It was a day filled with fun and a focus on the ultimate prize, helping to break the World Record in Sport Stacking.
On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Terra Linda Elementary School where students joined others around the world in a race against the clock stacking specially designed cups in something called the 2022 STACK UP. Find out how Terra Linda contributed to breaking the world record in a big way.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It was a day filled with fun and a focus on the ultimate prize, helping to break the world record in Sports Stacking. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Terra Linda Elementary School, where students joined others around the world in a race against the clock, stacking specially designed cups in something called the 2022 STACK UP! Find out how they contributed to breaking the world record in a really big way.
We're here at Terra Linda, where they are working on helping set a world record in cup stacking, and we're talking with the teacher who is overseeing all of this. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about today.
Jaime Scott:
Yes, I'm Jaime Scott. I'm the PE specialist here. We are just 1 class today, fifth grade, that is going to be a part of the world record. So it's going to be 3 days long. The world record is the most people sports stacking in multiple locations. So us in Utah, here at Terra Linda, other schools in Utah, other schools in the United States, and then schools in different countries, where we're all working to beat the 2019 record, which was 638,000. But the goal is to beat 650,000 people. They've been doing this for quite a few years. This is our first year at Terra Linda.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so you were not involved in the previous world record.
Jaime Scott:
We were not involved in any previous ones. This is our first time, but I'm expecting about 445 students to help with this record at Terra Linda.
Anthony Godfrey:
So is the record how many people have been involved over the course of the 3 days?
Jaime Scott:
Yes. And you have to stack for 30 minutes, and then I just keep track of how many were here today, and I'm gonna turn it in at the end of the day on Thursday.
Anthony Godfrey:
So to count in the group you have to stack for 30 minutes?
Jaime Scott:
Yes. Yep.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Well, I don't have time to count.
Jaime Scott:
That's okay.
Anthony Godfrey:
But that's not the first time that's happened. Okay. So I see lots of different sizes of speed stack cups. Tell me about that. Does it matter what size they're using?
Jaime Scott:
So today's kind of our fun station day. We're gonna wrap up with some jumbo stacks, which are the oversized cups, and we also have mini cups that we're kind of using with your fingertips. But your normal cups are the handheld cups that are your medium size, and that's what you'll time yourselves for a world record if you really wanted to, and that's what we mostly use.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now normally there's the pad, I see some of the pads over there.
Jaime Scott:
Yes, the mat and the timer.
Anthony Godfrey:
So the mat is there and it can detect when your hands are on the mat. Am I correct?
Jaime Scott:
Yep.
Anthony Godfrey:
And as your hands leave the mat, then the timer starts and the stacking begins.
Jaime Scott:
That’s exactly right. Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, but this is not that.
Jaime Scott:
Nope. We're not trying to beat any timed record. We are trying to beat the most people sports stacking in multiple locations. So right now there's probably tons of other schools that are sports stacking with us at the same time.
Anthony Godfrey:
Is it all schools that are involved or are there other locations and other groups that are part of the sport stacking?
Jaime Scott:
It would be other schools K-12, maybe some groups, some teams that would be doing it too. But yeah, there's really no.
Anthony Godfrey:
And is this international or just in the US?
Jaime Scott:
Yes, it is worldwide.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So we're part of a worldwide making of history today.
Jaime Scott:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me, what is it that got you connected to this global effort in cup stacking?
Jaime Scott:
So there were sports stacks when I came to school here four years ago. And it took me two years to kind of learn how to do it. So last year they learned sports stacks for the first time. It was later in the year. And then once I started doing my research, I realized, ‘oh, there's like a national, not a national day, but a day that they set aside to beat a world record.’ So that time I finally built into my curriculum so that we could take part of it. So this is their third day of sports stacking. So it's kind of our fun day.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Great. So what kind of training have they been doing leading up to this day?
Jaime Scott:
Yes. So we've learned the 3 stack, which is the very simple stack, just learning how to switch your hands. Then you add in two.
Anthony Godfrey:
Can you show me a 3 stack? So show me a 3 stack.
Jaime Scott:
You will get 3 cups in front of you. You'll always lead with your favorite hand.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, I’m going to try it. Do the flames on the cup help actually?
Jaime Scott:
Do the flames help? What do you think students?
Anthony Godfrey:
Do the flames help? Oh, the flame cups are faster. That's good to know. All right. At least I've got the fast cups. Except now I don't have an excuse. Maybe I should grab the slow cups because then it would be obvious.
Jaime Scott:
Here you go. Pink ones.
Anthony Godfrey:
The pink ones are slow.
Jaime Scott:
There you go.
Anthony Godfrey:
Or the purple.
Jaime Scott:
Purple, okay.
Anthony Godfrey:
Or the green. You know what green feels right. Going with green. All right.
Jaime Scott:
So you always wanna start with your favorite hand. So favorite hand's gonna grab first, set it right next, and then not favorite hand and put it on top. Now your other favorite hand, you're gonna down stack and grab with your not favorite hand. Put it on top. So you have to switch hands. That is our rule.
Anthony Godfrey:
Switching hands.
Jaime Scott:
It's a world cup rule.
