The South East Alberta Sundogs Cornhole League officially started up Wednesday at the Robertson Legion, with Bert Hausauer and Callie Nelligan placing first in the round robin. A total of 17 players showed up and the league will meet each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for the next eight weeks.--PHOTO COURTESY TOM SIMPSON
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
The South East Alberta Sundogs Cornhole League officially started up Wednesday at the Robertson Legion. Tom and Carol Simpson decided to organize a league after spending a couple of evenings with the Strathmore league and one in Calgary.
The Simpson’s got into cornhole when they purchased an RV a few years ago and it was one of the campsite games they brought along with them. When Tom started researching the idea of a league this past February, he discovered a whole world related to cornhole and quickly realized having a league is where it was at.
Both times he visited the Strathmore league, there were about 65 people playing of all different ages, from teenagers to elderly, and varying physical abilities.
“There’s a buzz in the air when people are doing something,” said Tom. “They are having fun and there is laughter and I went home thinking this is so cool.”
With the help of several sponsors, they managed to raise around $10,000 to buy tournament-quality boards and bags along with computer equipment. The Sundogs are registered with Cornhole Canada, a governing body established in 2020 with 39 leagues in six provinces. Cornhole took off during the pandemic as it was one of the few sport activities that could be played within the guidelines, and unexpected TSN coverage helped garner an added popularity boost.
The Sundogs is for anyone living in Medicine Hat, Redcliff or Cypress County.
“We are an accredited league and we can have tournaments that people can participate in and proceed onto a national level of play,” explained Tom.
Sundog league evenings will start off with fun play and then move into a round-robin elimination tournament. Those placing first, second and third will win a small cash prize.
Currently, they are competing with summer activities but are hoping to have 20 to 30 people each night. The plan is to have three or four leagues per year, the next one will start in mid-September, and summers would be reserved for tournaments.
“We’re both retired. It’s not like we are looking for things to do but it seemed like it’s a really good fit for us,” stated Tom. “We’re both active and this looked like something that could impact a large audience without requiring huge athletic ability and it doesn’t cost very much.”
Everything needed to play is provided and all people have to do is show up.
“People were having so much fun at those leagues and I just didn’t expect that we were going to bump into something like this at this point in our lives.”
The cost to play as a drop-in visitor is $15. Players also have the option of signing up for the full league session for $100. This covers nine weeks of play plus the $10 Cornhole Canada registration. If you are looking to try something new that is a sociable game without requiring any athletic ability, cornhole might be the game for you.
For more information, Tom Simpson’s cell number is 403-977-1704 or email SundogsCornhole@gmail.com/. They can also be found on Facebook at South East Alberta Sundogs Cornhole League.
