Time to toss
Cornhole tournament comes to Monroeville next weekend
Before a group of recreational entrepreneurs turned an old game into a new sport, they had to agree on what to call it. Its name was considered controversial.
“What you’re talking about was a big issue,” said Frank Geers, president and CEO of the American Cornhole Organization. “Years ago it was called ‘bean bag toss,’ but players in Cincinnati had coined the term because bags filled with corn were tossed into a hole. But there was a sexual connotation, especially among people of an older generation. We tried ‘hole shot,’ ‘hole game,’ but at the end of the day we liked cornhole.”
Since 2005, Mr. Geers’ business evolved from the manufacturing of game boards and bags filled with plastic pellets to the central governing body of a sport that is spreading across the country, one tailgating party at a time.
On Friday and Nov. 25 the American Cornhole Organization will hold a major tournament of its 13th season at the Monroeville Convention Center. Top cornholers from eight to 12 states are expected to compete for cash prizes and tournament advancement. Second-tier “social” players can get serious about the game and unaffiliated tossers will have a chance to test pitch.
Local folks wanting to compete in various categories — as singles or as teams — can register until Wednesday by going to the website, www.americancornhole.com or by calling 1-888-5632002. Various registration fees are involved.
“If you break down any sport, it started as a simple game, but someone had to set down official rules and regulations and organize it,” said Mr. Geers.
The lawn game began in the 1800s as a sort of indoor horseshoes. An 1883 patent for “parlor quoits” was played with bean bags tossed through a square hole
in an elevated board. Mr. Geers said he doesn’t know when Midwesterners embraced the game but Cincinnati became cornhole central when the American Cornhole Organization was founded there in the early 2000s.
“The nice thing about this game is truly anybody can play it, but it takes a lot to excel in it,” he said.
Two boards raised 1 foot off the ground on one side are placed 27 feet apart. Each board has a 6-inch hole. Players try to toss 6inch by 6-inch bags into the holes. Easy, right?
“There are four basic shots, but there’s some strategy involved, too,” Mr. Geers said.
An “air mail” shot drops the bag into the hole. A “slide shot” lands on the board below the hole and slides up into it. A “blocker” is intended to not go into the hole, blocking an opponent’s bag from sliding in, and a low-trajectory “push shot” knocks a “blocker” off the board.
“You have to have a good ‘air mail’ game to get good at this,” he said. “Four fingers under the bag, thumb on top, elbow in, and when you bring the bag up to release it, give it a little bit of a spin so it flies as flat as possible.”
Like another recreational entrepreneur named Rooney might have said, the game that became a sport is still in its infancy, but “it has possibilities,” Mr. Geers said.
American Cornhole Organization Major, Monroeville Convention Center, 209 Mall Blvd., Monroeville. Attendance free, 1-9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 25. 1-888-5632002.