Anthony Godfrey:
Not favorite hand. Sounds a little mean.
Jaime Scott:
I know.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's just my right hand.
Jaime Scott:
Well, some kids don't know right hand and left hand.
Anthony Godfrey:
That makes sense. Okay, I got it. I got it. So, they’re all stacked.
Jaime Scott:
So you gotta start with 'em together. Favorite hand. Not favorite hand.
Anthony Godfrey:
I already messed up, it already fell over.
Jaime Scott:
It's okay. We mess up a lot, don't we?
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. That's what it's about, right?
Jaime Scott:
Yeah, growth mindset.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right, here we go.
Jaime Scott:
Favorite hand, not favorite hand.
Anthony Godfrey:
Favorite hand. Not favorite hand.
Jaime Scott:
Favorite hand stacked down. Pull it that way. Good. Now not favorite hand. Put it on top.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Now I’ve got my favorite and my not favorite mixed up. Let's do it 1 more time. Okay.
Jaime Scott:
Okay. Favorite, not favorite hand. Switch. Favorite hand. Not favorite.
Anthony Godfrey:
I got it! That's the 3 stack.
Jaime Scott:
That's the 3 stack.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much.
Jaime Scott:
Yes!
Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you. And that is the first step.
Jaime Scott:
That’s the first step.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's the most basic move. Okay.
Jaime Scott:
Yep. Then we add in two more stacks of 3.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, now that seems like a big leap forward. All right, let's try that.
Jaime Scott:
Okay. Now you wanna start on the opposite side. So you're always going 1 direction, towards your favorite hand. So you're gonna start here.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, this is my favorite hand.
Jaime Scott:
Oh, your favorite hand’s your left hand?
Anthony Godfrey:
Yep.
Jaime Scott:
Okay, so you're gonna start over here.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And what do I do?
Jaime Scott:
So start over here with your favorite hand. Okay. I'm gonna grab your hand. You're gonna go this way. So, favorite hand stack down. Not favorite hand stack on top. Favorite hand, not favorite hand.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah.
Jaime Scott:
On top. On top.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. On top.
Jaime Scott:
Favorite hand
Anthony Godfrey:
Favorite hand, not favorite hand.
Jaime Scott:
Now we go back to the beginning and then we down stack. So back to the beginning. Favorite hand, not favorite hand. Favorite hand, not favorite hand.
Anthony Godfrey:
Favorite hand, not favorite hand. Favorite, not favorite.
Jaime Scott:
There you go. That's the 3, 3, 3.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you very much.
Jaime Scott:
Now you want a timer?
Anthony Godfrey:
No, I do not want a timer.
Jaime Scott:
All right, you wanna learn
Anthony Godfrey:
What's the next step?
Jaime Scott:
3, 6, 3. And then a 6, 6. And then a 1, 10, 1. You wanna watch the kids do it?
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I wanna watch. I wanna watch 1 of the kids do it. I am not going to try that next step.
Jaime Scott:
Yes. Cade, Eva, Lilli, and Cashtin. We’ll get you on.
Anthony Godfrey:
Let’s see what you’ve got.
Jaime Scott:
Okay, there you go Cashtin.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, tell me your names again.
Cashtin:
Cashtin.
Cade:
Cade.
Lilli:
Lilli.
Jaime Scott:
And here’s Eva.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, Cashtin, Cade, Lilli and?
Eva:
Eva.
Anthony Godfrey:
Eva. Okay, let’s see what you’ve got.
Jaime Scott:
Let's throw the 3, 6, 3. Everyone else you wanna come watch ‘em?
Other students:
Yes!
Jaime Scott:
Okay, let's stand an arms length away from 'em so we can give 'em plenty of space. Now you'll notice Mr. Godfrey, they all start with their hands on the table to mimic the timer. Okay. So 3, 6, 3. Ready? Go. So they're gonna start with the 3, then the 6 in the middle, and then the 3. It’s slippery on this table.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah. Okay.
Jaime Scott:
So that's the 3, 3, 3. Let's show him the 6, 6.
Student:
Can I do it? Can I do it next?
Jaime Scott:
We'll get you on here in a second. 6. 6. So now it's just two stacks of 6. Ready? Go.
Student:
I can do the 1, 10, 1. I know how to do it.
Jaime Scott:
There you go.
Students:
Cheering and talking.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Wow. That is impressive you guys.
Jaime Scott:
Now we put 'em all together. So it's the 3, 6, 3. The 6, 6 and 1, 10, 1. And that's called the cycle. Are you comfortable with the cycle? All four of you?
Anthony Godfrey:
So they go through the cycle of doing all of those in sequence.
Jaime Scott:
All in a row. Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
What's the 1, 10, 1?
Jaime Scott:
1, 10, 1. Yes. You'll see. This is the hardest one. We're gonna start with the 3, 6, 3.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right.
Jaime Scott:
They’re gonna show us the cycle and show Mr. Godfrey the cycle.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right, let’s see it.
Jaime Scott:
Start in the 3, 6, 3. There you go. Then they turn it to the 6, 6. And then 1, 10, 1.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, how long does that normally take? On a good surface? I know this is a slick surface.
