Cornhole is not just a game for backyard fun, but a competitive sport with the first ever Ontario Cornhole Provincial Championships to be played this summer in Guelph.
“You probably had a beer or a drink in your hand, and you’re throwing this bean bag into a hole and never thought it could be competitive but it certainly is,” said Pino Panza, president of Cornhole Canada.
The championships will be hosted at the Gryphon Soccer Complex on the University of Guelph Campus on July 23 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“I’m looking forward to having it in Guelph,” said Eric Bornino, organizer of the Guelph Cornhole Club. “Being from Guelph my whole life, I’m looking forward to being able to showcase Guelph as the host of the first ever provincial [cornhole championships] in Ontario.”
Top players will compete in the Canadian National Cornhole Championships in Regina in August. Players are ranked in a points system throughout the year for all the tournaments they play.
“Once you start playing it gets very addictive. To play this game and to play it on a competitive level where you are actually being strategic,” said Bornino.
”Where you are actually playing against players who are so consistent and you really want to get to that next level.”
Guelph player Bornino is ranked 67 in the national player rankings.
There will be both competitive and social rounds of cornhole at the Ontario championships. There will be doubles consisting of teams of two, singles which are solo players, women's doubles rounds, mixed doubles, which include a team of men and women.
The tournament will be run through the app Scoreholio to keep track of the score and what lane players are playing on.
To play, players have to be over the age of 16 and register on the Cornhole Canada website.
Winners will receive a cash payout, medals and trophies.
Cornhole is played with two boards, placed eight metres apart. Each player gets four shots at a time. Players receive one point if the bean bag lands on the board, and three points if the bean bag lands in the hole. The catch is, if the competing player lands a bean bag in the hole, it cancels out any points the other player has who landed their bean bags on the board. First to 21 points win.
People who aren’t playing in the tournament and want to watch, they are welcome to check out the championship games.
