People and Personalities

A teenager from a Bushey school has had international success in a most unlikely sport, the speed stacking of plastic cups!

Jake prepares for action

Fifteen-year-old Jake Emberton, who attends Queen's School in Garston, is the British champion in Sport Stacking, where competitors have to construct pyramids out of plastic cups.

Not only that, in April 2008 he competed against 1,050 people in the World Championships in Denver, USA, and became best in his age group with a record time and fourth in the world overall.

He has since appeared all over the media including an appearance on Blue Peter where he broke his own record again.

Unusual

So, after a rollercoaster few weeks, did he ever think that cup stacking would lead to this?

"Never" he said, "I never thought stacking some plastic cups would get me this far, but it has so I'm enjoying it!"

So how do you end up competing in such an unusual event? Jake reveals that it was a visit to a fair that got him started.

"I started because I'm really competitive and me and this other kid were racing each other. I kept beating his time and he kept beating mine!

"It was really fun so I just begged my mum for it for Christmas."

Record

The cups are called 'speed stacks' and the competition is to build them in pyramids of three, six and ten cups, with the basic pattern, and the one which Jake holds the British record for, is a sequence of three, six and then another three cups.

But these aren't any old cups, they have holes in the top and are specially designed to make sure that air doesn't get trapped in between.

"You have to use these cups or it just wouldn't work" Jake explained.

For Jake, since receiving them as a Christmas present, he has never looked back.

"I currently hold the British record" he said, "I'm currently the fastest in the UK with 2.46 seconds.

"The world record is a bit out of my reach at the moment (2.34) but I'll get it eventually!"