Playeasy Sport of the Week – Cornhole
About Cornhole
Cornhole as we know it has been around since the 1970s, though its origins possibly date back to earlier centuries. In the 1970s and 80s, the game became increasingly popular in the Midwest, in Cincinnati in particular, as a tailgating game. Through the early 2000s, it started to become more competitive with more tournaments popping up and athletes starting to take cornhole as a sport seriously.
The American Cornhole League
Founded in 2015, the American Cornhole League (ACL) is the worldwide governing body of professional, competitive and recreational cornhole. Its first year, the ACL held about 200 events, and in 2016 held the first World Championships. Flash forward to this season alone, and the ACL has already run over 30,000 tournaments across the nation. Annually, the organization awards over $4.5 million across the ACL brand. “It’s grown exponentially since we began,” Trey Ryder, Media Director at the American Cornhole League shares.
The ACL promotes and develops cornhole as a sport for any age and any skill level. The organization establishes the rules and regulations to govern the sport around the world.
The American Cornhole League
The Game
Cornhole is played with 2 boards placed 27 feet apart. Players alternate throwing 4 bags 27 feet to the other board, aiming to make as many bags in the hole as they can. Players score points by the number of bags they put in the hole or on the board until a team scores 21 points or over.
The bulk of ACL’s tournaments and events are played in bracket formats, meaning they are typically double elimination tournaments. Players pay to enter a tournament, they are placed in a bracket, and the bracket is played all the way through until a champion is crowned. The organization has a variety of divisions based on skill level and demographic, ranging from novice, intermediate, competitive, advanced to professional.
Events
Whether you’d like to play in a local league or work your way up to a national event, the American Cornhole League has you covered. At the local recreational level, the ACL offers local, regional, and conference events broken up by groups of states. Depending on your level, the cornhole event season runs essentially year-round.
On the competitive and professional level, the ACL runs three series of events: Open Series, Pro Shootouts, and Nationals. The Open Series features anywhere from 500-800 players from across the country competing for cash payouts and professional qualification. The ACL Pro Shootout Series consists of 8 shootout events followed by a Pro Shootout Championship. The ACL National Series consists of the 4 ACL National events followed by the ACL World Championships. The ACL prize pool consists of $1 million across all Pro events.
Going Pro
Professional cornhole players have worked their way up to pro qualification through hours of training and participating in competitive events. “I would say on average, these professionals are putting in an hour to two hours a day, with some getting 5-6 hours a day if they are doing it as a full-time job,” Trey shares. This year, the ACL is giving over $1 million to its professional players across the Pro events.
Growth for Cornhole
“Growth comes in a lot of different directions for us. First, it’s a player base. We started with about 200 participants in 2015 across about 300 tournaments. Now we are up to about 150,000 active players in our league. We are now running 30,000 tournaments a year,” Ryder notes. Throughout the pandemic, cornhole was one of the few sports that could continue running events safely. That, paired with a growing interest in niche sports and the incredible commitment of the ACL, the sport is taking off.
To Break it Down
- Players – 2015: 300 participants → 2022: 150,000 active players
- Payout – 2015: $50,000 across the season → 2022: $4.5 million annually across the ACL brand
- Tournaments – 2015: 200 events → 2022: 30,000 tournaments per year
- Broadcasting – 2015: One broadcast with ESPN → 2021: The ACL was aired over 205 times across ESPN
Getting Involved
For those looking to get involved in cornhole, check out events coming up near you. The ACL site breaks down their event types, schedules, player guides, and how to get started for free with the ACL. Local bar leagues and special events are a great way to get started. Click here to learn more about how to get involved, or click here to find their events near you.
What Does Cornhole Need from Hosts?
Most of the ACL’s competitive events require large convention hall spaces with robust WiFi connection. Depending on the event type, the organization’s square footage needs shift. For the Pro Shootouts, the ACL requires anywhere from 20,000-40,000 sq. ft. of space. The Open Series needs 30,000+ sq. ft., while the Nationals need 40,000+ sq. ft. of space and an adjacent arena for broadcasting. Ceiling height is also key, as all events need a minimum of 12-foot ceilings to successfully play. If the ACL is broadcasting the event, a venue’s internet capability is vital.
“We are a very self-sufficient organization. Once you provide us with our needs, we really don’t require anything else. Tables, chairs, internet, power, square footage and ceiling height is the extent of everything I need from a venue”
Katherine Kennedy-Halbert, Logistics Coordinator at the ACL
Fun Facts
- Depending on your region, cornhole may be referred to by various nicknames, like “Bags” or “Baggo”.
- The name ‘cornhole’ comes from the first players of the game who filled bags with corn to toss.
- In 1883, Heyliger de Windt’s patent for a game called “Parlor Quoits”, where players threw bean bags onto a board with a square hole, is thought to have inspired the modern day cornhole board.
For more information on the sport, how to get involved, and the American Cornhole League, head to their Playeasy profile here.
