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‘Bags fly’ at regional cornhole tournament in Surrey

Fraser Valley Cornhole league hosted event at Alice McKay building in Cloverdale
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Bruce Christensen, right, participating in a regional tournament hosted by Fraser Valley Cornehole at the Alice McKay Building on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in Surrey on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo: Anna Burns)

Cornhole is a game for everyone, young and old, Surrey resident and cornhole enthusiast Bruce Christensen said.

“It’s a very social event,” Christensen said. “So bring out anybody and everybody can play.”

The game involves players throwing bean bags at an angled board with a hole at the far end. Players score one point for landing the bean bag on the board and three points for tossing the bag through the hole. The game ends when a team or player reaches or exceeds 21 points.

Christensen started playing corehole competitively two years ago when some friends invited him to play in a local league.

Since then, he has participated in numerous tournaments, including ones hosted by Fraser Valley Cornhole (FVC) league.

In 2023, Christensen placed in 17 of the 29 FVC tournaments he played in. He won five of those tournaments.

On Saturday, Christensen was at it again, taking part in a regional tournament hosted by FVC. The tournament ran all day, with games being played in different formats. Games were organized in an effort to appeal to both social players and to more advanced players.

“Regionals are an ability to collect points to take you into further tournaments,” Christensen said. “Regional points count for Cornhole Canada, making every toss count towards your legacy,” reads a post on @fraservalleycornhole Facebook.

READ MORE: Fraser Valley Cornhole to host both provincial and national championships

While skill is involved in the game, it is not required when joining the league.”We’re willing to help show people how to play this,” Christensen said. The only thing required is the ability to hold and toss a one-pound bean bag.

The league has players ranging in age from 10- 75 years old.

“We are a community of cornhole enthusiasts who want to put the Fraser Valley on the map at a national level,” reads a post on bccornhole.com.

The league plays on select Friday evenings at the Alice McKay building (6060 176th Street) throughout the year. The next league night is scheduled for Friday (Feb. 23) from 6- 10 p.m.

For their weekly league play, Ryan Dahl, president of the B.C. Cornhole Association and director of the Fraser Valley Cornhole league said the FVC asks for $10, which gets players four games of round-robin action and then some knockout rounds. Lose two games after that and players are out.

Dahl added that players are divided into different groups by skill level, so there really is a place for all players to have fun, be competitive, and hone their skills.

Dahl said FVC is hosting the B.C. provincial championships July 5-7 and the Canada Cornhole national championships Aug. 15-18.

“We do league tournaments and then we also do regional tournaments where we invite in players from other leagues: Victoria, Kamloops, Vernon, all around,” Dahl said. “Then we do provincials, which is all of B.C. coming together and then we do nationals, which we are hosting this year.”

Cornhole Canada has 39 registered leagues across the country, compromising a membership of about 3,300 players. In B.C., there are seven registered leagues: Fraser Valley Cornhole (Cloverdale), Kamloops Cornhole Club, Kelowna Cornhole League, Langford Stingers Cornhole, Maple Ridge Cornhole, Vernon Cornhole, and Greater Victoria Cornhole League.

For more info, visit bccornhole.com.

-With files from Malin Jordan



Anna Burns

About the Author: Anna Burns

I cover breaking news, health care, non-profits and social issues-related topics for the Surrey Now-Leader.
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