Plymouth Brothers Show Cup Stacking Skills at Junior Olympics

Rowan and Jack Mundt of Plymouth both qualified for the AAU Junior Olympic Games Sports Stacking Championship that took place this past weekend at the Cobo Center in Detroit. 

As their second competition ever, this was the first time that Rowan, 8, and Jack, 5, ever qualified for a championship.

Stacey Mundt, Jack’s mother and Rowan’s step-mother said they signed up for a competition in Holland in April because she thought it would be a great experience for the boys.   

"We ended up getting an email explaining that they qualified for the Detroit Junior Olympics," Stacey Mundt said. "I was so surprised.”

Preliminaries took place on Friday and finals were held on Saturday and Stacey Mundt estimated that there were between 270 and 290 stackers at the championship.  This included competitors of all ages, beginning at the young age of 4.

“Rowan’s age group was eight years old and under, and because so many kids were  in this age group, he did not end up qualifying at this event.  They only took the top ten, and he was 14th or 15th.  However, his time between Holland and Detroit was 11 seconds faster, so his improvement between the spring and now is unbelievable.”

Jack competed in the six and under age group, which included five competitors.   

“There are three different stacks: the 3, 3, 3, the 3, 6, 3, and the cycle stack.  Jack got third place in the 3, 3, 3 and the cycle stack, and fourth place in the 3, 6, 3 for his age group on Saturday,” Stacey Mundt said.

'These stackers are the boys' heroes'

Rowan and Jack first started stacking last summer after watching cup stackers on a science-based Discovery Channel show show called Time Warp.

“We were inspired by Steven Purugganan,” Rowan said.

Purugganan, 15, was the first sports stacker to hold world records, breaking these records at the age of 9, she said.

“They both saw Time Warp many times, so we went out and bought solo cups to give the sport a try.  They were using Dixie cups and little sample cups, just about any kind of plastic cups.  Then, I found Speed Stacks, the company of the official sports stacking cups, so we went online and bought them each a set, and now we're here,” Stacey Mundt said.

“You get faster as you practice, and it’s kind of easy to pick up.  When you have a section of cups, they don’t stick because there are three holes in the bottom,” Jack said.

“There is also a documentary called Stacker, which we’ve watched a million times. At the championship, we got to meet a lot of the kids who were in this movie.  These stackers are the boys’ heroes, so to see them and talk to them, makes the sport more achievable for them,” Stacey Mundt said.

More than just stacking cups

Although Rowan’s favorite aspect of this sport is competing, there are many rules that the boys had to learn in order to be successful at these competitions. 

“When you’re doing your stack and your cups fall down, that’s called a fumble.  If you don’t go back and actually fix it, if you just keep on going, they consider that a scratch, so that would not count," Stacey Mundt said. "There is also a slider, where if you knock a cup and it just slides down on another cup and you don’t fix it, then it’s a scratch."

Not only is sports stacking a fun, competitive activity for the boys, but Stacey Mundt said it is beneficial in other ways, as well.

“There have been studies that have shown that this sport improves cognition, confidence, hand-eye coordination, and attention span. Standing in front of people they don’t know, who stare at them as they stack these cups, gives them a great sense of pride and self worth,” Stacey Mundt said.

Both boys continue to practice stacking several times each week in hopes of improving their times at upcoming competitions. 

Stacey Mundt said the boys' next competition will be in Gaylord, one year from now. She said they also hope to attend nationals next year in Iowa.