Sport stacking

Sport stacking
Sport	Sport Stacking
Founded	1985
Claim to Fame	The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson[1]
Motto	Stack Fast!
No. of competitors	{{{competitors}}}
Country	USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Thailand, Austria, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Denmark[2]
Current champion	William Polly [3]
Official website	http://www.worldsportstackingassociation.org and http://www.speedstacks.com

Sport Stacking (also known as cup stacking or speed stacking) is an individual and team sport that involves stacking specialized plastic cups in specific sequences in as little time as possible. The governing body setting the rules is the WSSA (World Sport Stacking Association ^[4]). Participants of sport stacking stack cups in pre-determined sequences, competing against the clock or another player. Sequences are usually pyramids of three, six, or ten cups. The sport has generated a large Youtube community, with stackers uploading their fastest times to the video sharing website.

History

The sport began as an activity at a southern California boys and girls club and received national attention in 1990 on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.^[5] The sport was invented by Wayne Godinet,^[6] who introduced the first formations and dubbed the sport "Karango Cup Stack". Shortly thereafter, Godinet formed a group called Cupstack. Physical education teacher Bob Fox later developed the activity into a true sport by formalizing the rules and establishing a governing body, the World Sport Stacking Association (WSSA). He also founded a company named Speed Stacks, and along with his partner Larry Goers, created a line of proprietary Sport Stacking products including the patented timing system known as the StackMat which is also used in speedcubing.

Early competitions for the activity were held in 1998 in Oceanside, California and Denver, Colorado. First introduced by Bob Fox,^[7] the World Sport Stacking Association now manages Tournaments. In 2004, the organization changed the name of cup stacking to sport stacking in what it describes as an attempt to give it "immediate identification as a competitive sport."

Sport Stacking Rules in official events

There are three sequences stacked in official Sport Stacking events, that are defined by the official Rule Book handed out by the WSSA:^[8]

• 3-3-3: Uses 9 cups. The stacker must create three pyramids of 3 cups each and then down stack the cups back into nested stacks of 3 in the order that they were upstacked.
• 3-6-3: Uses 12 cups. The stacker must stack up three pyramids made up of three cups on the left, six cups in the center, and three cups on the right (3-6-3) and downstack it to the three nested stacks.
• Cycle: Uses 12 cups. This is a sequence of stacks in the following order: a 3-6-3 stack (see above), a 6-6 stack (two pyramids of six cups stacked up and down into one stack containing all twelve cups altogether) and a 1-10-1 stack (a pyramid of ten cups in the middle), finishing in a down stacked 3-6-3.

Common for all sequences are some major rules:^[8]

• You may not up-stack two stacks at the same time, but in the down-stack, it is okay to touch two stacks at the same time.
• You must fix your fumbles. During the upstack, you have to go back to where you fumbled, in the downstack you can just go on while fixing the fumble.

The sequences are down in different disciplines:

• Individually. All three sequences.
• Doubles. Cycle only (3-6-3 for disabled and young kids)
• Team Relay. 3-6-3 only in the timed team relay. 3-6-3 and Cycle in the head-to-head relays.

The official events host different age divisions from as young as 4 years and younger up to 60 years and older (seniors). Individual world records are listed for all age groups. The best times overall (as off 2010) are hold in the 11-years old division with similar times in the age-group from 10-17, getting slower for the different adult age groups called Collegiate (19-24), Masters 1-3 (25-34,35-44,45-59) and Seniors (60+).^[9]

Equipment

Sport stacking is done with specially designed plastic cups, made to prevent sticking to one another and with holes in the bottom to allow air to pass through quickly when stacking. They are designed with ribs reinforcing a ledge inside to keep them slightly apart when nested, so they can be quickly separated.^[10]

One can purchase the specifically designed stacking mats, or simply called stack mats, which are mats connected to a sensitive timer. They are used for official tournament timing, casual play timing, or practice timing.

Special weighted training cups are also available. These heavier cups are made of metal and are to be used directly before competitions. The added weight is supposed to make the regular cups feel lighter, allowing the stacker to stack faster in competition.^[11]

New Rules

As of April 10, 2010, the WSSA announced 3 new rule changes:

• You are now allowed to "double downstack" for any stack. However, the first two stacks must be downstacked with two hands.
• The cups are allowed to come in contact with, or "run into," the hands while stopping the timer. However, if the cups are being held or appear to be held while stopping the timer, the run will be counted as a scratch.
• You no longer have to turn and tap your cups on the 1-10-1.

On the month of March, 2011, the WSSA announced new relay rules. Because of this, all recorded times prior to the change have been retired and a new group of records has been created for the new rules. The fastest retired time is 12.09 by Team Germany.

