Students at Rebecca Boone Elementary in Warrenton had trouble containing their excitement last week when strolling into the gym for physical education class. Last Thursday, fourth- and fifth-grade students participated in the third annual World Sport Stacking Association (WSSA) STACK UP!, an attempt to break the Guinness World record for most people stacking at multiple locations in one day. Last year, 427 students were part of 143,530 people overall who helped set the initial record. Nearly all 50 states were represented in the competition, including 37 schools in Missouri. Kathy Simpson, physical education teacher, expected to have approximately 450 students and teachers participate in this year's competition. The WSSA hoped to top last year's record by a substantial margin this year. Participants were required to stack for 30 minutes. Simpson then had to fax a form to WSSA after school verifying the participants. "It's an individual activity and kids like individual activities," she said. "We have a lot of fun. They are all busy. There is no waiting. "The more physically active we can keep them, the healthier we will be." The idea of sport stacking is to develop important skills such as hand-eye coordination, quickness and focus. In addition, the organization said stacking promotes good sportsmanship, self-confidence and teamwork. She said the school, which formally had a stacking club, has been using the sport as a learning tool for students at the school for several years. "It's really great for hand-eye coordination and working both sides of the brain," Simpson said. "It helps them with (test) scores." Students spent 30 minutes in gym class rotating from 10 stations that included a variety of stacking, from doing one-handed push-ups to balancing on one leg to shuffling across the free-throw line where cups awaited on the floor. "It's super, super hard," said fourth-grader Austin Schwab. Sport stacking is an alternative for kids during inclement weather and helps break the usual routine during P.E. class. During a break between stations, Sebastian Camarena remarked that he does stacking at home. "It's pretty fun," he noted. "I usually do it when I can't play outside." As his class departed, Schwab stayed around to teach an onlooker how to stack cups. Soon after, it was time for Schwab to leave and return to a normal classroom setting. "I have lots of fun because it's inspiring," Schwab said. "You can learn things. You can do lots of things different with the cups."

Stacking: Rebecca Boone Students Set Sights on Guinness Record

Stacking: Rebecca Boone Students Set Sights on Guinness Record