Cornhole kicks off in Strathmore

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Strathmore’s own local cornhole league has officially kicked off as of Jan. 10, and immediately attracted more participation than organizers expected.

Lance Smith, president of the Strathmore Huskers Cornhole Club, said the club had no idea whether to expect 20 people showing up or 100 at launch day.

“I think we have got around 60 or 70, and that is more than we could have hoped for, for sure. We made sure we had enough sets of boards to accommodate this many people … as long as everybody is up throwing, that is the main thing,” he said. “Going forward, we will have playoffs every week and cash prizes. The app we run it through will look after all that, so that helps keep us on track.”

Smith explained cornhole has been experiencing significant growth in Alberta over the past year, going from two leagues within the province to eight.

Strathmore’s league will operate for a 10-week season, with Jan. 10 having been week one. Based on the success of the pilot season, Smith said the team may organize up to three seasons a year.

“The response has been good on Facebook and everything leading up to this, it looks to be pretty positive and that’s what we are after is just to get everybody out and let them have fun, try it out, mix and mingle and go from there,” Smith said.

For those who are more interested in trying out cornhole, they can drop in for one night. If they decide they would like to stick around for the rest of the season, the cost of their first attendance would be deducted from their league fees. 

Smith explained league fees are ultimately used for operational expenses such as renting out the space, maintaining local equipment and other administrative costs.

The original idea to get a league kicked off, he added, started as cornhole became more and more popular at an annual party.

Strathmore’s Cornhole league is registered with Canada Cornhole, as well as being involved with the other leagues around the province. 

Smith said the idea is to potentially see folks from other leagues coming out to Strathmore to support the local league and vice versa. 

Though the potential to host a regional or provincial tournament exists, Smith and his team are uncertain when or if they will host anytime soon.

“We are not super competitive, we just want to get people out, have fun, and just have something else for people to do,” he said. “If our league becomes a success, maybe we can host a bigger tournament or two and that would be awesome.”

Strathmore’s cornhole league meets every Tuesday at the Ag Society grounds starting at 6:30 p.m. during league weeks.