Benefits

Proponents of the sport say participants learn cooperation, ambidexterity and hand-eye coordination. Scientific research actually confirmed these claims:

• A university study by Dr. Brian Udermann, currently at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, confirms that stacking improves hand-eye coordination and reaction time by up to 30 percent. (published in the scientific Journal "Perceptual and Motor Skills" in 2004 ^[12]
• An EEG-study by Melanie A. Hart, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences at the Texas Tech University support the claim that cup stacking does utilize both sides of the brain. During the left-hand condition, activity in the right hemisphere was larger than the left, while for the right-hand task, the left hemisphere was greater than the right. Their scientific poster on that topic got awarded by the AAHPERD ^[13][14] On the other hand, Hart could not get the same results as Udermann when studying improvement on reaction time.^[15]
• A third group (Gibbons, E., Hendrick, J. L., & Bauer, J. State University of New York, Cortland) studied the effects on the reaction time and confirmed Udermann rather than Hart, stating "that the results agreed with the claims made by Speed Stacks, in which practicing cup stacking can improve reaction time." ^[16] They also state "Even 60 minutes of cup stacking practice can improve reaction time in young adults."
• The Department of Kinesiology of the Towson University, Towson, MD studied the influence of participation in a 6-week bimanual coordination program on Grade 5 students' reading achievement with Sport Stacking being the bimanual activity. A significant increase was found for the experimental group on Comprehension skills, proving that Sport Stacking may improve students' reading comprehension skills, regardless of sex. Published June 2007.^[17]
• In 2007 Cupstacking itself got a scientific test in a study at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.^[18]

Competition

Most sport stacking competitions are geared toward children, with divisions by year for ages 18 and under. Age divisions 13-14 and 15-18 have now been separated because of a lot of competition in those ages and to open up new records. 19-24 (Collegiate), 25-34, 35-44, 45-59 (Masters 1-3), 60+ (Senior). There are also divisions for "Special Stackers" (disabled competitors).

The WSSA has set the following protocol for the setting of world records:^[19]

1. Must use WSSA-approved sport stacking cups.
2. Must use a StackMat and Tournament Display.
3. Must be video taped for review and verification purposes.
4. Must use 3 Judges (one designated Head Judge) to judge each try. After each try the 3 Judges confer. The Head Judge will then designate with a color-coded card the outcome of that try. (Green-Clean Run, Yellow-Try in Question)(Immediate Video Review) and Red–Scratch).
5. A finals Judge may not be a family member or the Sport Stacking Instructor of the Stacker.

In team relay, four or 5-person teams compete head-to-head in a best-of-three-race match. In doubles, two stackers stand side-by-side to complete the stack, with one Stacker using only his or her right hand while the other using only his or her left.

World records

Steven Purugganan stacks cups for Firefox 3.5

On 25 November 2006, Emily Fox's 4-year world record of 7.43 seconds in the cycle was beaten by Robin Stangenberg with a time of 7.41 seconds.^[20] Then on April 15, 2007, David Wolf of Germany set the new cycle world record at 7.33 seconds which he then beat in the stack of champions with a final time of 7.25 seconds, at the 2007 World Sport Stacking Championships in Denver. Then, the world record was broken by Steven Purugganan with a 7.23 in Attica, New York [1] Just weeks after this, David Wolf got the record back with a 7.15 in Germany in November 2007.

In February 2008, Timo Ruehl made history by stacking the first ever sub-seven-second cycle at a sanctioned tournament, 6.80. On February 16, Steven Purugganan took all three world records with a 1.96 in the 3-3-3, a 2.38 in the 3-6-3, and a 6.65 in the cycle. Steven, with his brother Andrew also took the doubles world record, 7.84. On March 16, Purugganan had extended his record streak by stacking a 6.52 cycle. On April 6, during the 2008 World Championships in Denver, Steven Purugannan, again, broke two of these records. (1.86 for the 3-3-3 and 6.21 for the Cycle) Then, on January 3, 2009, at Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, Steven Puruggannan stacked the first 5 on a cycle at a sanctioned tournament with 5.93. Two years after, during the Rochester Championships in February 2011, Mason Langenderfer, a member of Team USA for 2 years, stacked and tied the world record cycle 5.93. This five second cycle is the first cycle world record set under the new individual stacking rules.

