3/9 KSL TV Feature Story

THE ORIGIN STORY

Speed Puzzling--competitive jigsaw puzzling--has been a thing for at least 40 years.  National championships were held in the USA in the 1980s in Ohio (see here for an old Sports Illustrated article).  Also see here and here for follow-up articles.  After several years, this national contest went into hiding.

Thankfully, speed puzzling is again growing quickly in popularity.  This exciting pastime combines our classic love of tactile, collaborative games with blood-pumping, brain-teasing competition.  There is a strong community of speed puzzlers of all ages in other areas around the world.  Spain is dominating the competitions because they have continually held many contests and national championships.

BACK IN THE USA!

I was a co-founder of the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association (USA JPA) in 2020.  In October 2022, this organization hosted the USA Jigsaw Nationals--the first national jigsaw puzzle championship since the 1980s.  I had left the USA JPA board previously to focus on hosting speed puzzling contests.  When I attended this amazing event, I was so happy with the friendly community that has developed.  I felt strongly that we need to have a similar event for school-aged children.

As the founder and owner of SpeedPuzzling.com, I have hosted over 100 speed puzzling contests.  The most common feedback I get from new speed puzzlers is how much they enjoyed the experience. 

WHY JIGSAW PUZZLES?

Solving jigsaw puzzles provides many benefits, including

• improved visual-spatial reasoning
• improved short-term memory
• improved problem-solving skills
• improved mental health
• combating cognitive decline
• reduced risk of developing dementia

(See https://fortune.com/well/2022/10/02/mental-health-benefits-puzzles/)

Screen time, on the other hand, tends to have the opposite effects when not carefully moderated.  I have tried for the last few years to give children and youth an alternative to screen time by getting them excited about jigsaw puzzles. I have taught speed puzzling classes to a few dozen middle- and high-schoolers.  It is rewarding to see their eyes light up as they develop a love for speed puzzling.

Our kiddos need more wholesome, engaging activities!  SpeedPuzzling.Club is an opportunity to provide such an activity in the place where they spend the majority of their waking hours--in school.  Speed puzzling can and should join ranks with chess clubs, Math League, Science Bowl, and other academic competitions which are common in our schools!

OUR VISION

We need to build a strong infrastructure of Speed Puzzling in the United States.  Similar to any athletic program, we need robust junior leagues to become competitive at the International level.  Think Major League Baseball, Football, and Basketball--where the USA dominates internationally, but not in Soccer--where our junior leagues are just recently gaining traction.

Here's how we're going to build this infrastructure:

• Step 1: Raise awareness and raise funds.
• Step 2: Establish dozens of free and low-cost speed puzzling programs in our schools around the nation.
• Step 3: Incorporate a Junior Division into our already-established online (Zoom) Speed Puzzling Community (see https://www.speedpuzzling.com/events.html).
• Step 4: Introduce Junior Divisions into our 2023 State and Regional Speed Puzzling Championships (see https://www.speedpuzzling.com/in_person.html).
• Step 5: Hold the USA Junior Nationals, starting in 2024!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Many of us who love puzzles teach and/or work in schools.  Many more have children or grandchildren attending school.  You can help your local school, or your child's/grandchild's school, or your alma mater launch its own SpeedPuzzling.Club!  The more money is contributed, the more Speed Puzzling Clubs we can form.  Please share this campaign with anyone who teaches children, has children, and loves children!

You can also donate your complete, gently-used puzzles to a participating SpeedPuzzling.Club.  Contact us at speedpuzzling@gmail.com for details.

ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN

I need your help to create and grow this speed puzzling community among our youth.  We are starting with a 10K--$10,000 to launch 50 Speed Puzzling Clubs, one in each state in the USA, in 50 days!  You can grant a wish for as little as $5, or you can donate as little or as much as you want.  Every dollar covers the cost of providing the cost of various items in our SpeedPuzzling.Club Starter Kit:

• A 1-year membership
• 10 new jigsaw puzzles of various piece counts (3x 100, 3x 300, 3x 500, 1x 1000)
• Time sheets
• A timer
• Coaching instructions
• Contest instructions
• Speed Puzzling Tips & Strategies
• A dedicated, hosted, password-protected Club web page & up to 20 users
• One paid contest entry to Speed Puzzling # 111 for the fastest club member 
• T-shirt for the Coach
• Shipping

NOMINATE YOUR SCHOOL

If you'd like to nominate a school to be selected for a SpeedPuzzling.Club, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/6yYCk5UKM7VdtTsq9.  See http://speedpuzzling.club/ for more details.

THANK YOU

We'd like to thank our 6 puzzle company sponsors so far--we have already received pledges and shipments of 470 new puzzles--94% of our 500-puzzle goal!

• Buffalo Games
• eeBoo
• MasterPieces
• Ravensburger
• Re-marks
• White Mountain

And THANK YOU for your time and consideration.  We appreciate you sharing this campaign on your various social media accounts.  And if you contribute, thank you for your financial support!