What's Up With the Cups? Sport Stacking Quickly Is Becoming a Popular Activity

This emerging sport may sound silly, but it's amazing to watch -- and addictive once you try it. The best sport stackers can do unbelievable patterns in a few seconds, using specially designed cups that have air holes so they don't stick together. There are several stacking combinations to master, with the goal of finishing as fast as possible.

For 12-year-old Akeira Cramer, sport stacking has been a favorite activity for two years. "It's really fun, and it helps you make friends," said the seventh-grader at James Madison Middle School in Upper Marlboro.

Sport stacking has been around for about 10 years, mostly in physical education classes, after-school programs and church groups, but now it has become a competitive sport. The world sport stacking championships were held this month in Denver, Colorado, and Maryland will hold its third annual state competition May 6 at Deerfield Run Elementary in Laurel. Organizers are expecting 300 to 400 people, mostly kids, to attend.

Experts say stacking improves competitors' hand-eye coordination and their ability to respond quickly to things. A team of Maryland's best stackers came to KidsPost to show off their skills, and they all said the game has been good for them.

A classmate of Akeira's, Gwendolyn Banks, holds the Maryland record for stacking (and unstacking) three sets of three cups -- 3.11 seconds. She said sport stacking has helped her play the flute better because she can concentrate harder, focus more on details and move her hands faster. Chloe Outen, a 13-year-old from Murray Hill Middle School in Laurel, said stacking has made her so alert that now she knows when her brother is sneaking up on her.

Stackers usually have a favorite cup color and might complain when a set of cups is too slippery, too dark or too bright. "You just get attached to your cups," explained Imon Parker, 13, who likes pink best. The James Madison seventh-grader said even her grandmother has started sport stacking.

It's a sport anyone can do, with a little practice. "The kids who are not necessarily your best physical athletes love this sport," said James Jackson, a PE teacher at Patuxent Elementary in Upper Marlboro who started teaching stacking a few years ago. He founded the Maryland Sport Stacking Association with Deerfield Run Elementary PE teacher Chris Wilmoth.

The sport is taking off. About 11,000 schools around the country teach sport stacking in PE classes. You might have seen a super-fast sport stacker on a recent Comcast commercial. (The stacker, world record holder Kit Fox, 14, will make an appearance at the Maryland competition.) And a new sport stacking kit, including cups, mat and timer, is coming out in the fall, putting sport stacking in stores for the first time.

In the meantime, try it with any matching plastic cups you have. You might not be able to stop.