Rules WJPC
World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship 2024
General conditions
The registration period begins on January 1 at 0:00 GMT and closes 5 days before the start of the WJPC or after the quota of participants is completed.
People over 14 years of age can register, unless they are accompanied by an adult as a pair or team.
The competition area will have 108 tables, divided as follows: a row of 6, a row of 8, eight rows of 10, a row of 8 and a row of 6.
All tables will be numbered along with the names, as well as the country of origin of the participant.
In the initial phase, the order will be established according to the marks and positions obtained in previous championships recognized by the WJPF.
In the following phases, the order will be determined by the position obtained in the previous round.
Participants must arrive at the Millennium Dome 15 minutes before the start of each test.
Until the presentator indicates the start of the test and starts the timer, the participants cannot manipulate, unseal or open the jigsaw puzzle boxes that are on the table.
To open the plastic that covers the puzzle box, only letter openers, keys or other non-sharp objects. Nothing sharp like scissors or box cutters as that could be dangerous to handle during a speed competition.
During the test, the judges will monitor the progress of the assembly, so that when a participant is close to finishing a puzzle,
if no member of the Organization has noticed this situation, they will raise their hand so that a judge can record the completion time of the puzzle.
The judge, after deeming the setup correct, will note the time in participation act and will proceed to deliver it to the main judge’s table.
All participants who finish the puzzles before the maximum time allowed, after a judge records the time achieved,
must collect their belongings and leave the competition area to facilitate preparation for the next test.
Only duly accredited judges and members of the Organization will be able to take note of the completed puzzle times in participation act
and authorize the opening of the next puzzle if several puzzles have to be built.
With 500-piece jigsaw puzzles, participants can use up to 2 trays of cardboard, foam or another type of material of a
maximum size of A3 as an aid. If the jigsaw puzzle has 1.000 or more pieces can use 4 trays of maxium size of A2.
If once the maximum time has elapsed the participant has not managed to finish the puzzle,
the judges will count the placed pieces of the unfinished puzzle, adding only the groups of 3 or more pieces correctly joined together.
If pieces are missing at the end of the puzzle, 10 seconds for each lost piece will be added to the final time.
If the final piece appears after 10 seconds of searching, the time of the penultimate piece plus the penalty will be taken into account.
In case of more than 10 pieces lost, participation will be considered void.
If there are 2 or more adjacent and missing pieces, no penalty will be applied as it is considered a manufacturing error.
If due to a manufacturing defect the puzzle does not have the correct number of pieces and it causes damage to the participant,
the Organization may take the necessary measures to correct the damage caused without undermining the rights of other participants.
Only participants, judges, and authorized personnel are allowed to enter the competition area.
It is not allowed to use risers or any object that changes the height or layout of the tables.
Box top holders or supports are allowed to keep the box top upright and easily viewed while puzzling.
Headphones are allowed as long as they do not disturb the rest of the participants.
Singing or vocals are not allowed. The organization may disqualify those participants reprimanded on several occasions for conduct that causes inconvenience to other participants.
It is not allowed to bring extra lighting or use printed or digital templates in which you can see any type of manufacturer’s cutting pattern.
It is not permitted to assemble the puzzle on the paper template if it is included with the product.
A player cannot be part of 2 different teams or form a pair with two different people, therefore they can only participate once per category.
The organization may require the passport or other official document that certifies the nationality of the participant in case of accessing the next round according to the quotas provided by country.
Persons with two or more nationalities, in the individual category must choose one of them before participating.
Once the participation has been chosen and consummated, it cannot be modified in any subsequent WJPC.
WJPF considers the official list of countries included in the UN as possible nationalities.
All the jigsaw puzzles used in the tests are the property of the participants once the test is finished.
The Organization may dispose of the places of the participants who have not taken their place or have not appeared after 10 minutes from the start of the test,
not deriving any compensation or refund to the participant.
The distribution of the groups in the first round will be carried out maintaining proportionality, so that each country will see its participants distributed among
all groups and the total number of different countries in each group will be similar, maintaining that proportionality between the groups that converge in each test of the next round.
The total number of participants per group will be determined by the total number divided by the number of groups.
In the preliminary phase of individuals and pairs, all competitors will share a table regardless of the final number of participants in each group.
Any help during the competition from someone other than the participants may be grounds for disqualification.
In pairs and individuals, if shared tables are used, it is not allowed to invade the area of the adjacent participant or hinder the construction,
and may be disqualified if a participant seriously hinders another participant.
The applicant accepts that their data of name, nationality and age will appear in the list of participants of the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship (WJPC),
rankings and any other related digital or printed publication with the Championship and authorizes WJPF to use his image in photographs and videos or any other recorded
media during the celebration of the tests in which the applicant appears, for Dissemination of the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship.
All images and videos posted are the intellectual property of WJPF.
The Organization is not responsible for lost objects during the championship.
The Organization reserves the use of 6 tables for guests outside of competition.
The decisions of the judges during the tests are final.
In the event of cancellation or postponement of the Championship for reasons beyond the control of the Organization, the WJPF is not responsible
for indirect expenses incurred by participants, except for the paid registration fees.
The fact of participating in the World Championship implies full acceptance of the rules. Any incident that arises that is not reflected in them will be resolved by the Organization.
The Organization reserves the right of register/admission of people who may alter the public order or have shown an attitude contrary to the spirit of the WJPF or its Organization.
The Organization may make the necessary adjustments to the distribution and schedule of the groups in the preliminary phase,
in the event that the number of participants exceeds the forecast. In this case, these changes will be announced no later than one month before the start of the competition.
Pairs and teams of mixed nationalities
In the case of pairs with people from different nationalities, they must notify the Organization which of the two countries they will represent.
Once the championship has started, this condition will be unchangeable for the purposes of countries’ quotas.
Likewise, each team must represent a single country and will wear a single flag on posters and classifications.
In the case of mixed teams with members of different nationalities, the country they will represent will be the one with the most players of that nationality
(including reserves). In case of equality, the team will decide and inform the Organization which country they will represent before the start of the WJPC.
People with dual nationality will be able to choose in the registry which country they will represent and the flag with which they will appear on posters and classifications.