Bringing competitive jigsaw puzzling to Tasmania (30/3/24)

2022 Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Champion Katrina Coleman wants to bring competitive puzzling to Tasmania. Video by Aaron Smith (30/3/24)

Transcript

00:00 I've always thought that I did puzzles relatively well. I'd hear people say, "Oh yeah, that took me

00:06 four days to do," and I'd be like, "I did that in two hours," you know, that sort of thing.

00:10 But it was only really when, in COVID, they'd, just before COVID, they'd started the Australian

00:15 Jigsaw Puzzle Association, and it was like, "Oh, I think I need to have a go and see if I can race."

00:21 And there was a few people in the, early in the association that were posting their videos and

00:25 the times they were doing it. I was like, "I can do that time." So if they're posting that,

00:29 and they're going to the competition, then I should be right to do the same.

00:32 So, and what did it feel like to win? Were you surprised?

00:35 Um, I was, yes, I was. Um, I think it was funny because I'd actually said,

00:39 I'd sat down with the puzzle and I, you can't see what the puzzle is, it's in a brown paper bag,

00:44 and I'd sat down with the puzzle and I just said, "Oh Nan, I'm going to need your help today." Like

00:48 Nan's long gone, but I said, "I'm going to need your help today." And I was really calm. The

00:52 puzzle that came out, I'm hoping that she got there, the puzzle that came out was called Granddad's

00:56 Garden and my grandfather was actually a market gardener. And I pulled the puzzle out and I've

01:00 gone, "Oh Nan, you couldn't have got a better puzzle." You know, and away we went. And it was

01:03 just, it was just real, it was quite surreal. It was really, I was really relaxed and the puzzle

01:08 came together really well. It was just amazing. It was like it was meant to be.

01:11 The winner of obviously the national competition then was off to Spain to represent Australia,

01:16 which was amazing. Um, I went in there basically with one jigsaw puzzle contest under my belt and

01:22 realized that a lot of the people in Europe and even America have jigsaw competitions all the time.

01:28 And so I was a little naive as to how it all went down. Um, struggled a little bit with, um,

01:34 not jet lag, but just was never, never really felt a hundred percent like I was ready to,

01:38 ready to race. So, um, learned a lot from that, but still managed to come 20th in the world

01:43 out of 600 odd competitors. Yeah. So I'm looking forward to going back. I'm going back this year,

01:49 um, to do, yeah, to do better. Puzzling has always been a, something that you've done at home

01:55 on your own. When you've got a few hours spare, you pop a few pieces into your puzzle or whatever

01:59 it might be. Um, but it's something to be said for actually getting out and, and puzzling with

02:04 other puzzlers. You can get a little bit socially isolated if that's what you do, or particularly

02:09 people that are living on their own. It's the opportunity to get out and actually puzzle with

02:12 others. It's, it's amazing. It's, it's, it's really hard to describe. It's, um, the racing

02:17 aspect is probably a little more adrenaline filled than you realize. Um, but if you're just

02:22 a casual puzzler, actually just getting out with other people that puzzle and being able to go,

02:26 Oh, that was hard. Wasn't at all, you know, have something other than life to talk about when you,

02:31 particularly if you're, you know, a bit socially isolated, it's great. Great for that. What sort

02:36 of, um, ages are competing? Uh, all ages, all ages, all genders, all levels of ability. It's

02:45 one of those, I guess it's one of those, um, pastimes that it doesn't discriminate, um, about

02:51 anybody can do it. Anybody can do it. I've had, uh, you know, I've got men on my, um, on my zoom

02:56 contest, big belly blokes with tattoos on their arms. They're doing puzzles and it's like, Oh,

03:00 wow. I wouldn't have expected that. But there they are. Um, at the worlds, we had a lady with

03:06 an amputated arm. So she was puzzling one arm at the world. Um, we've had people with wheelchairs.

03:11 It's like I say, it doesn't anybody, anybody that can pick up a puzzle piece can puzzle. Yeah.

03:15 Yeah.

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