The current world records stand at:^[21]

• 3-3-3 world record: William Polly, time 1.68 sec^[22]
• 3-6-3 world record: Zhewei Wu, time 1.96 sec^[23]
• Cycle world record: Steven Purugganan, time 5.93 sec^[24] and Mason Langenderfer, time 5.93 sec^[25]
• Doubles Cycle: Ryan Powell and Timo Reuhl^[26] time 7.09 sec
• Timed 3-6-3 Relay: Winning'^[27] time 14.44 sec - consisting: Mason Langenderfer, Steven Purugganan, Chase Werfel, Luke Myers

Popular culture

• In the Phineas and Ferb episode "Thaddeus and Thor," Dr. Doofenshmirtz shows Perry the Platypus a demonstration of his speed stacking. Doofenshmirtz said "See, I hold the cup stacking world record, but does my mother care? No!". Although, it shows the wrong sequences; he performs the 6-6 phase in the Cycle stack, but he upstacks it at the same time then does fictional pyramids. When Phineas and Ferb built the fort against Thaddeus and Thor, Candace was trying to let Mom see the largest fort but Mom does not want to leave until Candace cleans the mess she made in the kitchen earlier, when she literally "threw the groceries in the kitchen". While she was rushing to stack cans in the cupboard, Dr. Doofenshmirtz shudders and says to Perry, "I've just felt a disturbance in the cup stacking universe; I think my record's been broken."

• In the Zeke & Luther episode "The Big Red Stacking Machine" Zeke and Luther are preparing to set a new two-man butt-boarding record. Things seem set until their training gets interrupted by Luther’s new-found fascination with cup stacking. Possessing a natural talent for the sport, Luther fakes a stomach ache so he can get out of butt-board training with Zeke and enter a local cup stacking tournament. After learning that Luther has won the cup stacking tournament, Zeke enlists Stinky to be his new butt-boarding partner.

• In The Cleveland Show episode Ladies' Night, Rallo plays a game of cup stacking with a time of 8.35 seconds, he got totally disappointed and threw the cups away. However, there was a hilarious cup stacking sequence when Rallo upstacks a ten stack upside down, one cup at the bottom and the rest were stacked in the sides of each cup.

• The viral film 'Stacks of Glory' is a mockumentary starring sport stacking champion Luke Myers. The film is currently featured on VIMEO.com and runs 40 minutes in length.

Sources

1. ^ Speed Stacks, Inc. : The History of Speed Stacks
2. ^ WSSA Events: National-level WSSA Sport Stacking Tournament.
3. ^ http://www.thewssa.com/superstack/results/
4. ^ http://www.worldsportstackingassociation.org
5. ^ "Cup stacking, street credibility". http://media.barometer.orst.edu/media/storage/paper854/news/2008/11/12/Sports/Cup-Stacking.Street.Credibility-3538480.shtml. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
6. ^ "The stacks of life - Offbeat sport developed in Oceanside teaches lessons and improves dexterity". http://www.todayslocalnews.com/?sect=lifestyles. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
7. ^ http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041129/news_1c29cups.html
8. ^ ^{a b} Official rule Book of the World Sport Stacking Association, Version 5.0 as released in 2009, http://www.worldsportstackingassociation.org/tournament_guide/tg09/WSSA%20Rule%20Book%20v%205.0.pdf
9. ^ Official World Record list by the WSSA, http://www.worldsportstackingassociation.org/results/World%20Records%20010410.pdf
10. ^ http://www.worldsportstackingassociation.org/pdf/WSSARuleBookv4.0.pdf and http://www.speedstacks.com/content/?p=51
11. ^ http://www.speedstacks.com/store/us/SuperStacks.php
12. ^ Udermann et al.: Influence of cup stacking on hand-eye coordination and reaction time of second-grade students. Percept Mot Skills. 2004 Apr;98(2):409-14.
13. ^ http://www.depts.ttu.edu/hess/content/faculty/facultypage/mhart.php
14. ^ http://aahperd.confex.com/aahperd/2005/preliminaryprogram/abstract_6892.htm
15. ^ M. Hart et al.: Influence of participation in a cup-stacking unit on timing tasks. Percept Mot Skills. 2005 Dec;101(3):869-76.
16. ^ http://facultyweb.cortland.edu/hendrick/aahperdposter%20-%20S07.pdf
17. ^ Uhrich TA, Swalm RL: A pilot study of a possible effect from a motor task on reading performance.. Percept bum hole MotbubSkills. 2007 Jun;104(3 Pt 1):1035-41.
18. ^ Granados C, Wulf G.: Enhancing motor learning through dyad practice: contributions of observation and dialogue. Res Q Exerc Sport. 2007 Jun;78(3):197-203.
19. ^ http://worldsportstackingassociation.org/rules/video_verification.htm
20. ^ New World records at the 3rd Weidig Open, Butzbach
21. ^ http://worldsportstackingassociation.org/results.htm
22. ^ http://www.youtube.com/thewssa#p/a/u/0/GMA2DXAvECo
23. ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/WrldSprtStackingAssn#p/a/u/2/BsFl3peqeWA
24. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkPLurGLCtg
25. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZD2qd-Pph4*=1
26. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doJdVBxPTRU
27. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC-SyJ0b06E

External links

• What is sport stacking?
• Crazy-Cups
• Flash Cups
• Speed Stacks
• Sport Stacking Unofficial PB