Over twenty years ago, Speed Stacks® founder Bob Fox watched Sport Stacking for the first time on a late night tv show. An elementary school teacher by trade, he quickly became a sport stacking enthusiast, and began sharing the sport with others. Within a few years, he was asked to present a demonstration in Texas, and after an overwhelming response, Speed Stacks® was born. His small home business was designed to promote sport stacking and become a resource for physical education teachers. As an educator, Bob was able to speak to PE teachers on a peer level. His program has grown exponentially, and has become part of over 54,000 school and club programs in 54 countries.
But is Speed Stacking a sport?
By definition, “sports” are “activities involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Speed stacking—an AAU Junior Olympics sport—is by no means a passive activity. Speed Stacks® players compete and are judged as individuals or teams. Each player’s hand and upper body move to independently and cooperatively build up and break down a series of predetermined pyramid configurations in the least amount of time possible. Children can compete in two ways: as an individual, building their own self esteem as they improve their personal time, and as a team, working to improve their own contributing score as they help lower their team’s overall score. Speed stacking is also naturally inclusive, bringing together kids of all types of athletic ability and talent.
Are there other benefits?
Speed stacking also develops bilateral proficiency, which offers both physical and mental benefits. According to Speed Stacks®, the company that manufactures all of the official equipment required for competition, “By increasing bilateral proficiency, a student develops a greater percentage of the right side of the brain, which houses awareness, focus, creativity and rhythm.” In turn, training the brain to use both hands simultaneously improves other areas of learning where both hands are needed, such as computer typing or coding, cooking, or laboratory sciences, while pattern sequencing can improve math and reading.
Why is Skillastics® better?
Skillastics® partnered with Speed Stacks® to help increase movement while simultaneously developing Cup Stacking Skills. In speed stacking competitions, the cardio aspect is minimal, as the World Sport Stacking Association competitions incorporates only the task of timed stacking, with no additional exercises. By incorporating increased movements and aerobic exercises, Speed Stacks® Skillastics® integrates the missing aerobic activity piece.
As a physical activity program leader, we know you’re looking for that combination of speed and hand-eye coordination training, along with a true cardio-enhanced program. Our Ultimate Speed Stacks Skillastics® package is the perfect solution. This team-based package includes:
- The Official Speed Stacks® stacking cups with timer and mat, as used for official competition (30-set pack)
- A Speed Stacks® Jumbo-Sized Cups (3 sets)
- Speed Stacks® Skillastics® that includes step-by-step lesson plans and access to tips and instructions housed in Skillastics University.
- 30-Day Digital Speciality Programming – leave it to the experts! Let a Speed Stacks® expert lead your students through everything you need to know about cup stacking.
Where traditional cup stacking programs teach the skill, our program engages the student’s full body from head to toe, incorporating moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from our super fun activities, with right brain development. Our system is designed for the student, with the Instructor in mind and includes step-by-step instructional manuals and assessments, aligned with the National PE and After School HEPA 2.0 National Standards.
We offer two options:
- Speed Stack Skillastics: Includes the Skillastics® Activity Kit System, but does not include the cups or mats, as programs that may already have a Speed Stack cup stacking system want to raise the bar by incorporating our Activity Kit System.
- Ultimate Speed Stack Skillastics: Includes everything in the Speed Stack Skillastics kit, plus the 30-Set Sport Pack, a Jumbo 3 Pack, and unlimited use of the 30-day Speed Stacks Specialty Program.
Like all of our Activity Kit Systems, Skillastics® Speed Stacking provides a seamless, worry-free program that even a brand new user can implement with ease. Our Skillastics® Activity Kits are durable, take less than a minute to set up, integrate academics, and can allow up to 100 children to participate at one time.
