by Warren Schmidt
On August 13, I headed out to Maple Ridge, BC, to compete in this year’s Canadian Cornhole League Nationals, which ran from August 14-18. I had to raise money to be able to make the trip, so I ran multiple raffles which allowed me to raise approx $2,000 to help with travel expenses.
While there, I competed in (Tier 3) singles and doubles events, which is currently the highest tier in our league, and finished in the top 10 in both. Two days before I arrived, I received an e-mail from the league saying that I had been selected as one of four alternates to play in the men’s Elite 16 tournament. I was honored to be selected to participate in such an event, as these are the best of the best male competitors from across our league battling for a $1,000 cash prize.
As an alternate, I did not make it very far and was eliminated after my first game, but the experience was worth it. While at the event, I received an invitation to participate in another event, which was the Provincial show down. This event took the top four Tier 3 players, top two Tier 4 players, and the top two tier 5 players, male or female, and matched them up against the other provinces in doubles matches. So all provinces got to play each other, with the host, British Columbia, coming out on top this year.
Attending this event was a great experience for me as the director of the North Dundas Cornhole League (which will be starting back up September 24 at the Chesterville Legion from 6:30-9:30pm) I was able to meet other directors and exchange thoughts and ideas on how we can improve our league and make it stronger. This game is great, it is fun and social, and anyone can play it.