Pro Series Stacking Cups Are Coming

Signed and endorsed by former world champion and record holder Emily Fox, the Pro Series Stacking Cups are newly-designed cups that will enable stackers to stack faster and with fewer fumbles. What's really cool is that the bag holding your cups are gone, and instead the cups are held together by a single quick release stem. No more struggling to put the cups in or take them out of the bag.

During a recent road trip, my kids and I visited the Speed Stacks office in Colorado and were given the grand tour by Mark Lingle, WSSA Director. We also got to test the new Pro Series stacking cups. They looked really cool and sharp, but unfortunately, we were asked not to blog about it until the official release. Well, I just heard from Rachael Nedrow (Oregon's fastest stacker and new member of Team USA) that the Pro Series are now officially on sale in Hong Kong.

Here's hoping that the cups will be available for sale here soon. I'm hoping to be among the first to get a set of the stacks. So far, I've seen the Pro Series in two colors, black and white (it's listed as "clear" on the HK Speed Stacks website).

You can also see a video of the Pro Series cups in action on YouTube.

Join us for Stacking Event on August 8 at Village

On Saturday, August 8, local Oregon sport stackers are invited to join us from 9:30-11:30 AM for a Stack Meet at Village Baptist Church (click here for directions). We'll have stacking practices, team relays, and you can be among the first to register for the 2009 Oregon State Sport Stacking Championships.

The event is free to attend and participate. Stacking equipment will be available for sale. For more info, email or call 503-643-6511.

Speed Stacks Office Photos, Plus Something New Is Coming

My family just got back from a road trip to Texas Friday last week. It was exciting to meet up with old friends and renew relationships. And we got to make a detour that made this year's road trip really STACK UP!

Photo op with Mark Lingle, WSSA Director.

Passing through the Denver, CO, we went to the Speed Stacks office in Englewood and surprised the staff there. It was a real treat to meet WSSA Director Mark Lingle and several of the Speed Stacks team. I got a chance to put faces to names and voices I already knew.

Here are a few photos from our visit.

Boxes of stacking equipment as they arrived at the Speed stacks warehouse.

Sorting out the cups by colors.

Stack mats ...

... and stacking cups ...

... and more stacking cups.

Psssst. TOP SECRET. While at the Speed Stacks office, we saw the next new Speed Stacks product and even got to check it out. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to talk about it. We couldn't even take photos. But here's a clue. Pastor Karl Bastian and I actually talked about this several years ago, saying how useful it would be in order to face off in a stacking duel.

Emily Fox drafted by Minnesota Lynx

Emily Fox and University of MInnesota women's basketball head coach Pam Burton

Ever wonder what happened to the young speedster who previously held the world record in sport stacking? Well, one of her lifelong dreams has become a reality.

From the WNBA Minnesota Lynx website:

Apr 10 2009 10:43AM. Emily Fox enters the WNBA after enjoying a storied career at the University of Minnesota. The five-foot-nine guard finished her Golden Gopher career ranked seventh in scoring (1,449 points), third in assists (413) and fourth in steals (242). The Highland Ranch, Colo., native was a three-time All-Big Ten honoree, including a First Team selection in 2008.

Fox is the 18th player in Minnesota history to score over 1,000 career points (ended with 1,449) and just the seventh player in Minnesota history to record over 100 three-pointers (finished with 112). Fox also notched the third-best free throw shooting percentage (78.1 percent) in Gopher history during her career.

Gopher Sports (website for the University of Minnesota Athletics Program) adds:

Emily Fox become the third Minnesota Golden Gopher to be drafted in the WNBA Draft on Thursday, when the Minnesota Lynx selected Fox with their third round pick, the 30th selection overall. Fox is the first Minnesota player to be drafted by the hometown Lynx.

Fox is the third Minnesota player selected in the WNBA Draft. Lindsay Whalen was drafted fourth in the first round by the Connecticut Sun in 2004. Janel McCarville was the number-one pick overall in the 2005 WNBA Draft by the now-disbanded Charlotte Sting. McCarville currently plays for the New York Liberty.

