'It's just fun': Inside Manitoba’s first competitive Cornhole league

A backyard favourite has bagged quite a following in Manitoba, thanks to the establishment of the province’s first competitive Cornhole league.

The game, for those uninitiated in the ways of Cornhole, involves throwing weighted bags onto an angled board that’s sitting about 27 feet away from the player, who is aiming to sink it into a six-inch hole on the board.

It’s often played at a backyard barbecue, with players nursing a beer in one hand and cradling a beanbag in the other.

In the South Central Cornhole league, it’s a 'hole' lot more technical.

“(It’s about) consistency - consistency with grip, stance and release point, and once you get that consistency down, then you're going to probably get pretty good,” explained Sean Odell, the league’s reigning champion.

Sean Odell is pictured practicing his tosses on July 27, 2023. He is the current reigning champion of the South Central Cornhole league.

The league, which is Manitoba’s first, is approaching its one-year anniversary with about 135 players tossing bags.

President Jason McNish says many who join try to apply strategy and technique from a very different sport played on the ice.

“Some people come in with a defensive strategy. They watch too much curling, and there's no defence here, just an offence,” he explained.

“You want to throw it in the hole and maybe throw a guard in the front, so people can’t slide the bag as easy in, but then you can come overtop with an airmail, so that's kind of your strategy.”

A regulation Cornhole bag is six inches by six inches, about an inch thick and weighs about a pound. Despite being called bean bags, they are generally filled with corn or resin pellets.

An airmail, for the uncultured Cornholers out there, is a shot where the bag goes directly in the hole without touching the board at all.

Stephen Pleskach entered the league as a beginner. While he’s mastered a few classic shots over the months, the beauty of the game is its accessibility to all skill sets.

“There’s a level for everybody. My wife can play, my friends can play, the kids can play, and it’s just fun,” he said.

- With files from CTV’s Jamie Dowsett