Strathmore to see launch of local cornhole league

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For those who are fans of cornhole, soon you will have to look no further than the Strathmore Agricultural Society grounds, as a league prepares to launch in town. 

Lance Smith, who is organizing the league, said the idea originally came up at a party roughly six years ago. 

“We just started out with a bunch of people over and decided we should have a cornhole tournament. We had about 15 teams for the first year and we were playing on two sets of boards in my back alley with flood lamps for after it got dark,” he said.

“The next year it grew a little bit, and then the next year it grew a little bit, and we have been in the curling rink for the last four years. This year I had 48 teams in it and we played on 20 sets of boards from one end of the curling rink to the other.”

Amongst his coworkers, the decision was made to start hosting a formal league. According to Smith, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic there were two official cornhole leagues in Alberta. 

Now that Smith’s league is officially recognized with the Canadian Cornhole Association, it makes the seventh league in Alberta.

“It has grown quite a bit in the last couple of years. Leagues are popping up all over the country,” said Smith. “All you have to do is get people out once. That is the key because I’ve had people look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them … and then they come in, they have a great time and they stick around.”

Strathmore’s league will be launching with a 10-week trial period at the Ag Society grounds in the pavilion building in order to gauge local interest in the sport. 

Committing to the 10-week league will cost a participant $100, or they can pay $15 at the door for a one-night drop-in participation.

Should enough interest be generated locally, Smith said the cornhole league may decide to stick around all year long, much like similar leagues in places such as Calgary.

Though there are formal regional and national championships, Smith added those are currently beyond the ambitions of his league, though play at that level is not a total pipe dream.

Strathmore’s league will start out as more of a casual league that is welcoming and friendly to beginners, intending to welcome those who are just coming out to have fun.

The official league start in Strathmore will be on Jan. 10, 2023 and will run every Tuesday starting at 6:30 p.m. for the initial 10-week period. League nights are estimated to wrap up at roughly 9:30 p.m. on play nights.