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Cornhole Rules

Game Times

  • Game times are specified on each leagues main page.  There are multiple time slots. Your team may be playing a different time each week.  

  • 3 games will be played per team.  If at the end time you are in the middle of a game, each team takes one more turn.  The high scoring team takes that win.  If its a tie game, each team takes a turn to determine winner.

  • Games must be started within 10 minutes of the start time.  Regardless if games start on time or after, they will end at the game end time specified. 

  • If a team is late beyond the 10 minutes the 1st game will be forfeited

  • If team is not present 20 minutes after game start time, all games are forfeited 

  • If only 1 team member is present for their game, they can start game with just 1 player, but they can only play on their side of the board, thus skipping their partners turn.  If 2nd team member arrives late they cannot join an already started game, they must wait until the next game to join.

 

Start Times:

  • Start and end times may vary depending on the league.  Refer to each leagues main page for specific game start and end times.

 

Weekly Dues:

  • Weekly dues are $6 per player; $5 goes toward end of season payouts, $1 goes toward 50/50 pot

  • Dues must be paid each week

  • If a team foreits a week they must still pay the weekly dues

  • All dues must be paid in full by playoffs in order to be eligible for playoffs

  • Full time players are responsible for the weekly dues not subs

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Subs

  • Subs must pay $5 sub fee and sign a waiver before play

  • Only 1 sub can be used per team.  Must have one full time original player in order to play.

  • If a sub is needed during playoffs, sub must already be registered as a sub prior to playoffs, no new subs for playoffs.  Can only have 1 sub per team during playoffs.  The sub must have already played with the specific team prior to playoffs. 

 

Cornhole Playing Equipment (Boards and Bags)

  • Two Cornhole Boards

  • 8 Bags – 4 each of two different colors

 

Cornhole Court Layout 

  • Cornhole Boards:  Boards are positioned 27’ from the front edge to front edge of the board.

  • Cornhole Pitchers Boxes:  A designated pitchers box is a 4’ x 3’ area at each end of the court and on both sides of each board; (4) boxes in all.

  • Cornhole Foul Lines: The front edge of the cornhole board is the foul line.

 

Cornhole Scoring 

  • Traditional 21:  The game shall be played to the pre-determined number of twenty-one (21) points.  The first player/team to reach (or exceed) that amount at the conclusion of a frame is the winner.

  • Woody: Refers to any cornhole bag that has been pitched and remains on the cornhole board playing surface at the conclusion of the frame. Each woody is 1pt.

  • Cornhole – Refers to any cornhole bag that has been pitched and passes through the cornhole board hole at anytime within the frame. Each cornhole is 3pts.

  • Cancellation Scoring:  The approved method of scoring for the sport of cornhole is “cancellation” scoring.  In cancellation scoring, the points of one player cancel out the points of their opponent.  Using this method, only one player/team can score in each frame.

  • Example: Red achieves one (1) woody and two (2) cornholes. Blue achieves two (2) woodies and zero (0) cornholes. 7 points – 2 points = Red scores 5 points for that frame.

  • Foul Bags – Refers to any cornhole bag that has not been determined as a “woody” or “cornhole”, or was designated a foul bag as the result of rules violation.

  • Designated Foul Bags – Refers to any cornhole bag that has not been determined as a “woody” or “cornhole”, or was designated a foul bag as the result of rules violation. Bags contacting the ground before reaching the playing surface and bags pitched when a player has crossed the foul line are Foul Bags. This also includes the bag hitting any other surface other than the ceiling, is considered a foul bag.  If a foul bag lands on the playing surface or comes to rest touching the ground and the board, it must be removed immediately.

 

Play of the Cornhole Game

  • Team A competes against Team B – each team is comprised of two (2) people.

  • Each team will stay in their designated lane for the whole game.

  • Players at the headboard will alternate pitching bags until each player has pitched all (4) of his/her bags.

  • Players at the footboard will take score and resume pitching back to the other cornhole board.

 

Pitching

  • Players alternate pitching bags (one player at a time) until each player has pitched all (4) of his/her bags.

  • A player must pitch all (4) cornhole bags from their designated cornhole pitchers box.

  • Players must deliver the bag with an under-hand release.

  • One foot must be completely within the pitcher’s box at the time of releasing the bag.

  • Players must not cross the foul line with their feet before the bag has landed.

 

Pitching the Next Frame

  • The player/team who scored in the preceding frame shall pitch first in the next frame.  If neither player/team scores, the player/team who pitched first in the preceding frame shall retain first pitch in the next frame.

 

Raking Cornhole Bags

If bags become piled inside the cornhole board hole and may interfere or obstruct with the next pitch or if there is question whether a cornhole bag would have naturally fallen through the hole, a player may request to “rake” the cornhole bags that have fallen inside the hole.

  • Important note:  During raking, all efforts should be made to leave bags on the playing surface undisrupted, in their natural state, and to leave bags that may hang on the rim of the hole from falling inside the hole unnaturally.  If a bag is resting on a piled bag, and unavoidably falls into the hole as a result of raking, then it shall be counted as a “cornhole.”

 

Playoff Rules

  • Teams may be divided into divisions for playoffs (depending on the amount of teams and skill level)

  • Individual wins/losses per week and total points scored will be tallied to determine seat in playoffs.

  • Each team's total GAMES WON will place the team. If teams have the same GAMES WON, each team's total POINTS will be looked at.  The team with the most points will be placed first.  If there is a tie between points, the winner from the most recent head to head match up will take the lead.

  • Playoffs will be consist of 1 game per round.  

  • Double elimination 

  • All team will be expected to arrive at the start time specified for playoffs to be ready for the start of the game.  Because it is double elimination bracket there is no way to specify start times after the first round.  Because of this all teams need to be present.

  • Teams will have 5 minutes to start their game once announced.  If longer than 5 minutes the team not ready will have to forfeit

  • If a sub is needed during playoffs, sub must already be registered as a sub prior to playoffs, no new subs for playoffs.  Can only have 1 sub per team during playoffs.  The sub must have already played with the specific team prior to playoffs. 

  • If a team has to forfeit their spot in playoffs they will still be included in the bracket 

 

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