National Jigsaw Puzzle Championships: Shenton College could make history as students compete for puzzle record

A group of Perth teenagers are on the brink of making Australian history, as Shenton College becomes the very first school in WA to represent the State at the inaugural National Jigsaw Puzzle Championships. After taking out first place at the State competition, the four-student team will fly to Melbourne later this month to compete at the national championships on November 29, where the fastest school team from each State will face off. With powerhouse puzzlers from NSW tipped as the main challengers, WA’s young competitors have a genuine chance to be crowned the very first national school champions — and potentially set the first national school puzzle record in the process. Shenton College puzzle club coach Samantha White said the club began as part of a wider school wellbeing scheme. “It started as a mental health initiative... quite a few kids turned up to puzzle club on Thursdays and we were just having fun,” Ms White said. “I mentioned that if they wanted to take it more seriously, they could compete in competitions, and some of the boys were really excited about that, so we entered.” What followed surprised even their coach. “We started timing ourselves and then we went to the State championships and won it,” she said. Their result at the WA championships was remarkable. “In the competition itself we completed a 500 piece puzzle in 32 minutes... we were about 20 minutes faster than the team who came second,” Ms White said. Founder of the Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Association D’Arne Healy said the Shenton College team was helping to write history. “This is the very first year of interschool puzzle club,” Ms Healy said. “There’s no record of times, these kids are setting history. They are setting the times that in the future, all the kids will be comparing themselves to.” Having watched the WA champions in action, Ms Healy believes the team has what it takes. “They’re very talented, they’re very fast... I’m very confident they’ll place, and I’m quietly confident they might win it,” she said. Excitement is building among the four Year 9 teammates — Ronan Mullins, 14, Oscar Gryl, 14, Alexander Teichert, 15, and Emerson Reid, 14. Alex, the oldest team member, couldn’t believe the lunchtime hobby has turned him and his mates into State champions. “When we started, we were really just joking around,” he said. “I remember Ronan said, ‘when we go to Worlds, I dibs top bunk,’ and now we’re going to Nationals... it’s amazing.” Despite the growing pressure, the team is keeping the mood light. “I guess were just doing it for fun, so we don’t really mind what happens but we’ll definitely try our best,” Alex said. “We reckon we have a very good shot at winning.” With no previous school puzzle records on the books, Shenton College has a chance to piece together a history-making finish — and put WA at the top of the puzzle-solving podium.