The Ravensburger team partnered with the United Kingdom Jigsaw Puzzle Association to bring the first regional championship to Cardiff last weekend
Cardiff played host to a major regional Speed Puzzling Championship event sponsored by Ravensburger over the weekend.
The event was the inaugural regional championship to be hosted by the UKJPA, and the first contest of its magnitude for Wales.
Organised by the United Kingdom Jigsaw Puzzle Association (UKJPA), the competition was sponsored by Ravensburger, and a team from the puzzle company’s Bicester-based office joined the puzzlers for the action.
As well as attracting jigsaw fans from South Wales, competitors travelled from far and wide to join in the contest – including one who joined the action from San Francisco. For many of the 300 participants, it was their first competitive puzzling experience.
“Speed puzzling is continuing to draw in new jigsaw fans all over the world, and we’re delighted that Ravensburger is able to be at the fore, supporting competitive puzzling in a variety of ways,” said Katy Fletcher, Head of Marketing and Product Development. “In attending these events, it is clear how many new friendships are being forged in this fun and friendly community. Our winners in the Pairs category had met at the Worlds three years ago, and despite being from different continents, they reunited for the Cardiff event. Jigsaw puzzles are literally connecting people all over the world.”
Solo, pairs and teams categories took place, with the winning time for the Solo category coming in at just 35 minutes and 58 seconds. This was achieved by Rachael Chambers of Birmingham.
As exclusive sponsors of the event, Ravensburger provided 500 and 1000-piece puzzles for the contest. The company also gave attendees a sneak peek of work in progress on yet-to-be-released jigsaws, including the much-anticipated 40,320-piece Pokémon jigsaw which launches later this year.
Ravensburger also sponsors the first Irish Jigsaw Puzzle Association Speed Puzzle Competition taking place next month, and the UKJPA Nationals which will take place once again in April.
