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Home > 2006 JSSC Wrap-up > Denver Report |
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On the Road with Japan's Top Stackers! |
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Follow along as three of Japan's best sport stackers travel from Tokyo to Denver, Colorado, to compete in the 2006 WSSA World Sport Stacking Championships! |
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Having just met only two short weeks ago at the 2006 Japan Sport Stacking Championships, stackers Kimi Juds, Tsuyoshi Seo and Hikaru Ueno have all earned a spot to compete in Denver on April 8th. Joining over 1,000 competitors from around the globe, they will compete against the fastest hands in the world! |
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The Adventure Begins! |
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April 4 |
After arriving at Denver International Airport, the gang collects their luggage and the excitement begins! We are lucky enough to be invited over for dinner to the home of Bob Fox, founder and president of Speed Stacks. We head straight over and meet Bob, his wife Jill and their two sons Brennan and Kit, both world-class sport stackers. Emily Fox, Brennan and Kit's sister (who by the way, holds the Guinness World Record in Sport Stacking), is away at college in Minnesota, but will be coming in for the Championships and we can't wait to meet her! What a time we have at the Fox's house. Jumping on the trampoline, juggling, playing ping-pong and, of course, lots and lots of sport stacking. Kimi and Kit get to practice doubles together and we are all amazed at the speed at which Brennan and Kit can stack. "When I watch them stack on the DVD, it looks fast, but to see it in person was really, really cool," Kimi said. "They are so fast!" Hika said, "Both brennan and Kit can do anything and everything!" | |||
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Left: Kimi, Tsuyoshi and Hikaru shortly before take-off at Narita Airport. |
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Left: The gang with world-class sport stackers Kit Fox (left) and Brennan Fox (right). Center: Kimi gets some juggling help from Kit. Right: Kimi & Tsuyoshi stacking under the watchful eye of Bob Fox. |
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Left: Tsuyoshi and Kit found out they both have juggling in common! Center: Kit Fox and Kimi work out on the cups. Right: Tsuyoshi flying high! |
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Nature's Big Stack |
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| April 5 | Wow! Yesterday seems like a dream! What a first day in America! Did we really see Kit Fox do a 3-3-3 stack at such blinding speed?! And Brennan Fox's stacking was so fast, his hands were almost a blur! After breakfast, it's time for some skateboarding! Kimi borrowed a board (An Element board-Kimi's favorite!) and was catching air! Tsuyoshi even gave skateboarding a try for the first time. Watch out Tony Hawk! We make a 45-minute drive up to some nearby mountains. Our goal today is to hike up to a place called Devil's Head Tower. (Sounds cool!) It is used in the summer months as an actual fire lookout by the U.S. Forest Service because of the 360 degree panoramic view it offers of the Pike National Forest. We all meet at the trail head and begin our hike. There are a total of 40 of us from four countries. Our trip is a 3-mile loop starting at an elevation of 8800 feet and climbing vertically another 1,000 feet to the top. The combination of jet lag and high altitude makes for quite a challenging climb not only our 3 stackers, but for many in the group. We make frequent rest stops and stop about halfway up for lunch. Upon reaching the top, the exhausting trail ends in a scenic meadow between towering rock walls where a ranger's house awaits. Just past the house is a 100 foot stairway that goes straight up the rock wall and then across its top to the observation tower, which is sitting not on the tower itself , but on the dome-shaped rocks. This giant dome of a peak soars above the forest like a skyscraper. The tower is the highest point of the mountain and has an unobstructed view for 100 miles in every direction. The view is breathtaking. "The hike was fun, but really tiring," said Tsuyoshi. "Going up the Devils Head Tower stairs was kinda scary, but at the top, what a view! It was also fun to meet and hike with lots of new friends." "I was so tired from the hike, but when we got to the top and I saw the amazing view," said Hikaru, "I forgot I was tired. Going down the mountain was much easier and it was fun to talk with everyone. I really love the nature of Colorado." "What a fun (and tiring) day," said Kimi. "It was great to meet stackers from some other countries like Germany and the UK." That night, Tsuyoshi and Kimi were treated to their first ever professional ice hockey game. Tonight's game was the Colorado Avalanche against the San Jose Sharks. "It was so exciting," said Kimi. "I never knew how big an arena like that was!" Tsuyoshi was impressed with the enthusiasm of the fans. "Their reactions were amazingly loud,"he said. "There were 20,000 cheering spectators in the arena with no empty seats!" |
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Left: Cleaning up from breakfast! Is Tsuyoshi and Kimi really doing the dishes? (Moms-please take note!) Center left: Kimi catching air! Center right: Tsuyoshi rips some...uh...pavement?! Right: Hiking with Kate Parker, UK's Top Sport Stacking Champion. |
