On Saturday, January 7, Girls Inc. of Columbus will host the region’s only World Sport Stacking Association sanctioned Open Sport Stacking Tournament for qualification in the 2017 AAU Junior Olympics. The open tournament, which will be held at the Girls Inc. Baker Center on Levy Road, will give teams and individuals the opportunity to set official state, national and world records. Currently, several members from “Team USA” are registered. In addition, William Orrell, who holds the current world records in 3-3-3, 3-6-3, Cycle, Doubles Cycles, and Team Relay, is expected to compete. Any team or individual can register for the tournament. Competition will begin at 8:00 am and end at 5:30 pm, and spectators are welcome. There is a $1.00 admission fee at the door, and refreshments will be available for sale at the concession stand. All proceeds from admissions and concessions will be used to send the Girls Inc. championship team to this year’s AAU Junior Olympics in Detroit.

The Girls Inc. of Columbus Sport Stacking Team has competed in the AAU Junior Olympics Sport Stacking Championships for the past five years and several girls hold Georgia state records. In every competition, all of the girls have finished in the top 10 in their respective age groups. The majority of girls placed in the top five or brought home Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals. During the competitions, girls meet and compete against stackers from all over the United States, as well as from countries such as Canada, Korea and the Philippines.

For the past three years, the Girls Inc. team has participated in the WSSA Stack Up, an event to set the Guinness World Record for the most people stacking at multiple locations in one day. With a combined total of more than 150 girls stacking, Girls Inc. helped set this year’s record of 622,809 stackers. The team is coached by Deborah Wayland, who holds the Georgia Masters 3 record in Sport Stacking.