With a flash of their hands and bang of their cups, students at New Jerusalem School tried to stack their way to glory as they joined in the Guinness World Records “world’s largest speed stacking event” on Thursday, Nov. 18, during their physical education classes.

More than 120 students in the first, second, fifth and eighth grades speed stacked for 30 minutes as they joined other stackers across the globe in arranging plastic cups into pyramids and back down as fast as they could.

The speed stacking sport promotes hand-eye coordination, fitness and teamwork, as the stackers race to assemble and then disassemble their cup stacks.

Teacher Julia Ulrich has been getting her students ready for three weeks as they prepared to stack away in the record attempt. The team stacking is usually a rain-day indoor activity for the students, but they jumped at the chance to join in the world record try.

Organizers hoped to break last year’s 222,560-person record with 300,000 stackers across the world. To join in the record attempt, participants had to speed stack for 30 minutes straight Thursday and then send an online verification about the number of stackers to Guinness.

Speed stackers use specially designed plastic cups with holes on the base to allow air to flow throw so the cups can be stacked fast. Stackers use both hands to build and collapse the plastic pyramids at dizzying speeds.

Thursday’s speed stacking had the students participate in team events as well as individual time trials.