AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The sport of cornhole continues to gain popularity and shows no sign of slowing down. The bag-tossing game that's widely played in backyards and parking lots continues to gain momentum as it settles in as a mainstream American sport.
This weekend, the American Cornhole Organization is taking over the Margaritaville RV Resort in Auburndale for one of its tour events.
20 years ago, marketing expert Frank Geers saw people playing a spirited game of cornhole at a tailgate. Seeing it as a massive business opportunity, he decided to swing for the fences. Now, the ACO is in its 19th season of competition.
"I’m like, is there any organization or any organizing body to this game? There wasn’t. So I decided, well heck, I’m gonna make this thing a sport," Geers recalled. "So the rest is history. I love being a part of this industry now that really we helped create- or did create the cornhole movement."
38-year-old Arkansas native Jacob Garner is a building manager who got into the sport of cornhole with his wife. Now, he competes on the side, and they both work part-time for the ACO.
"A lot of people don’t even know that cornhole exists and don’t even think it’s a sport," Warner joked. "But it’s actually a real fun sport. And I encourage anybody and everybody to come out and have really great time."
Geers echoes the sentiment of everyone in the organization when it comes to the inclusive nature of the sport.
"You can play it indoors. You can play it outdoors. You can play it whether you’re Black or white, eight or 80. It doesn’t matter," he exclaimed. "All you have to be able to do is pitch a one-pound bag 27 feet to the other board and try to score some points."
The ACO even has an adaptive division for players who have physical limitations.
"Anybody and everybody can play, and that’s why I like this sport. More than any other sport," Warner added.
35-year-old Shawn Preece was introduced to cornhole when he was playing softball in his home state of Ohio. He likes the sport so much that he became a lifetime member of the ACO- and got a tattoo of the logo on his left calf.
"A lot of the family members and friends back home were like, 'You’re crazy! Like, why would you do that?' Why not?" Preece laughed. "It’s ink. I wear pants most of the time. I’m good."
Preece moved to Florida for his day job, but he still can't believe his second job is competing in cornhole. He said that the camaraderie involved is just as fun as the competition.
"I’m going to encourage you. 'You’d be alright if you flatten it out just a little bit or you throw it up a little higher.' The sport is just so fun," Preece said about playing with people of all skill levels. "And playing against people like that just makes it that much better. Seeing them smile, 'Oh! I got it in the hole!' It’s fun, man."
The competition picks up again Saturday at 8 a.m., and it's free and open to the public. It's also streaming on their YouTube channel.
For more information, head to their website.