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Left: Lunch break halfway up the mountain. Center left: The Stairs of Death! (Not really!) Center right: A German stacker finds it a bit windy at the top. Right: Hikaru makes her way up the tower. Just don't look down! |
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Left: Devil's Head Tower. Center: The whole group of hikers/stackers. Right: A view from the top! Can you see the 3-3-3 Stack? |
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Left: NHL Hockey Live! Right: That night's biggest fans with their very own hockey pucks. |
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TV Stars in the Making |
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| April 6 | Today we get up early and head over to the Inverness Hotel and Conference Center, where Hikaru will be filming an interview for the ESPN TV sports network. It is the largest sports television channel in the U.S. and they are filming a one-hour television special on the World Championships to be aired this summer. We hope Japan will pick-up this sure to be exciting TV special in the near future! This is Hikaru's third time to the World Championships. Every year she teams up with 3 other girls, Americans Kylie Metz and Kay Witt and UK champion stacker, Kate Parker, to form an international sport stacking relay team. The interview today consists of each stacker being filmed individually and then all 4 girls do some stacking together. After the interviews, Kimi and Tsuyoshi are allowed inside to watch the stacking excitement. As the girls finish stacking, the director asks Hikaru to do some doubles stacking with Tsuyoshi, and then asks Kimi to do some solo stacking on camera. "Not only was it the first for me to do doubles," said Tsuyoshi, "but also the first time in front of a camera!" Kimi said, "I was nervous at the beginning with all the lights and also the camera being so close, but as I got used to it, I relaxed and just stacked." Hikaru said, "I was so nervous during the interview, but most people don't get to experience this kind of thing, so I feel really lucky to have done it. I'm really looking forward to seeing the interview on TV." After the filming, we head over to Speed Stacks World Headquarters to meet everyone and get a quick tour. "There were a lot of boxes," Kimi said. "I have never seen so many cups before!" Tsuyoshi was surprised by all the people he met there. "It was filled with people and cups! We also got to see some product prototypes and some new designs coming out soon!" |
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Left: Hikaru & Kimi get in some practice time. Center left: Kylie Metz and Tsuyoshi. Center right: Hikaru getting ready for her interview. Left: Hikaru one-to-one. |
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Left: Hikaru stacking under pressure. |
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Left: Lots and lots of cups at Speed Stacks headquarters. |
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The Countdown Begins |
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April 7 |
The day before the World Championships! Where has the time gone? We wake up and look out the window to see.... snow?! It's snowing here in Castle Rock, but no time to play today, we have work to do. This morning, we have an hour drive to the Denver Coliseum, the site where the championships will be held. We will be helping to set up the arena for tomorrow. This will be our time to meet the other members of our relay teams, the rest of the international competitors and also a good chance to get in some last minute practice before the big day tomorrow. Kimi and Tsuyoshi will be joining a relay team with Jason Counts from the U.S. and Matt Peters from the UK. This will be the first time for all four to stack together! They will be in the 15-18 year old division, which means Kimi, who is 13, will be "stacking up" into this older age group. Having been only stacking for 6 months, Kimi must be feeling the pressure to keep up with the rest of the team. Good luck and hang in there Kimi! As we step into the arena for the first time, the guys are surprised at the size of the space. "The Coliseum was so huge," Kimi said. After helping to set up the stacking area with lots of StackMats and Tournament Displays, there's time to practice. Kimi and Matt will also be stacking together in the doubles event. This is where each stacker uses only one hand to work together to complete the Cycle Stack as fast as they can. The challenge of this event is one Stacker must use only their right hand while the other uses only their left. In other words. . . two stack as one! Hikaru and Tsuyoshi will also be teaming up together for this event. It's going to be a challenge as both teams only have one day to practice! There are lots of really fast stackers practicing everywhere and everyone has their own style of sport stacking. Jason, one of Kimi's relay teammates, is not only a very fast stacker, but also stacks very cleanly. "His body doesn't move, just his arms and hands," Kimi noticed, as Jason clocked a 7.59 Cycle stack! Kimi's other teammate, Matt, has a "forceful" style. "Take a deep breath, hold... and go!," Kimi remarked. Brennan Fox's stacking style was described as loose and flowing, while Kit Fox's is "concentrated and focused." We are surprised by the