Established in 2020, the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a nationwide community for jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts, establishing a framework for competitive jigsaw puzzling events, and acting as the United States representative and official liaison with the World Jigsaw Puzzle Federation.
People
The USAJPA is led by a small board of dedicated volunteers and began accepting members in December of 2020. Members are welcome to get involved and can email us at contact@usajigsaw.org for more details.
Valerie Coit – Officer and Founding Member
Valerie is a lifelong jigsaw puzzler and began competing in the year 2000 shortly after moving to Duluth, Minnesota. She and her teammates were featured in the documentary Wicker Kittens, produced and edited by Valerie’s significant other Mike Scholtz. In 2014, she started the Duluth Puzzle Derby and is now eager to share her passion for puzzling on a much broader level.
Tammy McLeod – Officer and Founding Member
Tammy has been doing jigsaws for most of her life. After meeting some like-minded friends, she now enjoys competing in puzzle championships with them in Southern California and beyond. She currently holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to complete the GWR Hasbro Puzzle.
Faith Taylor – Officer and Founding Member
Faith has been doing jigsaw puzzles for over 40 years. Her fondest and oldest jigsaw puzzle memories are of doing old wooden jigsaws with her godmother and her family. She wants to share her love of puzzles and the positive attributes it brings to others. She currently lives in Decatur, GA with her husband and two daughters.
Aly Krasny – Officer and Founding Member
Aly grew up puzzling with her family every Iowa winter. They always mentioned how, even as a toddler, she would come up and put in pieces they had long been looking for. However, she only puzzled for fun until 2017, until a friend commented on her speed and suggested a competition. After a few events with friends, they expanded to host events in bars as the Pacific Puzzlers. Aly eventually moved on to focus on other projects but continues to puzzle competitively. Her team (including Tammy!) won the Minnesota Winter Carnival competition in 2020 and hopes to compete in the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship. She hopes to share her experience to help more groups host competitive events!
Jonathan Cluff – Founding member
Jonathan has been doing jigsaw puzzles for many years. His earliest jigsaw memory was meticulously gluing all the edges of each puzzle piece in an attempt to preserve the puzzle image. He didn’t realize that glue dries clear — so gluing the top would’ve saved several hours of effort. A born competitor, Jonathan created the Jigsaw Puzzle Contests FB group in January 2020 to bring people together for face-to-face and virtual jigsaw competitions. He currently lives in West Texas with his wife and six children.