A student from Tainan is to travel to Kuala Lumpur to compete in a cup-stacking competition after securing the funds needed for travel through donations.
Thirteen-year-old Yeh Chih-chun (葉芷均), an eighth-grade student, taught herself how to stack cups two years ago by watching videos online and began competitive cup stacking last year.
She has won 12 medals at competitions in Taiwan since September last year and has become a member of the national team.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
There were no cup-stacking clubs at school and no teachers to instruct her, so she bought the equipment and trained herself at home by watching videos on YouTube, Yeh’s mother, Wang Shu-chao (王淑釗), said.
Yeh, who initially trained in Kaohsiung, travels to Taipei each week for group training, and Wang goes with her, Chenggong Borough (成功) Warden Cheng Ching-er (鄭晴而) said.
Since they pay their own transportation costs, they take the cheaper bus service, which departs between 3am and 4am, he said.
Aware of their family’s financial situation, Cheng decided to help them raise funds to cover Yeh’s travel expenses to Kuala Lumpur.
Cheng on Monday gave Wang and Yeh the NT$28,000 in donations that he had collected.
He hopes Yeh can focus on the competition and not worry about the cost, Cheng said.
Although cup stacking is relatively a unknown sport, it is popular among younger audiences, he said, adding that the young athlete is full of potential and worth investing in.
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