Sophomore Allison Tobin is a top ranked member of the USA Sport Stacking team and is a master at stacking cups.

“Sport stacking is where you stack twelve specially designed cups as fast as you can in predetermined patterns,” Tobin said.

“There are three different stacks. The shortest one is called the 3-3-3 [3 stacks with 3 cups each], then the 3-6-3 [3 stacks 2 with 3 cups and 1 with 6 cups], then the cycle [the longest stack,a 3-6-3 to a 6-6 to a 1-10-1 stack],” Tobin said.

At competitions, stackers time themselves by tapping a timer before stacking and tapping it again when completed. Two judges watch the athletes stack to record the number of attempts and the times.

A video camera is also recording, so the footage can be reviewed to determine records and rankings.

Tobin has been stacking consecutively for about three years now.

“I started off in fourth grade through gym class, but then picked it up again in seventh grade and just stuck with it,” Tobin said.

After picking it up again, Tobin decided to take her stacking to a competitive level, and began attending tournaments. She did well at her first tournaments, and  the national teamed noticed her after only a couple of tournaments.

Tobin gets excited about even the small things that make being a part of the team a great experience.

‘ It’s pretty cool to get to wear the jerseys and stuff,” Tobin Said.

To prepare herself for a competition, Tobin likes to do a warmup to gradually gain speed.

“You have to warm up for probably 15 minutes before you can go really fast,” Tobin said. “You go slow for a couple of minutes and just slowly get faster at it.”

After only nine months and two tournaments of competitive stacking, Tobin was invited to be one of the 135 stackers on Team USA, and has been doing extremely well since.

Tobin competes in the age 15-16 girls division, but her rankings include girls of all ages in the country.

“For girls in Massachusetts, I’m ranked number one; for girls in the country I’m eleventh,” Tobin said.

In April, Tobin will be traveling to Orlando, Florida to compete in the 2018 World Sport Stacking Championship.

She has not had a chance to meet stackers from other parts of the world, but hopes to in Orlando at Worlds.

“I’m hoping to [meet people from other parts of the world] in Orlando when I go to worlds.” Tobin said.

At national tournaments, though, Tobin has had the opportunity to meet many other people who share this talent with her.

“I’ve made lots of friends because there are lots of people from around the country who do this,” Tobin said.

Tobin’s brother, junior Jack Tobin, along with other family members come to some of her tournaments to support her as she competes.

“They’re honestly really stressful to watch,” Jack Tobin said. “But I’m sure she’s fine because she trusts her abilities and skills.”