By RUSSELL JONES
Glory and a chance to be called Vermont State Champions are on the line this weekend as Brandon hosts the first-ever Great Vermont Cornhole Championship at the Brandon Inn.
“Brandon is the cornhole capital of Vermont,” said event coordinator Bill Moore. “I think this will be a great lead-in to the Fire Department’s cornhole tournament in September, as well.”
Moore said he has organized summer and winter leagues for the game for the past four years.
“The great thing about cornhole is you can play it inside or out,” Moore said. “It’s a safer, more portable version of horseshoes.”
Cornhole started in the Midwest, gaining fans after Popular Mechanics published an article on how to make the boards. It began to grow around the Illinois and Indiana regions in the 1970s and ’80s before taking off across the country in the past decade.
Now, events from the American Cornhole League can be watched on ESPN. Moore is hoping the excitement surrounding the game will lead to a large turnout for the first annual state championship.
The game is relatively simple: teams of two toss cloth bags filled with two cups of corn kernels at opposing slanted boards with the back edge 12 inches off the ground and the front edge at ground level. The boards have a hole slightly larger than the size of the bag, with the object being to drop the bag into the hole. The distance from the front edge of each board is 27 feet. Bags dropped through the hole are scored and the teams play in innings.
“It doesn’t take a lot to learn to play,” Moore said. “There isn’t a steep learning curve.”
The Brandon Recreation department, headed by Moore, is behind the state championship. This is an event that Moore has been looking forward to for several years.
“In 2012, when I took over at the rec department,” Moore said, “the Great Brandon Auction had two corn outfits that I bought.”
He said he bought the two outfits, which he described as giant ears of corn complete with the green husks that stick out on the side, in preparation for this event.
“I have been trying to put this together for a while now,” Moore said. “It’s a growing sport and no one has put together a state championship in Vermont yet, although other states do.”
He got together with the Downtown Brandon Alliance and the Brandon/Forest Dale Lions Club and they started planning. With help from the DBA, they trademarked the name and now Brandon is the home of the first-ever event.
Moore said that by this time next year, the Vermont State Championship would be a qualifier into the national cornhole championship, which should bring even more teams to Brandon.
Teams can register before the event on cornholevt.com, or they can register the day of the event. There is an entry fee of $50. On Saturday, registration will begin at 8 a.m. and Moore said he expects they will begin tossing at 10 a.m.
The championship will take place at the Brandon Inn and bags will fly rain or shine, as a large tent will be put up in case of showers. Foley Brothers and Red Clover Ale will be serving up cold, local brews and Restoration BBQ and La Catrina Tacos will be there serving food.
There will also be raffle drawings going on all day with one of the top prizes being a set of Vermont State Championship cornhole boards with the state logo imprinted on them.
Moore said they have teams registered from all over the state, as far north as St. Albans, and even a team from Pennsylvania. In addition to bragging rights, $400 is up for grabs for the winning team.
“This weekend, we’ll find out who the best is,” Moore said.
