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Lacombe’s cornhole league aiming to attract new players

Cornhole - long a very popular game across the United States - is taking off across Canada and right here in Lacombe as well.
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Brent van Nieuwkerk founded Lacombe’s Cold Blooded Cornhole league, one of nine in Alberta. Photo submitted

Cornhole - long a very popular game across the United States - is taking off across Canada and right here in Lacombe as well.

“We’ve been going for just over two years now,” said Brent van Nieuwkerk, vice president of Cornhole Alberta and one of the founders of Lacombe’s Cold Blooded Cornhole league.

The league currently plays at the Lacombe Memorial Centre on Wednesdays starting at 6:30 p.m.

“It came from the United States, and the reason it’s called ‘cornhole’ is that the bags were originally filled with corn,” he explained, adding that its origins stretch back more than 100 years.

According to the league’s website, cornhole is a game in which players take turns throwing bean bags at a raised platform board with a hole in the far end.

“A bag in the hole scores three points, while one on the board scores one point. Play continues until a team or player reaches or exceeds the score of 21. It’s played as singles or doubles.

“It’s massive in the United States - they have tournaments with $100,000 purses. We in Canada aren’t there yet because our player base is still growing. At this time last year, there were two active leagues in Alberta - there was ours and another one in High Prairie.”

But at last count, there are now nine leagues across the province and more than 50 across Canada - with most located in Ontario and Quebec, he said, adding that the local league belongs to Canadian Cornhole Leagues.

“So going from two leagues to nine here in Alberta is a huge jump,” he said, adding that a couple more leagues are in the works of setting up as well.

Meanwhile, as mentioned, local interest is growing as well. At a recent gathering, 27 players came out.

Folks can opt to join a competitive division or a recreational division.

In the warmer months, the group has been gathering out at The Track on 2.

For van Nieuwkerk, cornhole offers plenty in the way of enjoyment and challenge plus it’s a terrific way to socialize.

“We just started the recreational division in January,” he said.

This way, those who are new to cornhole can enjoy a non-competitive evening of trying it out and honing their skills until they feel confident enough to sign on for the competitive division if they choose.

Eventually, he’d like to see an intermediate division added as well.

This would provide a slightly more competitive setting for those in the recreational division who feel ready to move on but are not quite ready for the competitive division just yet.

“Down in the States, they have it split into six different divisions,” he said. “I would love to see ours at three or four divisions.”

Meanwhile, van Nieuwkerk, who has been diligently working on spreading the word about the group, said that building awareness about cornhole is a key goal.

“Some people say, ‘It’s a camping game’. But it is so much more than a camping game. It just hasn’t been offered on a broader basis in Canada until really the last two years,” he said.

“We will have people come out and say that they hadn’t even known that it existed,” he said. “But I’m hoping that now that we have introduced the recreational division, it will help us to grow and to continue to grow.

“I also anticipate more leagues jumping up in the future,” he said, adding the folks will feel very welcomed if they pop by.

“You come to it once and you be welcomed like family,” he said. “Come out and try it.”

For more information, find them on Facebook at ‘Cold Blooded Cornhole’.



Mark Weber

About the Author: Mark Weber

I've been a part of the Black Press Media family for about a dozen years now, with stints at the Red Deer Express, the Stettler Independent, and now the Lacombe Express.
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