The Barrie Cornhole League (BCL) is growing with every event they hold and in a week they will head back up to Muskoka for another big tournament.
The BCL is the creation of Sebastian Gianino and his friends who started a league in Toronto and were about to start their online push for the Barrie chapter in March. That is until COVID-19 shut things down.
“We started our Barrie league in March, right before the pandemic lockdowns started. We couldn’t do any indoor events, but we have played a couple outdoors this year, which has been fun for everyone,” Gianino told BarrieToday. “I think people have just wanted to find a way to safely get together and play something.”
According to Cornhole Central, the go-to spot for all the things that one needs to know about the game, there are 11 cornhole leagues in Ontario.
Gianino and his partners started last year in Toronto, but always knew they wanted to add Barrie to what they hope is a growing community of cornhole events in Ontario.
“We feel Barrie has our clientele and we have tried to set up a few events for the players here and the farther-north crowd,” he said. “If we can get people playing and excited about future events, that will only make us bigger in 2021.”
The BCL has had tournaments in the parking lots of Barrie establishments, including Redline Brewery, Boston Pizza, and Ol’ West Wing. Their second event at Clear Lake Brewery in Torrance, located near Bala, is set for Oct. 24 where winners can receive cash prizes. Gianino expects close to 40 people that weekend.
“We’ve had about 120 people throughout some of our events this year in the area, which are good numbers,” he said. “I think it's successful because we are outdoors and, by nature, cornhole is a social-distanced game.”
The game consists of two boards (24 inches wide by 48 inches long), 27 feet apart with each having a six-inch hole centred nine inches from the back edge of the board. Each player gets four bean bags and tries to get their bags in the hole until they reach a score of 21.
The game has been popular at tailgate parties and outdoor barbecues for many years, but Gianino wants to get cornhole as big in Canada as it is in the United States.
“Cornhole is huge in America. There are so many leagues and thousands of dollars are handed out to winners in different categories,” Gianino said. “The great thing about it is anyone can play, no matter your age or skill level, it is never too late to pick it up.”
The event at Clear Lake Brewery on Saturday, Oct. 24 has two divisions, competitive ($25 to enter) and recreation ($15 to enter). There is a singles category, a doubles and mixed doubles.
You can reserve your spot by signing up on the Barrie Cornhole League website.
All players will be required to wear a mask during tournament play.
For updates on league play, check out the BCL on their Facebook page.
