NORWAY — There was running, laughter and creativity at the Norway Memorial Library on Saturday when children had the opportunity to learn and practice the quirky sport of speed stacking.

Speed stacking combines fitness, agility, concentration and quickness. The only materials needed are timer mats and speed stack cups, which are plastic cups of different sizes with holes in the bottom.

Library volunteer Sherri Otterson, a former special education and physical education teacher who has taught in Bangor, Okinawa, Japan, and South Korea on military bases, brought a large assortment of cups and mats to demonstrate various stacking patterns to children.

“Speed stacking is great for eye-hand coordination, and it uses both sides of the body, so it really helps develop skills for sports and playing instruments,” she said.

She would like to bring the benefits of stacking to nursing homes in the future.

Otterson also stressed the physical activity involved in the sport, where teams often run relays or do crunches and jumping jacks in between stacking patterns. In Japan, the cups are entwined in academics, known as “stackademics,” and each student has their own set they are permitted to use at specified times.

Annika Black, the children’s librarian, said the sport is a great way to get kids into the library.

“We want parents to get excited about bringing kids to the library, and see that we have more to offer than books here,” she said.

John Gracey, 11, decided to go freestyle and made an elaborate “castle” out of numerous cups of various colors. He said he enjoyed stacking because of the endless designs it offers.

“Imagine if I lived here,” said John, as he crouched behind his wall of cups. “There’s a bathroom and books, and I’d have a bunch of knowledge!”

His sister Sarah, 8, also chose to go freestyle, and used the giant bucket-like cups to build herself an obstacle course to run around, proving Otterson’s point that the sport can indeed be physically strenuous.

In November 2016, Black organized the library’s participation in breaking the Guinness Book of World Records for most people participating in cup stacking at the same time all around the world. Thirty people in the Norway library speed stacked at the specified time. There were a total of 622,809 participants around the world, breaking the previous 2015 record of 618,394.

There will be two more stacking dates at the Norway Memorial Library on Feb. 11 and March 11, but Black said there are cups left out every day in the children’s room that kids can use to practice.

For more information on speed stacking, visit www.thewssa.com or the Norway Memorial Library Children’s Room Facebook page.