appearance of Emily Fox, who has flown in from attending college in Minnesota for the championships. She will be filming some spots for the television special and will be a guest commentator as well. We all meet her and by luck, get to see her stack against Chris Hardwick, a "speedcuber" who holds world records in solving the Rubik's Cube in a flash! Emily does the Cycle stack (twice) to Chris's solving of the cube. It's a race of fast hands and even faster minds! Very, very cool. Kimi was "amazed at how quick Chris was with his cube." "Emily was so nice and kind," Tsuyoshi said. "When I met Emily for first time, I thought, whoa!," Kimi said. "She seems really normal!" (Don't worry Emily, we think that's a compliment!) By mid-afternoon, it's time for another interview for the gang, this time with MTV! We pile into a room full of cameras, lights and staff for some really wild and wacky questions. It was Kimi's first time for an interview. "I was nervous and they asked some really weird questions. I think the strangest was- Do you compare yourself to the ancient Samurai?" For Tsuyoshi, "Do you dream of cups floating around?" was a funny one. Hika said, "The MTV interview was was with Kimi and Tsuyoshi, not by myself like yesterday, so it was much easier, and funny too!" After some more stacking practice, we left before it got too late and stopped for Japanese food on the way home. Some of the sushi creations were pretty wild and different from what Tsuyoshi was used to in Japan. Avocado on sushi?! |
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Left: Let it snow! |
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Photo: There must be over 150 StackMats in the arena! |
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Left: Hikaru and Tsuyoshi team up for doubles practice against Kimi and Matt. Center: Will one of us be taking this home tomorrow? Right: Kimi and Tsuyoshi hanging out with Kate Parker, UK Champ! |
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Left: Emily Fox and Chris Hardwick pit sport stacking against speedcubing. Very cool! Right: MTV cameras follow Kimi. "Hey! Where's my guitar?" |
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Left: The gang gets interviewed for MTV. (Yes, THAT MTV!) Center: Taking a break on the Finals Stage. We hope to be stacking here tomorrow! Right: Even Guinness World Records loves Sport Stacking! |
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Photo: The TV Finals Stage gets the last finishing touches before tomorrow's championships. |
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Left: Kimi puts the rock in Castle Rock! Right: Tsuyoshi savors his "ramune" drink at the local Japanese restaurant. |
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The 2006 World Sport Stacking Championships |
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| April 8 | We thought it would never arrive. Today is THE day! Championship Day! The reason we came to Denver. The 2006 WSSA World Sport Stacking Championships! We're out the door by 7am to make it to the Denver Coliseum where everything will start at 8am. A combination of nerves and the early hour make for an unusually quiet drive into Denver. As we near the coliseum, we see a long line of cars in traffic waiting to get into the parking area. Wow, this thing is huge! Luckily, we have a staff pass and zip by everyone and into the staff area. Through the back entrance into the building, what we can't see, we can hear. Hundreds and hundreds of stackers practicing to sharpen their already honed techniques. There is almost something musical to the sound of literally thousands of cups stacking up and down at high speed. Very, very cool. The morning is filled with lots of practice as we prepare to do our prelims in all the events. In order to make it to the finals competition in the afternoon, we have to score in the top ten in our individual divisions for each event. The pressure is on. Each of our stackers goes through the prelims for the various events. They also have prelims for the Timed 3-6-3 Relay event. Hikaru and Tsuyoshi enter the Doubles event, as does Kimi with his Doubles partner Matt. The rest of the day is a blur of stacking! We make it into the finals for some of the events and also stack in a series of relay events. Great stacking against great competitors! The TV finals begin early in the evening and for 3 hours, with cameras whirling all around us, we stack and stack! As the final events comes to a close and the last cups are downstacked, awards are presented to all the winners! What a day! The Results: In the 15-18 year old division, Tsuyoshi captured 2nd place in the Individual Cycle and 7th place in the Individual 3-6-3. He also received honors of 10th place in the Overall Cycle. Congratulations! Lightning fast stacking by Hikaru in the 15-18 year old Individual 3-3-3 division earned her an impressive 3rd place. She also earned a trophy in the Individual Overall 3-3-3 Stack where she tied for 9th place. Great stacking Hikaru! Thoughts on the day: On Kimi's relay team was Jason Counts, a really fast and competitive stacker. "Jason is really nice. He kept saying, 'Easy...easy. Good job, good job!' He's a good leader and helped all of us to do our best," said Kimi. Tsuyoshi had some trouble getting going that day, but once he did, he stacked liked lighting. "In my prelims, I fumbled and felt really down. But luckily, I made it into the finals and then I got some good times, so I was really pleased!" He also had a great time making new friends. "All the stackers I met were so friendly," Tsuyoshi said. "I can't speak English very well, but they were really nice and wanted to communicate with me!" Hika was matched up with the same relay teammates again this year. "I think we got even friendlier this year and became closer. Our team name last year was Japanishcans, a mix of the words Japan, British and American. This year was the same mix but switched around- Ameritishpanese! That's a mouthful! " |
