Safety Philosophy

The safety of competitors, judges, videographers, photographers, members of the media, and spectators is the top priority and should be the highest consideration when establishing competition rules.

Consideration Safety-0001:

Aisleways must be kept clear at all times to avoid slips/trips/falls for all individuals traversing the competition space. 

    • Personal items of the competitors should remain completely under the table where a competitor is seated. No personal items on the floor should extend past the edge of the competition table into the aisle. This includes personal recording equipment. 

    • Personal recording equipment may rest on the table or be temporarily mounted to the competition table in a way that does not extend more than 10 centimeters / 4 inches past the edge of the table. 

    • Personal recording equipment may not impede the movement of non-competitors as they walk past.

    • Participants may not stand in the aisleway while working on their puzzle.

    • Judges should actively monitor competitors before and during the competition to ensure compliance with the associated resulting rules.

    • Non-compliance should be corrected once it is noticed by a judge.

    • Continued non-compliance should be considered an unsafe practice and is suggested to result in event disqualification at the discretion of the event organizers.

    • The resulting rules for Consideration Safety - 0001 is recommended to be sent to event competitors ahead of the competition.

    • V.0: Published 2025-1-1

    • V.1: Re-published 2025-2-6 for official first batch of considerations.

Consideration Safety-0002:

Spacing between tables in a row (side-to-side) should be at minimum 90 centimeters / 3 feet apart to allow for safe navigation through the competition space. Spacing between tables in a column (back-to-back) should be at minimum 1.5 meters / 5 feet apart to allow for safe movement of competitors who are seated back-to-back. 

  • If a competitor is using a mobility assistance device, additional space should be provided for safe navigation in their direct aisleway, between the table with which they are back-to-back, and their primary and secondary venue evacuation route. 

    • None.

    • Ensure tables are properly repositioned between rounds in case they unintentionally shifted.

    • Find a competition venue that satisfies this consideration based on the number of competitors for each round of competition.

    • Best Practice: For large competitions where inadvertent table shifting may occur, a recommendation is to put a small piece of painter's tape or masking tape under the two front feet of each table, so it is easier to reposition each table back to its original place during the room reset. 

    • V.1: Published 2025-2-6