Speed stacking comes to RP

Two months ago, The Star broke the story about Steven Purugganan, the 10-year old Filipino boy who, in a year and half, started shattering world records in the new sport of sport stacking. Purugganan has just finished a McDonald’s commercial in the US, and is preparing for a dual meet between Team USA and their perennial rivals, Germany.

Purugganan was miffed when a German teenager broke one of his three world records, so he’s been working extra hard for this chance to win it back.

Even before the Purugganan boys leaped into prominence, two young Filipino businessmen actually chanced upon sport stacking on the Internet, because one of them was looking for a sport his young son could get into.

“I was actually looking for a timer, when I came across speed staking,” reveals Aris Alipon, one of the founders of World Sport Stacking Association Philippines. “I was looking for sports and games for my son, Primo, and taught him how to use a Rubik’s Cube. I was looking for a way to check his improvement in his time, and I saw the WSSA website, and stumbled onto the training video. In seven seconds, I saw a kid break the world record. I was amazed.”

Alipon, who along with his partner Derick Chiongbian, owns Holy Kettle Korn, sought out the top brass of the WSSA and met with them in Singapore. Along the way, he learned that the record holder is a Filipino, and that the three Purugganan brothers are among the top 10 in the world. In fact, Steven and his older brother Andrew even joined forces to break the double world record, wherein one partner uses his left hand while the other uses his right.

“What blew me away was not that they were breaking records even adults hadn’t reached, but that Steven in particular was breaking them by such big increments,” Alipon added. “That was really inspiring. Now, my son and I have been enjoying stacking for a few months.”

Inspired by the eye-hand coordination and discipline the new sport cultivates, Alipon and Chiongbian have taken a different tack. They are introducing sport stacking to schools, since studies have shown that games that improve coordination also enhance abstract reasoning and other abilities needed for taxing school work. Ateneo de Manila is already introducing stacking in some of its programs.

“Right now, we have two ideas,” Chiongbian explains. “We can either do an open competition, or just do a Philippine record-setting day, since there are no national records yet. Our aim is to be able to send a team to the next world championship in Denver, Colorado in April.”

Because of the different scale of economics in the Philippines, the WSSA and the makers of Speed Stacks, the official cups and stack mats used in all competition, have agreed to allow the Philippine distributors to lower the price of a set of stacking cups, mat and timer. All told, the entire set will cost less than P2,000, substantially less than what it costs in the US.

“We explained that we don’t want this to become a fad, and I think that’s what got them interested in the Philippines,” added Alipon. “If the price is too prohibitive, then only a few people will be able to afford it, and eventually it will just fade into a small group of enthusiasts.”

The partners are also looking at the potential of out-of-school youth and kids who have plenty of time on their hands. International championships include age groups for kids four years old and below, and even adults 60 and above. Alipon and Chiongbian are hoping that young Filipino become fanatical about sport stacking, and that it eventually becomes a sport that we are known to dominate, like billiards and boxing.

And that wouldn’t be too hard to believe.