Bags were flying Saturday as this non-profit hosted their first event with lots of laughs and a positive outlook for the future of Cornhole in Nova Scotia.
The Board of Directors for Nova Scotia Cornhole Association (pictured above from left to right) Phil King, Renée MacLean, Chris Burns, Frank King, Alexis Kunz
A great game to play for all ages and abilities, who want to have fun and support great causes.
On Saturday, August 15th, the Nova Scotia Cornhole Association hosted its first event; Cornspiel 2020 at the Halifax Curling Club. It was a great success in both educating on the sport of Cornhole as well as bringing light to this new non-profit.
How Nova Scotia Cornhole Association Began...
Two brothers, Phil and Frank King went on vacation to the states to watch a football game (it was the Bengals but we won't hold it against them). During their trip, they stumbled into a micro-brewery that had cornhole boards-a-plenty and people waiting to play everywhere. They signed up and while they may have lost that game, it instilled a passion for the sport that they brought home with them.
Phil mentioned to his friend Alexis at another charity event that he learned of this game and thought it would be fun to have in Nova Scotia. It could be more than a backyard game and there was so much potential to use it as a fun and engaging way to raise money for more charities as a non-profit. She agreed that it sounded fun and given her nature to want to give back said she would happily help. She also mentioned that her friend Renée loved charity work and also lived in the states awhile, and would know what this sport was all about. She was right, Renée was in immediately.
Phil and Frank's friend Chris was also brought on board (no pun intended) and agreed to help out as well. He is a master at woodworking and has constructed the boards to the perfect specifications. You will not find better boards than his.
So began the Board of Directors. They met early March before COVID shut everything down, and worked in the background preparing everything. As of July 1st, 2020 they received their official documents stating that they were ready to start (as soon as restrictions would lift for them to do so). And finally, after a long wait and a lot of effort, Saturday, Aug. 15th arrived and did not disappoint.
Cornspiel 2020
The event took place at the Halifax Curling Club who was easy to work with and really helped make it the success it was. Due to the restrictions still in place with social distancing, it was kept to a smaller crowd to ensure they met compliance. Luckily with this sport you are naturally separated from your opponent and partner so with a small stagger of boards, there was plenty of room to distance. Everyone wore their masks when in the bar area, and stayed in the same seats whenever they returned from playing to keep everyone safe.
It was divided into four divisions to ensure everyone had a fair chance to play. As the night went on, teams were moved around so they could play different skill sets. The night ended with a 16 team playoff with a single elimination. It came down to two teams, both new to the sport of Cornhole.
It was a nail biter. Final two teams pictured above (Left to right) Team Tom & Matt, and Team Delton & Chris. The winners were Team Tom & Matt (pictured below). The top three teams were awarded Propeller Gift cards.
All in all, they saw people of all ages and experience with the sport, laugh and play a fun game. There was a lot of buzz about when the next event would be and how excited they were to sign up again.
The final four teams (pictured above).
The future of Nova Scotia Cornhole
The Board is already busy preparing for the next event. They are hoping to host another event in September to raise money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Foundation. They also have many plans in place for future events and ways to bring this sport to local businesses and more. This is just the beginning and they could not be more excited.
The biggest challenge right now aside from the health restrictions is finding the proper space to play. They need at least 12 foot high ceilings, 40 feet in width as the boards are 27 feet apart while playing, and room to separate each lane to maximize the number of games to play at once. Also, being a non-profit organization, the price definitely matters. They are hopeful to find something suitable for a winter home so they can continue to bring this game to everyone's attention and support great causes along the way.
Support
The Nova Scotia Cornhole Association would like to recognize Ron Wallace of Ace Machining who stepped up immediately and sponsored this new organization and attended the event. Ron has an incredible Company - check them out: http://www.acemachining.ca/#!/
If you would like to be a sponsor, or donate prizes for future events please email the Board at nscornholers@gmail.com
If you know of a venue that could be suitable for this organization to host future events, or you are a venue that wants to help this non-profit with their future events, please reach out to the Board at nscornholers@gmail.com
Now off to practice my underhand toss for the next event!