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Chelsea Stackers
A small but mighty Chelsea sports team is producing champions and breaking national records in its first year of existence. The sport? Competitive Sport Stacking. To describe it—arranging stacks of cups into pyramids, then back into stacks—doesn’t do justice to this lightning-fast challenge of hand-eye coordination. The rules are straightforward. There are basically three individual events: the 3-3-3, the 3-6-3, and the cycle. The first two are named for the three pyramids which are "upstacked" (set up in a row) and then "downstacked." The cycle is a combination of three formations one after the other: 3-6-3, 6-6, and 1-10-1. Stackers compete in divisions by age. There are also relays and doubles (in which one competitor uses the right hand; the other, the left). History of Stacking Started in California about 20 years ago, cup stacking has grown in popularity, attracting a fervent band of practitioners. The name was changed to "sport stacking" in 2005 "to give ‘stacking’ immediate identification as a competitive sport," according to the WSSA (World Sport Stacking Association). "I get that now, because of the amount of energy you expend," said Chelsea coach Abby Haywood, who is new to the sport. "You do break a sweat!" According to Bob Fox of SpeedStacks.com, the benefits of stacking are well documented and far-reaching. "For teachers and parents, we’ve always touted hand-eye coordination, quickness and ambidexterity. We now can substantiate those claims. A university study by Dr. Brian Udermann, currently at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, confirms that stacking improves hand-eye coordination and reaction time by up to 30 percent." Fox added that, "Sport stacking helps students develop bilateral proficiency: equal performance on both sides of the body. By increasing bilateral proficiency, a student develops a greater percentage of the right side of the brain, which houses awareness, focus, creativity and rhythm. Stacking helps train the brain for sports and other activities where the use of both hands is important, such as playing a musical instrument or using the computer. Sequencing and patterning are also elements of sport stacking, which can help with reading and math skills." Birth of a Team "When I was asked to be their coach," recalled Haywood, the music teacher at Chelsea School, "I learned that the coach had to be a volunteer who got the students to the right place at the right time. I figured, ‘I can do that.’ The stacking, well… I thought it was interesting. I didn’t get how much fun it was! Anthony taught me how; now I’m really getting into it. We meet weekly. We’re logging our times and figuring out ways to condition and improve them." Whatever they’re doing is working. Team Chelsea went to its first tournament April 12 at the Bicentennial Elementary School Cup Stacking Tournament in Nashua, N.H., where there were about 120 competitors. Two sets of brothers represented Chelsea: Dylan and Cooper Rick, and Anthony and Dario Spinella. Their age range is 7-12. The team knew something special was happening when they noticed crowds of other competitors and their parents gathering around their tables as they practiced. "They wanted me to autograph their shirts," Anthony whispered modestly. "The girl called me fast hands," 8-year-old Dario told his dad with excitement. Chelsea’s 4-person Cup Stacking team triumphantly returned with 11 trophies, 8 of which were for first place, and 10 medals (8 were gold). Chelsea swept all three top spots at the end of the day. Records Set & Broken Records can only be set at "sanctioned" events, so the team’s second tournament, April 26 in Rome, N.Y., was an important one. Jacob Brooke joined the four, and more than held his own. Team Chelsea distinguished itself once again, as a group, and enjoyed some particularly exciting moments when Anthony Spinella broke the U.S. record in the 3-6-3 event. He set a new national record again, for the cycle, only to watch it broken by another sport stacker. According to Haywood, one of the directors of the Rome tournament predicted that Anthony would be invited to join the U.S. National Team, which competes in world championships. While he is excited about his own future, and has a goal of breaking a world record, he has a local focus as well. What’s Next? Until this tournament, no Vermont team had competed in a sanctioned event, so there were no Vermont scores on record. Team Chelsea has set a high bar, in the Vermont record books, but there are many spaces just waiting for a first competitor. The sport stacking team has big plans for the future of the sport in this area. "We may do a physical education unit in stacking next year," said Anthony. "And we are available to do demonstrations." He hopes to help build up a following for the sport in this area and host a speed stacking tournament in Chelsea next year. "The great thing about this sport is that it’s for everybody," raved Haywood. "They have divisions from 4 and under, right up through collegiate and masters. They also have ‘special’ stacking for people with disabilities. You don’t have to be an athlete to do it, but it makes you a better athlete and student as well." The kids explain stacking in simpler terms. "It’s really, really fun!" ____________ |
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