DENVER (April 11, 2006) The 2006 WSSA World Sport Stacking Championships had the best attendance, the highest number of participants and the broadest representation of any other tournament in sport stacking history. On top of that it was filmed for ESPN!

This year, 1,066 stackers competed in the event, sanctioned by the World Sport Stacking Association (WSSA), and filled Colorado’s Denver Coliseum on Saturday, April 8th. Stackers young and old, representing five foreign countries and 21 states, competed in a variety of individual timed events, doubles and relay matches. International participants hailed from Canada, England, Japan, Australia and Germany, and many are flying home with medals and trophies as proof of their stacking prowess.

The premier event of the day was the Cycle Stack, which involves a complex set of sequences and more than 40 separate moves. Taking the overall championship trophy for the Cycle was Shane Grinnell, a 14-year-old from Morrison, Colorado, who hit a time of 7.58 seconds. The Doubles event continued to be dominated by last year’s winners Chase Demelio and Andy Retting from Colorado Springs who had the best overall time of 10.11 seconds. Lexi Rindone, from Prescott, Arizona proved she was the most consistent stacker of the day, and her combined time of 13.48 seconds for the 3-3-3, 3-6-3 and Cycle earned her the trophy for top Individual All-Around.

“It was an awesome day,” said Grinnell, who attended last year’s Championships, but only as a spectator. His practice and dedication to sport stacking over the past year has now put him on the sport stacking map. “I definitely wanted to compete this year, and the adrenaline was flowing,” he said. “I was pumped!”

A strong showing by Team Germany yielded top overall winners in three events. David Wolf, 10, set a new *unofficial world record in the Individual 3-3-3 with a time of 2.28 seconds and had the best overall time of 2.75 seconds in the 3-6-3. The top Timed 3-6-3 Relay award went to Germany with a time of 16.17 seconds. According to Team Germany Leader Burkhard Reuhl, the German stackers trained very hard for the World Championships and it really paid off for them. In addition to the overall awards, the 29 German stackers took home 91 medals and 23 trophies in the various events and age divisions.
(*All divisional and overall world records are considered unofficial pending video review by the WSSA.)

For the uninitiated, sport stacking (formerly called cup stacking) is an emerging individual and team sport where participants stack and unstack 12 specially designed cups (Speed Stacks ®) in pre-determined sequences at lightning speed. (Some call it a “track meet for your hands!”) This unique sport promotes hand-eye coordination, ambidexterity, focus, concentration, team skills and sportsmanship. Competitors race against the clock for individual times, on doubles teams, and in relays in head-to-head competitions. A division for stackers with special needs is also included. Sport stacking is practiced in more than 11,000 schools around the world.

The profile of sport stacking has elevated to the point that film crews were in attendance gathering footage of nearly every moment of the stacking excitement. A stage and set was specially designed for ESPN to capture the Finals events. ESPN is slated to air a one-hour special on the World Championships later this summer.

Speed Stacks® - The official cups sanctioned by the WSSA
for sport stacking competitions.

A Sport Stacker - An athlete who plays or competes in sport stacking.

World Sport Stacking Association (WSSA) - As the governing
body for sport stacking, the WSSA standardizes rules and
regulations, provides a uniform framework for sport stacking events and sanctions sport stacking competitions and records. Formed in 2001, the WSSA promotes the advancement of sport stacking worldwide.