Cornhole: It’s a Serious Outdoor Sport

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When many people hear about the game cornhole for the first time, the first reaction is often snickering or laughter. While this might seem like just another bean bag toss game with a silly name from the Midwest, cornhole is actually gaining strong momentum as a very serious game. The history of cornhole is a little muddled as no one is quite sure when exactly it started for the first time. Some stories say the original version of this game came from German immigrants in the 1400s, while others have the game as being created in the Midwest around Indiana and Kentucky about a century ago. Whatever the true nature of this game’s history, it doesn’t change the momentum that cornhole has created for itself as a serious pastime.

You might be surprised to know that there is even an additional governing body for the sport. The ACA, American Cornhole Association, is the official governing body of cornhole and creates the standard regulations for the game as well as sets up official tournaments for professional corn toss players. That’s right, there is an official set of rules for informal games as well as an official set of cornhole rules for professional matches. Sponsored cornhole tournaments are not just found in one or two states, either.  It’s not at all unusual for the ACA website to have over a dozen tournaments located in over 10 states at any given time. Stretching from Minnesota down to Florida, the reach of cornhole seems to be growing with each passing year.

The ACA acknowledges in its mission statement the goal of continuing to promote and encourage the game of cornhole until it is a mainstay in all 50 US states. They also stand to serve as a resource for disagreements on rules scoring, since they are now creating the standard rules and regulations that all professionals are using in their tournaments.  This commitment is starting to pay off, and there’s little question that curiosity about the sport continues to rise.

One of the reasons the sport of cornhole is likely to continue to gain in popularity and support it because it is a very easy game to learn and actually makes sense for outdoor get-togethers as well as making a great family game. Add in the natural competitive nature of all the professional teams competing with one another, and you can bet that these competitions are going to continue for years and probably find more more new members along the way.

There is a lot to like about the sport. Cornhole bags are certainly a heck of a lot safer than lawn darts, the simplicity of the game allows virtually anybody to play, and you still have fun as a group while remaining competitive in a good-natured way with one another. Having the actual organization to create a governing body just shows how popular the sport of cornhole has already become. While the name might be funny to some, there’s little question that cornhole is here to stay and that the game will only become more popular over time.

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2 thoughts on “Cornhole: It’s a Serious Outdoor Sport”

  1. Cornhole,it sounds new but interesting one..how does this game is got played?

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    • I guess it’s just a mid-west game. Its similar to horse shoes but you have a wood board with a hole in it and bean bags.

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