Cups Runneth Over as Stacking Goes Big Time

Global sport gains ESPN following and its own 'Tiger'

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Apr 23, 2009 10:31 AM CDT

(Newser) – Stifle that laugh. Cup-stacking is a sport in its own right, complete with a championship tournament, an ESPN following—even its own Tiger Woods. That’s Steven Purugganan, an 11-year-old who so masterfully piles plastic cups into pyramids that fans and reporters chase him for attention. Last week’s tournament in Denver—the sport’s spawning ground—drew 700 global competitors, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“We’re the first to admit stacking cups sounds silly,” says the teacher who, dubbing it “upside-down juggling,” helped push it into the mainstream. He touts the sport as great for hand-eye coordination, and cheap. At the Denver games, the crowd roared as Purugganan set another world record. In 2.15 seconds, he made three stacks with nine cups. His reaction? “That’s really fast.”

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[Videos (1)]

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Cup stacking requires quick and accurate hand movements, great for hand-eye coordination, its creator says. (Creative Commons)

Competitors of all ages came together in Denver last week for the championship game. (Creative Commons)

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We're the first to admit stacking cups sounds silly. But in 1891 when James Naismith came up with the idea of throwing a soccer ball into a peach basket nailed to the side of a barn, it sounded pretty silly, too.
- Bob Fox, the sport's creator

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Cups Runneth Over as Stacking Goes Big Time