ZOOM LAURA PIEPER/THE REGISTER Bonita McKnight, a fourth-grader at Studebaker Elementary School, stacks cups in a specific pattern as quickly as she can Monday during a physical education activity. Sport stacking began during the 1980s and even has a national championship competition. Sport stacking THE SPORT: Using 12 cups, players arrange them in selected formats in an attempt to have the fastest time. Educators say the sport increases hand-eye coordination, quickness and focus; it also promotes self-confidence, teamwork and good sportsmanship. WHAT IT'S CALLED: The World Cup Stacking Association announced in January an official name change of the international activity of cup stacking, now known as "sport stacking." LEADER OF THE STACK: According to Speed Stacks, which bills itself on the Internet as the top supplier for schools participating in the sport stacking program, Des Moines' Studebaker, Hanawalt, Hillis, Howe and River Woods elementary schools are among 9,000 participating schools, along with Orchard Place and the Des Moines district's early childhood education and Teachers' Academy programs. CHAMPIONSHIPS: International sport stacking championships were held Saturday in Denver with 1,000 competitors from 21 states as well as Canada, England, Japan, Australia and Germany. • EMAIL THIS   • SEND LETTER TO EDITOR • PRINT THIS  • SUBSCRIPTIONS

Hands and cups a blur in this fast-growing sport

Stacking cups in specific order tests brain, reflexes

Students in Studebaker Elementary School physical education classes stack up well - when it comes to piling up cups.

Considered a serious sport in some circles, cup stacking has become a national phenomenon since it began in the 1980s. The fast-paced activity requires hand-eye coordination, concentration and the ability to use both sides of the body and brain at the same time.

"All these things you need in life, all of those play into what you do outside of school," physical education teacher Judy Cope said.

The so-called sport began in California at a boys' and girls' club. The adults gave cups to the students to play with and, Cope said, "it took off from there."

Cup-stacking competitors use specially-made cups to perform sequences like 3-6-3, which begins with three cups stacked on either side of a six-cup stack. The stacker builds pyramids with the three stacks, called upstacking, and then downstacks the cups to their original positions.

Other sequences include the 6-6 and 1-10-1. Serious competitors can perform a routine of 3-6-3, 6-6 and 1-10-1 and return to the 3-6-3 formation in mere seconds.

"I find some kids really enjoy it," Cope said. "It's a challenge for them."

Cup stacking is something anyone of any age can do, even kindergartners.

"This doesn't matter how tall you are, how much you weigh, how fast you are," Cope said.

Cope has been teaching cup stacking for three years at Studebaker, 300 E. County Line Road, ever since she learned about the activity from a traveling physical education workshop.

"There's a couple of PE teachers who quit what they were doing just to do this," she said.

Fifth-graders Taiya Ahlberg and Michelle Young raced each other in a 3-6-3 relay. They started with their hands on the floor, waiting for Cope's signal to begin stacking.

"I like downstacking them," Michelle, 11, said.

"I like upstacking, it's fun," Taiya, 11, countered.

They furiously stacked their cups on top of each other, the clacks and thumps overpowering their giggles.

On the other side of the gymnasium, fourth-grader Bonita McKnight, 10, stacked her cups a little slower, making sure they were in the correct positions.

"I like to do cup stacking because it's fun to do," she said.

The students gasped when Cope showed them a video of the national cup stacking champion. His hands flew across the table and his cups became blurs as he upstacked and downstacked.

"Oh, my God," one girl whispered.

"It's like anything: practice, practice, practice," Cope said. "If (a sport) gets some kid hooked I say, hey, mission accomplished."