I actually saw this piece of news back in April but haven't had the chance to blog about it until now. While I'm happy for Emily for this achievement, I know she still has aways to go. Being the third round draft for the Minnesota Lynx means that she's going to have to work hard to get to play. I'll continue to root for her. Wish the WNBA played in Portland. Then I'd get the chance to see her play some day.

Need stacking equipment?

Need equipment? Check out the Speed Stacks Group Order. A group order saves you money with discounted prices over regular Speed Stacks store retail prices and free shipping. Just click on Oregon for state, and Village Baptist Church for organization/school.

All orders are delivered to Village Baptist Church in Beaverton, OR, and you can either pick up or if I'm coming by your way, I'll drop off your order to you. Let me know if you have any questions.

Rock Creek Elementary students and parents who order thru Village Baptist's Group Order will have their orders delivered to their school and can pick up from the P.E. (Lori Meeks') office. Pay via credit card at the Speed Stacks website.

Portland girl among world top's stackers

John Ansotigue of the Northwest Regional Sport Stacking Championships sent me an email yesterday to report on how northwest stackers did during the recent World Championships in Denver, CO.

Here's what he wrote me:

Hi all,

Just wanted to share with you my trip to Denver for the World Sport Stacking Championships from April 18-19. While I was there up to 4 feet of snow fell within 30 min of Denver with us getting almost 2 feet of snow in Littleton, CO which was only 20 min from Denver. It was pretty amazing to have so much snow and then on Sunday with temperatures 68 degrees, there wasn't a drop of snow on the ground, even though the airport was closed on Friday morning and the roads to and from were also shut down.

Here is how the kids from our Northwest event did down at the Worlds:

Preliminary Rounds:

Age (Division) Name, Hometown, Place (IN DIVISION)—Time

12U (3-3-3) Grady Moran, Brier,WA (5th Place)—2.33
12U (3-6-3) Grady Moran, Brier, WA (5th Place)—2.81
12U (Cycle) Grady Moran, Brier, WA (5th Place)—7.90

13U (3-3-3) Rachel Nedrow, Portland, OR (7th Place)—2.40
13U (3-3-3) Ryan Cunningham, British Columbia (20th Place)—3.83
13U (3-3-3) Adam Rookard, Sequim, WA (25th Place)—4.58

13U (3-6-3) Rachel Nedrow, Portland, OR (5th Place)—2.75
13U (3-6-3) Ryan Cunningham, British Columbia (11th Place)—3.21
13U (3-6-3) Adam Rookard, Sequim, WA (23rd Place)—5.21

13U (Cycle) Adam Rookard, Sequim, WA (14th Place)—9.40
13U (Cycle) Rachel Nedrow, Portland, OR (16th Place)—9.90
13U (Cycle) Ryan Cunningham, British Columbia (20th Place)—13.83

14U (3-6-3) Josiah Hansen, Silverton, OR (16th Place)—3.31
14U (3-6-3) Josiah Hansen, Silverton, OR (11th Place)—3.40
14U (Cycle) Josiah Hansen, Silverton, OR (13th Place)—10.56

TOP 10 went to the Finals

FINALS:

Age (Division) Name, Hometown, Place (IN DIVISION)—Time

12U (3-3-3) Grady Moran, Brier,WA (8th Place)—2.56
12U (3-6-3) Grady Moran, Brier, WA (9th Place)—3.19
12U (Cycle) Grady Moran, Brier, WA (7th Place)—8.61

13U (3-3-3) Rachel Nedrow, Portland, OR (7th Place)—2.31
13U (3-6-3) Rachel Nedrow, Portland, OR (3rd Place)—2.72

So with these kids going, we were well-represented in the finals for their respective age divisions. Congratulations to them. To see all the results of the 2009 WSSA Championships go to WSSA website and click on complete results.

Stacking in funny pages

Gordon L. and Teri M. at Village both told me about a cartoon that showed up on Wednesday this week in the Oregonian. But thanks to Tom S. who emailed it to me. I don't subscribe to the paper and would have missed it if they hadn't pointed it out.