May 7, 2008 3:51 pm US/Eastern
Mass. Boy Is Cup Stacking World Champion
BOSTON (CBS) ―
Popular at summer camp and considered an art form by some, cup stacking has launched a Massachusetts 10 year-old into the international spotlight, after he won the title of world champion cup stacker.
Steven Purugganan is a fifth-grader from from Longmeadow, Mass., whose quick hand movements amazed onlookers at last month's 2008 World Sport Stacking Championships in Denver.
He set two world records at the tournament: one in the 3-3-3 event and one in the "Cycle Stack."
Purugganan was welcomed at the Massachusetts State House on Tuesday to show off his stacking prowess to local politicians, reports CBS station WBZ-TV in Boston.
Last month he was featured in the "Top 9 Play of the Day" segment on ESPN after the awing performance that earned him the World Champ title. A video of Purugganan in action is is one of the most viewed among cup stacking clips on YouTube.
Purugganan has been competing for a year and a half and holds four other world records. In January, he was featured on NBC's prime-time special, "Guiness Book of World Records: Top 100," ranking No. 72 as the fastest cup stacker with 7.23 seconds for the "Cycle Stack."
He has since improved his record with 6.21 seconds in Denver in April, competing against 1,000 other young cup stackers.
The 10 year-old said his goal is to be the first sport stacker to complete the Cycle Stack in under 6 seconds.
The sport of cup stacking started in the 1980s and has since picked up steam.
The World Sport Stacking Association was formed in Colorado in 2001. This is the sixth year the World Sport Stacking Association has sanctioned the World Sport Stacking Championships.
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