CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman County Cornhole Club will host a benefit cornhole tournament Saturday, Aug. 27, in the Cullman Middle School gymnasium to raise funds for Victim Services of Cullman. Registration will be from 10:30-11:30a.m. and bags will fly at noon.
The Social Division is $30 for entry and players will use provided house bags. The Competitive Division is $40 for entry and players can bring their own bags. These are followed by the Blind Draw, held after the tournaments, and is $10 a player, double elimination.
Cash payouts will go to winning teams. Donations can also be made straight to Victim Services.
Club Co-Founder Robert Haddix said the benefit came together when Gwen Parker reached out and asked if the group could host a fundraising tournament for the organization. Victim Services of Cullman provides crisis prevention and recovery programs for families impacted by domestic violence and survivors of sexual assault.
“This was a perfect fit because we love to do benefits. Benefits just bring the community together and do so much good. Victim Services was a no-brainer for us. They do so much for our community and their service is so important. When something like this comes to us, we find a date on the calendar and just make it happen,” said Haddix.
Haddix shared the history of the cornhole club, saying, “We got our start in 2019 after we attended a tournament in the Birmingham area as players for the first time and we were addicted to the game. The only problem was back in 2019 there wasn’t any place to throw north of Birmingham. The gentleman who ran the event we attended told us if we were to start something in north Alabama it would do really well as far as people participating. So, we rented some equipment from him and held our first event in mid-2019. It was a success and so we decided to purchase some equipment from him and do a few more Saturday benefit tournaments. It grew from there to where we started hosting a weekly tournament as well as our Saturday benefit events. Now in north Alabama there are numerous clubs that host weekly events too. The sport has exploded.”
Saturdays are typically reserved for the club’s fundraiser events, and league play blind draw-type games are played Tuesdays. The club hosts Tuesday night events at The Refuge Church on U.S. Highway 278 East which gives the players a chance to compete weekly and helps raise money for the church ministry.
“We started the club to give a place for people to play, but it really is the cornhole community of players in Alabama and surrounding areas that make it all happen. They travel far distances to compete. It is a great community of people. We found out they love to participate in fundraisers as much or more than any other events because they know the money is going to great things and will make a difference. The cool part is anyone can play this game. You don’t have to have some special skill set. We supply the equipment unless you have bags of your own you want to throw,” said Haddix.
He continued, “Our area has many pro players. We are actually an American Cornhole League, ACL for short, regional club. We host 10 Saturday events – Regionals- and numerous Tuesday events -Locals- every season. The ACL is the league you see on ESPN. Now our events are just regional events. The ones on ESPN are the national events. Our players that attend our ACL events gain points to work their way into gaining a chance at pro status and invitations to the national events. So, in short, we love our community and love to do as much good as we can while enjoying playing the sport we love. We appreciate all the support we get from all the players around here, and we hope to continue to do this for a long time and keep raising money for great causes.”
To become a member of Cullman County Cornhole Club, visit the group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/380015529612330/.
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