Speed Stacks no longer available in retail stores

I got this email a few weeks ago from Speed Stacks company that stacking equipment are no longer available in retail stores. I kinda figured this out and several others have confirmed it.

But it doesn't mean you can't purchase the equipment locally in the Portland area. I keep a limited supply of equipment, so if you're looking to purchase some cups, mat, or other equipment, do let me know.

John Ansotigue, Sport Stacking Ambassador in Washington state, also has stacking equipment available for sale, so Evergreen state residents, feel free to contact him.

Tournament's over. But my work is not done.

The 2008 Oregon State Sport Stacking Championships (OSSSC) are over, but the books on this event are not closed yet. Still a lot of port-tournament work to be done (review of the competition record, participants' certificates, return of WSSA equipment, finances, and submission of official stacking records verification.)

It's a lot of work but most of it is enjoyable. I'm watching the videos of the stacking finals and making copies of them for the WSSA. The videos really capture the heart of the competition and the heart of the kids who are stacking. They have my respect.

Anyway, tune in for the official results to be posted in a few more days.

Here's a quick summary. Over fifty stackers from Oregon, Washington and Utah competed on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rachael Nedrow of Portland (also known on youtube.com as speedstackinggirl) won the Oregon Stacking Champion title with a combined low score of 16.93 seconds (combined scores from 3-3-3, 3-6-3 and Cycle stacks). She narrowly beat out Josiah Hansen of Silverton by 34/100 of a second for the title of Oregon's fastest stacker.

Out-of-state stackers Thomas Psyhogeos (Bellevue, WA) and Ben Beales (Eagle Mountain, UT) posted the best overall combined times of 15.07 and 16.91 seconds respectively. Special Stackers from Hazen High School in Renton, WA, showed why they are among the world's best Special Stackers by improving on previous national and world records.

All potential state, national and world records set at the 2008 OSSSC are unofficial, pending verification by the WSSA records verification committee.

EARLY REGISTRATION EXTENDED

The early registration fee of $20.00 per individual stacker for the Oregon State Sport Stacking Championship has been extended to November 14.

After November 14, registration fee will be assessed an additional $10.00. So get your registrations in soon.

STACK ATTACK on Veterans Day

Join us for STACK ATTACK, a pre-championships practice day for avid stackers getting ready for the 2008 Oregon State Sport Stacking Championships. Here are the details.

Date: November 11, 2008 (Veterans Day)
Time: 9:30 am -3:30 pm
Location: Village Baptist Church, 330 SW Murray Blvd., Beaverton, OR 97005

Bring a Brown Bag for lunch. There is a $10 fee for the day's events.

We will have prizes for the fastest individual, doubles, and team. We will also have a drawing for door prizes.

Help us set a new record

One of the things we do in sport stacking is set records. And while that's not always easy, and it seems that most of the records are getting harder and harder to beat, there is one record that everyone can be a part of. And that's the STACK UP! event to establish a new World Record for Most Number of People Stacking in Multiple Locations in One Day.

That's a big mouthful, but the requirements are pretty simple. Simply engage in stacking activity for at least 30 minutes on Thursday, November 13, have an adult verify your involvement and then report back your involvement to the World Sport Stacking Association. You can do this as an individual, a whole family, a class at school, an after-school club, or an entire school.

As of this moment, 24 Oregon schools and churches have signed up to hold STACK UP! events. The total number of projected participants is over 172,000 and climbing. If you haven't signed up yet, go to the WSSA website and sign up now.

What do you need to do be counted as part of STACK UP!?

Option 1.
1. Sign up at the WSSA website.
2. Engage in stacking activity for 30 minutes or more on Nov. 13 (Thursday).
3. Verify the results.

Option 2.
Join us at Village Baptist Church's Fellowship Hall (Room 112-113) anytime from 3:30-6:30 pm. We will be stacking as individuals, doubles, and teams. If you plan to be part of the Oregon State Sport Stacking Championship, this will be a great chance to practice with others.

Let me know if you need more information. This is one record in stacking we can all be a part of.

Download Registration Forms

We finally have the registration forms available for download at the Village website. You can download forms here.

In a few more days we'll get the forms up on the WSSA website as well.

Remember, you can pay the registration fee online at Active.com, but you will still need to mail in or fax the registration forms.

Registration Forms Are Ready

Actually, the registration forms have been ready for over a week now. But I'm still waiting for them to be posted on the Village website. We had a recent change in staff responsibilities and the person now responsible for posting them up is still working on it.

