About

Cup Stacking, also known as Speed Stacking and Sport Stacking, is a competitive sport in which participants stack plastic cups in predetermined sequences

History

In 1981, California resident Wayne Godinet invented speed stacking sport as a recreational activity for his children. He subsequently launched the company Karango Cupstack Co. to manufacture modified plastic cups designed for sport stacking. In November 1990, speed stacking champion Matt Adame appeared with his teammates on The Tonight Show. In 1997, physical education teacher Bob Fox held the first cup stacking tournament in Colorado. In 2001, Fox founded the World Cup Stacking Association (WCSA). In 2005, the WCSA changed their name to the World Sport Stacking Association (WSSA).

Rules

According to the WSSA rule book, there are three types of cup stacking sequences: 3-3-3 using nine cups, 3-6-3 using 12 cups and "cycle" using 12 cups. In each sequences, only one pyramid can be worked on while up-stacking, but two stacks can be touched while down-stacking. If a mistake is made during a sequence, it must be corrected immediately with the exception of a cup falling during a down-stack.

Online Presence

On January 19th, 1999, the website SpeedStacks.com^[1] was launched, featuring news, information, merchandise and videos related to the speed stacking sport. On October 12th, 2008, YouTuber speedstackinggirl uploaded a video in which she enthusiastically celebrates breaking a personal best record in speed stacking (shown below). Within seven years, the video accumulated upwards of 4.9 million views and 27,400 comments.

On August 15th, 2010, YouTuber Luke M uploaded footage of himself performing various stack sequences (shown below, left). In the next five years, the video received more than 4.2 million views and 2,600 comments. On February 7th, 2011, YouTuber Kate Bartels uploaded a dubstep remix of YouTuber speedstackinggirl's video, garnering over 3.3 million views and 6,500 comments in five years (shown below, right).

On August 18th, TheEllenShow YouTube channel uploaded footage of host Ellen Degeneres attempting sport stacking (shown below, left). On March 13th, 2013, the Barcroft TV YouTube channel posted a video of teenager Lee Nortion, the fastest speed stacker in the United Kingdom (shown below, right).

On May 31st, 2015, the paavideos Instagram feed highlighted a video of cup stacking champion William Orrell breaking a new world record in the sport (shown below). On July 22nd, Redditor ualip submitted the video to the /r/videos^[3] subreddit, where it gathered upwards of 5,500 votes (93% upvoted) and 2,600 comments.

Search Interest

External References