Golf croquet may be the newest fad among the country club set, but cornhole is fast becoming the game of choice among families and the younger crowd, as evidenced by the number of people who turned out for an inaugural Toss Out Child Abuse Charity Cornhole Tournament at the Walking Tree Brewery, hosted by the Exchange Club of Indian River Foundation. Funds raised at the event benefit local children’s charities whose programs help fight child abuse.
The slap of beanbags against boards punctuated the air as people began to arrive, with newbies and experts alike getting in a few practice rounds to warm up their tossing arms. More than 30 teams of two signed up to give it their all, taking turns throwing cloth bags across a 33-foot expanse into a hole at the end of a raised platform until one team scores 21 points.
Management of the tournament was ably handled by John Pertile of bagboards.net from St. Petersburg, who also made logoed cornhole sets for each $500 sponsor to take home.
In addition to registration fees, funds were raised through the purchase of raffle tickets for some great prizes, and Walking Tree Brewery donated 100 percent of proceeds from the sale of a 10-gallon firkin keg of T.O.C.A., a limited-edition beer created especially for the tournament.
“This was our goal; to provide a venue to help nonprofits raise money for their causes. We’ve been able to give back and help a lot of nonprofits,” said Alan Dritenbas, brewery co-owner with Mike Malone.
“We had heard about other Exchange Clubs who had done tournaments,” said event chair John Binkley, who came up with the idea for this club. “Cornhole is a popular game that a lot of people enjoy; especially young people.”
“We’re playing on the Schlitt board; they’re really nice, good quality boards,” said Bob Schlitt, Jr. “We’re going to use them for picnics and tailgating.” When asked whether he had any strategy in mind for the game he laughed and said, “My strategy is to accept the fact that I’m not going to win!”
Jodi Zorc was there with her sons and daughters. Two of the boys were competing and, while they’ve played quite a bit at home, she said this was the first time they’ve been in a competition.
Jackie Savell even had a name for her team – The Big Bag Theory – and t-shirts to boot.
“My son is playing and she’s playing,” said Melody Ippolito. Pointing to Savell, wearing shoes others would have trouble just walking in, she added, “She’s got platform shoes on and she’s sinking them (the bags) like crazy; it’s unbelievable.”
For more information, visit exchangeclubofindianriver.org