Jaime Scott:
30 seconds.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.
Jaime Scott:
We’ve got one 6th grader who can do it in 17 seconds.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. All right.
Jaime Scott:
This is the cycle. 3, 6, 3. Then a 6. 6. Stay with it. Good. There you go Cashtin.
Anthony Godfrey:
Those cups don't know what hit ‘em.
Jaime Scott:
So Eva's on the 1, 10, 1. There you go Lilli, 1, 10, 1.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. Oh, we have a rebuild. All right. There we go. Eva. Nice job. Everybody looks good out there.
Stay with us when we come back more with students having fun in the 2022 STACK UP!
Break:
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Anthony Godfrey:
Lilli, tell me what you like about stacking.
Lilli:
I like the cup sound.
Anthony Godfrey:
You like the cup sound? Yeah. It's kind of satisfying as you're throwing those cups around.
Lilli:
Yeah, it makes satisfying sounds.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right. When I saw that you were doing the, is it called a 1, 10, 1 you started over because it kind of fell over. Do you have to do that sometimes?
Lilli:
Yeah. Sometimes it's just too hard to redo, so you have to restart. Like sometimes when it’s 3, 6, 3, but sometimes it's just like one at the bottom falls, so you have to restart.
Anthony Godfrey:
Does that kind of translate over to homework and other things that sometimes you just have to restart and just start over and start fresh?
Lilli:
You have to redo it several times and stuff. Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Good. Well, it looks like a lot of fun. Do you do it at home too?
Lilli:
Yeah. My brother has the flame ones, so yeah, I do do it sometimes at home.
Anthony Godfrey:
And is what they say about the flame cups true? Are they faster?
Lilli:
I don't know.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's a scientific experiment for the future, right?
Lilli:
Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey;
Okay. Eva, tell me what you like about cup stacking.
Eva:
It makes you be more faster. It could also help you with basketball. Like, almost like dribbling, it's helping you move quicker with the cups. And I also think it's cool because it's learning something new and different that a lot of people don't know.
Anthony Godfrey:
It really helps you focus too. It looked like everybody just kind of focused in and nothing else gets in your way. You just get focused on the cups.
Eva:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now do you like sports? Do you play basketball?
Eva:
I’ve played basketball. I play soccer and I'm trying out for volleyball.
Anthony Godfrey:
Awesome. Well, good luck with volleyball.
Eva:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's really cool. And I'm glad to hear that the cup stacking seems to help your ball handling. Tell me what you would say to someone who's thinking about doing cup stacking.
Eva:
It's a little tricky at first, but if you keep on trying and try your hardest, you can get it.
Anthony Godfrey:
Is that a lesson that you've used in other parts of school, that even if things are hard at first with some work they can become easier?
Lilli:
Yes. Like I've heard that phrase or something like that before.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, great. Tell me, what do you hope kids take away from this experience?
Jaime Scott:
I hope they take away that it's fun, and it's something different, and to challenge themselves. So that's a lot of it, is that it's hard, and it takes a lot of focus, and working both sides of your brain, coordination. And it's not easy, but I hope that, you know, they see that they're active with cup stacking and that they want to take it home or get their own and just, you know, some fun like that.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it was interesting as I talked to the kids that they recognize that it's hard at first and it got easier with practice. And I think that's an important lesson.
Jaime Scott:
Yes, it is. That we will fail. We'll have mess ups, but just keep moving and don't give up. And I see a lot of attitudes change too. Some kids come in and they see cup stacking. It's like, ‘oh wait, I've gotten better than last year. This is kind of fun.’ So I see that a lot in PE with other units too, but I think cup stacking is the most evident to change some attitudes and mindsets.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it's a great addition to the PE program and obviously they're focused, they're engaged, they're concentrating, and they're having a good time too. And they were very kind to encourage me, even though I was struggling quite a lot.
Jaime Scott:
Yes, and hey, you did it in a smash course. They've gotten it in 3 days. 3 different days.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, and I love these jumbo stacks here. These are the size of a waist basket. Yes. And they're doing the same thing. They you're doing with the handheld cups, except with something much larger and over here with a thimble, something much smaller.
Jaime Scott:
Yes. Fingertips.
Anthony Godfrey:
Have you found that it's physically challenging for the kids?
Jaime Scott:
I do add in cardio to each lesson. So I do add in some exercise portion, but other than that it's gonna be more coordination and quickness.
Anthony Godfrey:
Dexterity.
Jaime Scott:
Dexterity, working to get ambidextrous. So, I do try to add in some fitness to it, as you can see the TicTacToe Relay race.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, and I do love the sense of efficacy. I wasn't good at this at the start. I've worked at it, I've tried and I'm better at something physical. And this is something accessible for everybody.
Jaime Scott:
It is. Yes. You can buy 'em on Amazon.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for being creative and giving them such a rich experience in their PE class.
Jaime Scott:
And being a part of a world record.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's right. Yes.
According to the World Sports Stacking Association, the previous world record was 638,503 stackers participating in competitions at one time around the world. The current world record, which Terra Linda helped establish, stands at 737,480 stackers participating at one time. Congratulations Terra Linda students for being new world record holders. Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.