Stacking up some sporting achievements

Ben Lovelock (17) watches fellow New Zealand Black Stacks team member William McLauchlan (11)...
Ben Lovelock (17) watches fellow New Zealand Black Stacks team member William McLauchlan (11) practise for the 2015 World Sport Stacking Championships, to be held in the United States. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.

Ben Lovelock and William McLauchlan are popular at home when it is time to put the dishes away.

The John McGlashan College pupils are New Zealand representatives in cup stacking - also known as sport stacking - and were recently selected for the 2015 New Zealand Black Stacks team, which will compete at the World Sport Stacking Championships in the United States next year.

Cup stacking is an individual and team sport that involves stacking specialised plastic cups in specific sequences in as little time as possible.

This is the sixth time Ben has been selected for the Black Stacks, and the first time for William.

William said he had only been stacking for the past 18 months, and discovered the sport while surfing YouTube.

''It was amazing to watch. It looked like they sped up the camera - it blew my mind.''

Ben said when he discovered the sport, he practised until his parents got sick of the ''clackety clack'' noise, and banished him to the garage.

It could be quite addictive, he said.

But now that they had mastered the art, friends and family were more ''appreciative'' of their skill, they said.

There are three main events in stacking - the 3-3-3 which involves stacking nine cups into three pyramids of three cups; the 3-6-3, and the Cycle which is a mixture of both.

The Cycle is the premier event in sport stacking and the world record is held by William Orrell, of North Carolina, who can do the 40 separate moves in 5.28sec.

On a good day, most competitors took about 7sec, Ben said.

Their bid to break that record is thirsty work.

But they will not be able to use any of the cups for a cold one because they have holes in the bottom to stop them sticking together.

john.lewis@odt.co.nz

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