Cornhole’s thriving in Delhi
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Chris Abbott
Editor
Kin Club of Delhi hosts its first outdoor fundraising cornhole tournament
It was a ‘hot and fun day’ for the Kin Club of Delhi, hosting their first outdoor fundraising cornhole tournament.
“We’re going to try to do it annually,” Delhi Kin Club’s Jessica Matthews, tournament convener. “It was a good turnout, so I’m thinking we’re going to do it every year. 100 per cent of the proceeds go right into Kin, then back into the community.”
Nineteen teams competed Saturday, July 11 at the Delhi District German Home, with two cornhole players on each team.
Many players from Delhi Cornhole Club participated, and the cornhole club took care of tournament ‘technical’ details, making sure the brackets ran smoothly.
Everyone started in the same pool, then divided into three divisions based on rankings after the round robin.
“You’re always playing against somebody that’s on your level, so it’s fun,” said Matthews.
The youngest player was just nine years old, and there were 5-6 teenagers.
“And they held their own. It’s a great sport, anybody can play it,” said Matthews. “It’s for all age levels.”
The Kin Club of Delhi is active in the community, sponsoring multiple sports teams and the two local elementary schools. They are also looking to expand the dog park they recently built, said Kin Club’s Jennifer Kichler.
“We also do a Catch the Ace to help raise money for the Norfolk Haldimand Community Hospice,” said Kichler.
Jon Burr, convener of the Delhi Cornhole Club, teamed up with Trever Howden from the Kin Club of Delhi, finishing third in the A division after a semifinal loss to Bram Leach and Bill Ingram.
Burr, who is also a regional cornhole director, noted the Delhi club regularly has 60-70 players at the German Home every Tuesday from October to June.
“Our club’s been running here for five years now, and we’ve been getting about the same number every week,” said Burr. “We’re probably one of the largest clubs in Ontario, for registered players. Some players will drive an hour, from St. Thomas and Hamilton, to come here. And for regionals (tournament), they’ll drive up to 2-3 hours sometimes.
“A bunch of us travel all over – I was just in St. John’s for cornhole. There are also four professional cornhole teams in Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and St. John’s), playing under the ACL (American Cornhole League) banner,” he said, noting he is not a pro player, but is the general manager of the Toronto team.
The Delhi club has humble roots, and still appeals to all ability levels.
“A lot of these people here, they started playing backyard/trailer cornhole. They hear about our club and they come in… not realizing we use tablets and computers and you can follow everything on your phone. It’s crazy,” Burr laughs. “We have quite the following – we have over 700 members on our Facebook page.”
Tournament Winners
A Bracket 1 - Jeff Collings & Ryan Norrington
A Bracket 2 - Bram Leach & Bill Ingram
B Bracket 1 - Joe & Austin Allin
B Bracket 2 - Howard Martin & Darlene Shelton
C Bracket 1 - Dana & Rob Furtado
C Bracket 2 - Sam Wesseling & Christina Ingram
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