Episode Details

Allison Kunz:
In training for things like Nationals and Worlds, they'll throw anything at it. I will buy anything and try it. The more you do something, the less intimidating it is.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure. That was fast. That was really fast.

Allison Kunz:
Ten minutes?

Anthony Godfrey:
Seven minutes, thirty-eight seconds.

Allison Kunz:
So, probably ten minutes with the sword.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very fast, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She is known for her custodial skills, keeping classrooms clean and everything in working order at Joel P. Jensen Middle School. But in her free time, Allison Kunz is passionate about cleaning up and beating the competition in the sport of speed puzzling.

On this episode of the Supercast, we find out what speed puzzling is, what it takes to win, and how Allison Kunz has managed to qualify for world championships.

We're here today at Joel P. Jensen Middle School to talk with a speed puzzler. Introduce yourself. Tell everyone what you do here at Joel P. Jensen.

Allison Kunz:
I am Allison Kunz. I'm the lead custodian here at Joel P. Jensen. It's my job to come in, typically, at the end of the day and turn the school around, get it all clean, fixed, and ready for the next day.

Anthony Godfrey:
The lead works the swing shift and really brings the school back together from the day's activities, readying it for the next day.

Allison Kunz:
Yep. I like to say we turn the chaos back into order.

Anthony Godfrey:
Very good. Very good. And how long have you been here at Joel P. Jensen?

Allison Kunz:
I've been at Joel P. almost a year. I was at Oquirrh Hills Middle School for a year before I came here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Awesome. Well, we're very glad to have you.

Allison Kunz:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about speed puzzling. First of all, you are decked. You've got your puzzle pants on with puzzle pieces all over. You've got your competition shirt from Nationals. Tell me about what is speed puzzling exactly.

Allison Kunz:
So speed puzzling is you take a 500-piece puzzle, they count down, three, two, one, go. You open a bag, dump out the puzzle, and do it as fast as you can.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what got you started on this?

Allison Kunz:
I fell into it by accident. A Facebook group I'm involved in did a kind of informal speed puzzling competition, and I just thought it was great fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what was the Facebook group initially related to puzzling or no?

Allison Kunz:
Yeah, it's called Dowdle Puzzle Lovers. It features Eric Dowdle's puzzles.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you've been a fan of Eric Dowdle's puzzles for a long time.

Allison Kunz:
I have a calendar of Eric Dowdle’s from 2001.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow.

Allison Kunz:
I've loved his artwork for many, many years. So, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. And so the group had a competition, and you jumped in.

Allison Kunz:
They did. It was a kind of informal thing. I jumped in and said, "That could be fun. Why not? I've never tried that."

Anthony Godfrey:
And you wrecked everyone the first time around.