Sport stacking, also known as cup stacking or speed stacking, is an excellent tool to add to your arsenal of fun and engaging fitness games for your students. Sport stacking enhances agility, dexterity, concentration, quickness, and fitness, and it does this through teamwork in fun and engaging games.
On top of the physical benefits, sport stacking levels the playing field, allowing students of varying abilities to successfully play side-by-side and together without the chasm of ability that other sports can create. This inclusive activity helps boost self-esteem and foster confidence all while working on physical skills and having fun!
Sounds appealing, right? Grab your Speed Stacks and get sport stacking!
Cup Stacking – Sport Stacking Equipment
Sport Stacking Lesson Plans
Large group, limited Speed Stacks
Approximately 4 students per Speed Stack
1. Continuous Table Relays
This is a great entry-level sport stacking activity where teams stack in a designated pattern relay race-style. As students become more adept at stacking, adjust the difficulty level by changing the stack pattern. Or even add stationary exercises while students wait their turn in the relay.
2. Triple Up Triple Down Tower Relay
Working together as a team, students stack in a relay to create a tower in the center with Jumbo Speed Stacks. Everyone plays an important role to help move the team toward completing their tower. Again, adjust the difficulty level by changing the stacking patterns. Students waiting their turn can perform stationary exercises to keep everyone active.
Smaller group, more Speed Stacks
Approximately 2 students per Speed Stack
3. Partner Fitness Challenge
Students pair up, one performs sport stacking exercises while the other performs movement exercises. Then they switch roles. All students are active, and it’s easy to tailor to your student’s needs and class time. Win-win!
4. Rock, Paper, Scissors
Don’t get stuck between a rock and a… paper! Take a quick and easy break with Speed Stacks Rock, Paper, Scissors! All you need are your Speed Stacks and some spot markers placed in your activity area. Students play Rock, Paper, Scissors for a chance to stack. Mix it up and add in aerobic activity between stacking.
5. Indy 500
Assign partnered students as either Drivers or Pit Crew. Pit Crew members are the stackers, while Drivers race around the perimeter performing specific locomotor movements. Vary it up with Drivers dribbling a basketball to work on ball handling skills, or hit the road practicing their crab walk. Change roles to make sure all students are on the inside track!
6. March Madness Final 4
The object of this fast-paced, friendly sport stacking competition is to be the fastest stacker through 3 rounds of stacking and to have the opportunity to stack a Speed Stack Jumbo and make the highlights of your class’s “One Shining Moment” montage.
Small or large group, ample Speed Stacks
Each student with a Speed Stack
7. Around the Table
With 1 set of Speed Stacks per student, this activity has groups of 4 stacking and rotating around their table to perfect their stacking skills. Everyone moves, and everyone engages. All students will stack up to the challenge!
8. Sport Stack Bowling
Combining bowling and Speed Stacking, students bowl (using foam balls, of course!) toward their opponent’s upstacked cups, all the while protecting their own stacks. Bowl a strike and the student whose cups were knocked down switches teams and upstacks again with their new team while now attempting to knock down their new opponent’s stack. Non-stop motion and no one is spared!
9. Stackers & Blasters
Designate students as Stackers (those who will upstack) or Blasters (those who will downstack). After one minute, see if there are more upstacks or downstacks. This is a perfect activity break where everyone will have a blast!
10. Simple Sport Stack Tag
In this game of tag, everyone is “it,” and getting tagged means you get to stack. Sounds like the best of both worlds! Add variety by mixing up the locomotor movements to work on different skills, slowing down the pace if space is limited, or changing up the stacking patterns. The options are endless to create the perfect balance for your group.
To implement these activities, you only need a set of Speed Stacks and students who want to have fun. You will be amazed how a seemingly simple yet specialized cup transforms into hours of fun and activity in your classroom!
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