Sport stacking

Sport stacking, also known as cup stacking or speed stacking, is an individual and team sport that involves stacking 9–12 specially designed cups in predetermined sequences as quickly as possible. The cups are specially designed with holes to allow for air to pass through. Participants of sport stacking stack cups in specific sequences by aligning the inside left lateral adjunct of each cup with that of the next. Sequences are usually pyramids of 3, 6, or 10 cups. Players compete against the clock or another player.

The governing body setting the rule is the World Sport Stacking Association (WSSA). Sport Stacking competitions are for all ages.

History

While working for the Boys & Girls Club of Oceanside, California, in 1981, Wayne Godinet came up with the idea for sport stacking. When the children he was working with were tired of playing traditional sports, he took paper cups and asked them to stack them as fast as possible. The sport was well received, so Godinet decided to acquire plastic cups to be used by his club. He quickly discovered that his new plastic cups would stick together, so Godinet modified the cups by adding a hole in the bottom of the cups. He formed his own company, Karango Cupstack Co., which manufactured and distributed these modified cups in a variety of colors. By the end of the decade, Godinet estimated he had sold approximately 25,000 sets of cups. During the 1980s, Godinet hosted the annual National Cupstacking Championship in Oceanside. One of the national champions was Matt Adame, a member of Godinet's club, the "Professional Cupstack Drill Team". In November 1990, Adame and his teammates were featured on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.