Competitive cornhole players will gather in Okotoks for the first Alberta regional tournament of the season.
The Okotoks Prairie Dogz will be hosting the Alberta regional, as well as a free youth cornhole tournament, on Friday, Jan. 10 and Saturday, Jan. 11 at Viking Rentals Centre.
The league typically features divisions based on skill level, with the number of divisions based on participants.
For this tournament, the mixer event kicks off at 6 p.m. on Friday, with a four-game round robin seeded into three brackets, dubbed Tiers 1, 2 and 3. Prizes are paid out for the first and second place winners of each division.
On Saturday, registration for doubles opens at 8:30 a.m. and doubles start at 9 a.m. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Once again, doubles are seeded into Tiers 1, 2 and 3 for a double-elimination bracket. Prizes are paid out for the first and second place winners of each division.
Later in the day, singles kick off at 2 p.m. with three divisions: advanced, competitive and novice. Four games will be played round robin style in each division seeded for position in a double elimination bracket. Prizes are paid to first, second and third place.
Also at 2 p.m. on Saturday is a free youth tournament for anyone under 16. There is no prize money, but trophies will be awarded for first and second place.
Players that join the Dogz are signed up for a free account with the American Cornhole League (ACL), which has teams across the United States, Europe and Canada, including the Calgary Big Bucks, Strathmore Mad Hatters and Medicine Hat Badlands.
Cornhole is growing internationally as a competitive sport, but Okotoks Prairie Dogz co-director Steve Wilson said players haven't lost sight of the game's fun roots.
"There's a lot of people in our league that just come out for the social night of throwing bags, having fun and drinking beers," he said. "That's the side of cornhole that'll never go away. Cornhole is a beer-drinking game. It's always been a beer drinking game."
Learn more about the Okotoks Prairie Dogz on the club's Facebook page, and learn more about the American Cornhole League here.