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Left: Hikaru and Tsuyoshi get in some last minute warm-up time. Center: Practice, practice, practice! Right: Tsuyoshi and Hikaru during Doubles Prelims. |
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Photo: Things are just getting started on the arena floor. |
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Right: The Fantastic Five vs. Stacked. Left: ESPN cameras capture all the action! |
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Right: Hikaru gets ready before her 3-3-3 finals. Center: Some last minute instruction from the judges. Left: Congratulations Hikaru! |
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Photos: Kimi is smokin' with those cups! |
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Photo: It's the girls against the guys in relays! |
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Right: Tsuyoshi's final warm-ups. Left: Head-to-head action! |
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Right: The gang with cube master Chris Hardwick. Left: Two international teams of stackers! |
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Right: The Fantastic Five show off their hardware! Left: Hikaru with World Record Champion Emily Fox. |
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Left: Kay and Hikaru, congratulations! Left center: The Fantastic Five! (Yes, we know, there's only four of us...) Right Center: Those are some big cups behind Tsuyoshi. Right: Great stacking Hikaru! |
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Photo: Kimi, Tsuyoshi and Hikaru display their awards earned at the 2006 WSSA World Sport Stacking Championships! Congratulations to everyone! |
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The Day After |
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| April 9 | Yesterday, what a day! 14 hours of Sport Stacking! It can't get any better (or longer) than that! We sleep in late and then lounge around till early afternoon. (Some of us even stack some more!) Then we head over to visit Brennan and Kit Fox again for an afternoon of fun. We are determined to play every single game in the house, and some outside as well! What a great day we have and even greater memories. Thanks Kit and Brennan! |
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Photo: Tsuyoshi, Brennan Fox, Kimi, Kit Fox and Hikaru ready for some serious play! |
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Photos: The Great Ping-Pong Challenge! |
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Left: Kimi's just playing through. |
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Left: She shoots! She scores! Center: You can't keep Kimi on the ground! Right: Hikaru making new friends. |
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Packing Up |
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| April 10 | Time for a little shopping and one last visit to the Fox's house for dessert and fun, where Brennan, Kit and the gang invent their own game, a combination of Pool and Golf, or "Poolf" as they call it! (Your going to have to ask them to explain it to you!) Then it's home to pack and get ready for our flight tomorrow. What a week! Thank you everyone! |
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Denver to Japan? |
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| April 11 | We say our goodbyes and leave Denver for Japan, but because of mechanical problems and plane delays, we get to spend the night in San Francisco! Yea! |
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Left: An unexpected stopover! Center: French fry stacking! (Can you spot the "pickle timer"?) Right: Tsuyoshi just can't get enough of sport stacking! |
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The Quick Trip Home |
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| April 12 | OK, let's try this one more time. Everyone back on the plane for Japan! |
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Photo: It didn't take Kimi long to zonk out on the plane! (Dreaming of cups?!) |
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Memories For A Lifetime |
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| April 13 | Finally, our plane touches down at Narita. What a trip it's been. Not only are we taking back to Japan an impressive assortment of trophies and medals, but also good feelings of accomplishment and pride that we did our best. We started the trip as rivals, (of sorts), and ended as friends. We learned a little bit about each other, and maybe a little more about ourselves. And...we had a great time! Now it's time to start practicing for next year's World Championships! Maybe you can join us? We hope to see you next year! |
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Photo: Tsuyoshi Seo, Hikaru Ueno and Kimi Juds, Japan's Top Sport Stackers are back home! |
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