VIDEO: World champ explains ‘rush’ of cup stacking exploits
Fifth-grader Luke Mueller high fives Utah's number one sport stacker, Ethan Sumsion, after they raced during a sport stacking event at South Weber Elementary school on Thursday, November 13, 2014.
Fifth-graders Kaylin Ferre, left to right, Olivia Byers and Jennah Johnson react as they watch Utah's number one sport stacker, Ethan Sumsion, stack cups during a sport stacking event at South Weber Elementary school on Thursday, November 13, 2014.
South Weber Elementary School held a sport stacking day on Thursday, November 13, 2014. Students had the opportunity to stack cups of varying sizes, participate in stacking relay races and to watch the number one sport stacker in Utah, Ethan Sumsion, stack cups.
SOUTH WEBER – Students at South Weber Elementary attempted to stack cups as fast as the number one cup stacker from Utah, Ethan Sumsion, a sophomore at Northridge High School.
Even their P.E. teacher, Rochelle Jeske, tried stacking cups on a table next to Sumsion, her hands moving in slow-motion compared to Sumsion’s hands that were a blur from moving so fast shifting cups up and down into the proper formations.
Sumsion, who is on the USA Cup Stacking Team and received fourth place overall at the 2014 World Junior Olympics in Cup Stacking this year, wasn’t too sure about the sport when he first learned about it in fourth grade.
“I thought it was a little weird because I’d never seen it before, but I thought it was interesting and gave it a try,” Sumsion said. The first time he got below seven seconds in a cycle, Sumsion first thought about attempting a tournament. He started competing at age 10 and placed first in his age group at the 2010 World Championships.
“There is a rush that comes from looking down at the timer and seeing yourself get a faster and faster time,” Sumsion said.
Roche wanted her P.E. students to see Sumsion in action to show them what they can accomplish if they practice. Before Sumsion reached high school, he practiced several hours every day. Now in high school, he practices every couple of days, but his practicing efforts have paid off as he travels around the country and world competing in tournaments with the USA Cup Stacking Team.
One student watching Sumsion in action was in shock at how fast he could move the cups into and out of formation.
“It doesn’t even look like it’s a real person doing it, more like a robot,” said fifth-grader Baylee Miller.
Cup stacking uses specialized plastic cups with a person stacking them in specific pyramid sequences as fast as possible. When it became popular in the early 2000s, Jeske decided it was something her elementary students could do in P.E.
“It improves hand-eye coordination, increases ambidexterity, and improves reaction time because you have to be quick,” Jeske said. “Plus, it’s addictive. Once you get started, you want to keep going.”
The sport even helps students build self-confidence, Jeske said, referring to several of her students who weren’t as athletic as some of the other students and for the first time, they were beating the athletic students. “They feel good enough to compete in something and they are all smiling, laughing, and having fun,” Jeske said.
While surveying the students moving around the various cup-stacking stations in the gym for the cup-stacking event on Thursday, Jeske pointed out one boy who was nervous to participate at first, but then began feeling confident stacking cups by himself and competing with others.
Fourth-grader Grace Jensen admitted to not being very good at first.
“It was really hard the first time I learned because I didn’t know how, but after watching everybody else, it became easier, and now it’s actually pretty fun,” said Jensen as she prepared to enter the course requiring students to jump through several hoops to get to a jumbo set of stacking cups.
Other groups of students stacked mini cups, did a hopscotch course to get to another set of stacking cups, and others attempted to compete against Sumsion.
“Now a lot of kids are asking me how to get these cups. I didn’t even know they liked it that much,” Sumsion said.
Stacking cups are not available in stores, but can be purchased online.
