Who Won at the First Ever Vermont Cornhole Championships?

BY RUSSELL JONES 

As Cornhole grows across the country, Vermont now has its very own state championship.  

Glory and a chance to be called Vermont State Champions were on the line over the weekend as Brandon hosted the first-ever Great Vermont Cornhole Championship on Saturday, July 20. 

As the temperatures rose into the high 90s, 34 teams of Cornhole players made the journey from all over the state to the Brandon Inn for the first-ever Vermont State Cornhole Championships.

Event coordinator Bill Moore says, “The great thing about cornhole is you can play it inside or out,” Moore said. “It’s a safer, more portable version of horseshoes.”

Moore is an advocate for the sport and has organized summer and winter leagues for the game in the Brandon area for the past four years. 

The 34 teams that registered for Saturday’s State Championship competed in a bracket-style tournament with the eventual winners, Barre residents TJ Kennison and Derek Fraioli, picking up statewide bragging rights and $400. Their team name? The Cornhole Bombers.

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. A dedicated regulatory group, the American Cornhole Organization, oversees official game rules and regulates play, by sanctioning certain tournaments across the country. Moore hopes to harness some of the excitement surrounding the game for Brandon. 

“Brandon is the cornhole capital of Vermont,” said Moore. “I think this will be a great lead-in to the Fire Department’s cornhole tournament in September, as well.”

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.

Moore heads Brandon’s Recreation Department, which put on the state championship. He’s been looking forward to hosting such an event for several years.

“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.”

Moore would also like to see Vermont’s larger cornhole community streamline its play so that regional leagues are hosting games and tournaments that are consistent with the American Cornhole Association’s rules.

“In 2012, when I took over at the rec department,” Moore said, “the Great Brandon Auction had two corn outfits.” 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. “It’s just such an accessible sport. It’s one of those activities that gives people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds an opportunity to come out and play.”

Another perk?

“It doesn’t take long to get good enough to be able to play and enjoy yourself,” says Moore.

This year’s state championship event was open to anyone who wished to participate. “We expect to at least double, maybe even triple the number of teams next year,” said Moore. “We will be putting the 16 league champs from around the state directly into the round of 32 and have 16 pools that we’ll put other registered teams in that will eventually make it into the round of 32 against the

league champs,” he explained.

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.

“One thing I’ve observed in our community is that this is a game that connects people,” says Moore. “You really get a variety of people at these events, in part because it doesn’t take much money to play. You’ll have lawyers and doctors playing with stonemasons and older folks.”

He says that those interactions are really good for a small community. “The adult beverage component of the sport certainly helps bring people together, but I think it’s the game itself. Let’s just say, politics don’t usually come up in cornhole.”

Moore was encouraged by the crowds he saw at the event.

 “Despite the oppressive heat, we had a great turnout and a good day of Cornhole,” Event coordinator and Brandon recreation manager Bill Moore said. “We were able to make connections with Cornhole leagues from all over the state that will help ensure next year’s event is even better.” 

Featured Photo Caption: First Annual Vermont Cornhole Champions TJ Kennison and Derek Fraioli accept their medals from a giant cob of corn, Sophie Moore. Photo courtesy cornholevt.com