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Sport Stacking
Article by: © Michael J. Rosen 2012
"Never Squeeze Your Cups."
"Will you just do the dishes already?" Steve Purugganan's mother must request impatiently, as her son rapidly constructs pyramids with the dinner glasses instead of scrubbing them with the soapy sponge. The 10-year-old World Sport Stacking Association Champion then probably leaves the kitchen to watch reruns of himself on ESPN 2.
Dominated by a recent graduate of the sippy cup, sport stacking (formerly known as cup stacking), was invented at the Southern California Boys and Girls Club in the 1980s before receiving national attention on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1990.
Stackers begin with 9 or 12 inverted cups, "up stack" them into pyramids, and then "down stack" them into the original stacks, maintaining the original sequence. The basic 9-cup formation, called "the 3-3-3 stack," involves assembling and disassembling three 3-cup pyramids. Mr. Purugganan can do this is 1.86 seconds; that's about the time it takes the rest of us to just grab one paper cup from the dispenser beside the water cooler. In the basic 12-cup stack, called "the 3-6-3 stack," the task is to build up and break down one 3-cup, one 6-cup, and another 3-cup pyramid. There's also 12-cup cycle stacking, plainly enough called "the cycle stack," that goes: one 3-6-3 stack, one 6-6 stack, one 1-10-1 stack, and then a final down-stacked 3-6-3 formation. Purugganan holds the overall world records for these events as well, with times of 2.34 seconds and 6.21 seconds, respectively. (Right about now, you should be wondering about the countless ways in which you wasted your youth....)
Stackers compete in individual events, relays, and even doubles events in which teammates stack simultaneously, one using the right hand, the other using the left.
WSSA-sanctioned competitions exclusively use plastic Speed Stacks cups, which contain three holes "to allow air to escape quickly while down stacking" to increase speed. They also have a textured exterior "for a terrific feel and grip"-something the rest of us look for in a baseball glove or a condom.
To avoid "tippers," "sliders," "topplers," or "slanters" - ways in which a cup can fall, according to vast lexicon of stacking terminology - the WSSA suggests never passing a cup from one hand to the other and "allowing gravity to do the work on your down stacking." Plus, intentional distraction or interfering with an opponent's cups results in a forfeit, so moms have leave their bull horns and sore feelings of unattained personal athletic stardom in the minivan.
While there are adult divisions, including collegiate (ages 19-24), masters (25-34, 35-44, 45-59), and seniors (60+), the sport is geared toward children (age divisions by year for 12 and under), so the "stacked" jokes are clearly off-limits. Plus, the 4 & under competitors are arguably the cutest things ever, having only recently let go of mom's bra cups.
Half empty? Half full? Who cares at www.worldsportstackingassociation.org, where the rule book begins, "We only build positive pyramids!"
Stacking Tips From the Experts
These are but five of what may well be over half a dozen helpful stacking tips. To see the actual speed demons in action, check out the video samples offered on the association's Web site.
- Floor it, at first. Beginners should start by stacking on the floor so the cups have less far to fall.
- Keep your cups close together. You can't build a pyramid with a wobbly base. You must remember that from college days when you were recruiting friends to recruit friends as part of the Amway cult.
- Gravity is your friend. Don't waste time squeezing or clutching cups as if they were anything more loving or lifesaving than plastic cups.
- Use both hands at the same time. Practice ambidexterity. (Switch hitting is a luxury; switch stacking, a necessity.)
- Use a straight-on grip. No grabbing the cups from the top like a waiter whose hand is a crane claw that's nabbed your drink as its prize.
No Dribbling the Squid
The above article is just one of a collection of off-beat articles on 2camels from Michael J. Rosen's wonderful No Dribbling the Squid - your front-row seat to 70 of the world's most mind-blowing feats of strength, endurance, and eccentricity.
For more info check out the No Dribbling the Squid website, Facebook fan page or Michael's very own website.
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