By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - The fastest growing new sport in the country isn't one you would typically think of as a sport.
With just over 9,000 schools around the country participating speed stacking has become very popular in the United States and in the rest of the world.
Children from the Niles area were able to get a taste of the sport stacking at the Niles District Library on Thursday afternoon from Marcellus native Jim Merrill.
Sport stacking is an individual and team sport where participants stack and unstack a specially designed set of 12 plastic cups in predetermined sequences.
Individually, stackers race against the clock for fastest or best times and also compete in relay teams against one another.
Merrill added that there is a rule among the sport stacking community and that is to never give up.
Merrill added that the sport of speed stacking is beneficial to the students who are participating as it develops important physical skills such as hand-eye coordination, quickness and focus, but it also promotes self-confidence, teamwork and good sportsmanship.