Spain this year. That actually relaxed me a bit as I had no expectations and decided to simply enjoy the puzzle. Well, what a nightmare the puzzle proved. It was a 500 piece map of the Cotswolds and as a group there was a collective groan - this sort of puzzle is never conducive to speed puzzling. Being one of a few locals I probably had a slight edge as I knew where places were, but it still proved to be quite the process. I ended up winning with a time of 2 hours and 37 minutes, some 30 minutes ahead of the next finisher. To put this into context, at 

‘Worlds’ the average finishing time for 500 pieces is around 45 minutes, so that gives some indication of puzzle difficulty. 

After we finished it was time for a chat and some networking with others before the team event after lunch. I had decided to stay and watch for a bit, but after seeing the beautiful puzzle I was persuaded just to sit and complete it for fun. The winning team of 4 completed this 1000 piece puzzle in just over 1 hour, with the next team of 4 coming in at 1 hour 33. You can imagine my delight then when I came in 3rd with a time of 1 hour 57 minutes. Just shows how much a puzzle picture can impact speed and time! 

Overall, a fantastic day and I’m already looking forward to next year.