If you want to go ahead and see the forms, send me an email at my vbconline.org address and I'll send it to you as an attachment. The zip file is 3MB in size. You can also request them in individual pdf files.

We have also made it possible for you to pay by credit card online at Active.com. There is a processing fee for credit card transactions.

If you're a member of Village Baptist, we will also be making it possible for you to pay by credit or debit at the Village website. I'll let you know when that's ready.

Day 2 slideshow of Cityfest Stacking

Click here to view slideshow at PIcasa web.

Group Order available at Speed Stacks

Interested in getting your own set of Speed Stacks. It's easy. Just follow the following instructions.

You can order them at Speed Stacks. If you live around the Portland and Beaverton area, you can order as part of a Group Order with Village Baptist Church. Click on Group Order, select Oregon for your state, and Village Baptist Church for your school.

Why join a Group Order? You can order at Group Order prices (save around 10% or more). You also don't have to pay shipping fees. You can pay online directly to Speed Stacks or write a check payable to Speed Stacks. Drop off the check at Village Baptist Church at 330 SW Murray Blvd., Beaverton, OR 97005. All group orders will be delivered to Village and we will give you a call to pick up your order when it comes in.

Speed Stacks is also available at some Target, Toys R Us, & Walmart stores in limited colors and choices. For more information on where and how to purchase Speed Stacks equipment, contact me at frankt@bconline.org

Registration forms are coming

The Oregon State Sport Stacking Tournament registration forms are coming. They'll be online within the week. Watch out for them. We'll have the pdf's online here and at the WSSA website.

Stacking at the Cityfest

Thousands of children of all ages stopped by to learn how to stack when the Portland Cityfest's featured Sport Stacking as one of the activity areas in the Family Fun Zone this past Friday and Saturday (Aug. 22-23). The two-day Portland Cityfest is sponsored by the Luis Palau Association and held at the Waterfront Park in downtown Portland.

Frank Tan led a group of volunteers from Village Baptist Church to demonstrate and teach stacking. Most visitors to the Speed Stacking booth got a quick two-minute lesson on how to stack the 3-3-3. "It only takes an average of two minutes or less to teach the basics of stacking the 3-3-3. Some of the beginning stackers actually got their times down to under 6 seconds pretty easily."

Stackers got to try out the all-new Battlestacks, an exciting duel between two stackers as they race to be the first to finish their stack and send their opponent's cups flying.



Click here to see the slideshow of the stacking activities from Portland Cityfest at PIcasa web.

If you were one of those who came by the booth, please leave a comment telling us what you think and your suggestions.

Oregon State Records Updated

The World Sport Stacking Association recently updated the Oregon State Records to reflect new record times established during March's NW Regional Tournament in Auburn, WA.

Click here to view the full pdf file.

As seen from this excerpt of the Oregon State records file, Maggie Whitten currently holds the overall state records for the 3-3-3, 3-6-3, and the Cycle stacks.

Oregon Stacks Logo (First Draft)

Here's the first draft of the logo for the Oregon State Sport Stacking Tournament. Do post your comments and suggestions on this logo.

The logo is being designed by Northwest Designs Ink. Northwest Designs will be on hand during the Oregon State Sport Stacking Tournament to provide souvenir T-shirts for participants. Shirts will have the logo on front and names of participants on the back.

First Oregon State Sport Stacking Tournament

It's time for sport stackers in Oregon to fill in the record books. Join us in November 2008 for the first-ever Oregon State Sport Stacking Tournament to be held at Village Baptist Church in Beaverton, OR.

There will be individual events as well as doubles and team events to compete. The tournament promises to be a fun family affair with events open to those as young as under four years of age all the way to seniors over 60 years & up. 

Previously, Oregon stackers had to travel north to Auburn, Washington for the Northwest Regional Sport Stacking Tournament to compete and set records. 

The event is being initiated through the efforts of Frank Tan, Speed Stacks Ambassador in Oregon. He has been involved in sport stacking for about 6 years now, having first heard about sport stacking while living in Texas. He taught stacking first to his own kids and then promoted stacking to the community.

Frank currently serves as the Pastor of Families and Children at Village Baptist Church, where the event is being held. "Village Baptist has always been willing to participate in the community by making available its facilities to area sports groups. Thus, hosting the state tournament for Oregon at the church fulfills Village Baptist's goal to serve the community, and allows me personal satisfaction of promoting sport stacking in Oregon," said Pastor Frank.