Speed and concentration help 310 Stevens Elementary School students become part of setting a new Guinness World Record for speed stacking.
Earlier in the school year, Stevens students along with students from more than 2,500 schools in more than 25 different countries participated in a record-setting challenge by speed stacking for 30 minutes (or more) all at the same time. The record states that it was the most people ever to speed stack at the same time from various locations. The new Guinness World Record is now set at 624,390 students. Congratulations, Stevens Superstars! ????????????
The goal of speed stacking is simple: assemble cups in different formations (or “upstack” them) and then disassemble them as quickly as possible (or “downstacking”). [Watch Video]
Physical Education teacher Eric Freestone brought the sport of speed stacking to Stevens more than 17 years ago for a variety of reasons.
“Along with being a fun sport, speeding stacking also has many other benefits such as improving eye-hand coordination and reaction time; bolstering right-left brain activation or bilateral coordination; increasing focus, concentration and ambidexterity; and energizing the body and brain.”
Over the years, Freestone has organized speed stacking clubs, held demonstrations at the school’s annual walkabout night, and run speed stacking after-school enrichment classes. He also teaches a speed stacking unit in his PE classes.
“The way students respond to this sport and the speed they learn to stack is absolutely astounding,” says Freestone. “It’s such a huge accomplishment for these students to be part of a world record that recognizes one’s speed, agility, concentration, and dedication to personal challenge.”
Since its invention in the early 1980s, speed stacking (also know in some circles as sport stacking or cup stacking) has become a popular sport. Largely governed by the World Sport Stacking Association, the sport involves stacking and unstacking cups at a rapid clip in a race against the clock.
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