A common backyard pastime — cornhole — is having a series of championship games.
The American Cornhole League (ACL) World Championships started July 28 in Rock Hill, S.C. The weeklong tournament ends Aug. 3.
ACL commissioner Stacey Moore founded the ACL in 2015, with the goal of "becoming the next great professional sport in the country."
The act of throwing a small beanbag into a hole may seem simple to the regular eye, but the game is far more complex, according to Trey Ryder, cornhole strategist and ACL chief strategy officer.
Ryder joined NPR's Morning Edition to break down how the sport began to gain national attention.
Ryder says the game is similar to basketball in terms of accuracy and shooting distance. But compared to other sports like football, he considers cornhole to be much more accessible.
"You've beaten the neighbor at the tailgate. You've won the graduation party tournament. That's not true when it comes to football. You know, I'm not fortunate enough to be able to throw a ball three yards for a touchdown," Ryder said.
Although many people may have played a game of cornhole, it doesn't make everyone a professional.
"If you guys put one or two bags in the hole, it's probably a good day and a good round. These players are averaging what we call a 10.0 or higher points per round average, meaning if they put three bags in the hole and the other one sits on the board, their average actually goes down," Ryder said.
Ryder spoke with NPR's A Martinez about what sets cornhole apart from other sports and how it continues to gain mainstream success.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
A Martinez: So how and when did a backyard pastime become a pro sport?
Trey Ryder: Our founder and commissioner, Stacy Moore, had a passion for tailgating. [She realized] a lot of people are taking this seriously. There's an opportunity here to professionalize it. [Moore] decided to do it [and] had our first championship event in 2016. Now going into year number ten, there's been a lot of ups and downs — a lot more ups than downs — and two different network deals, and 50 million people playing worldwide. Now it's officially a professional sport.
Martinez: So what separates an amateur cornhole player between the best players on the tour — the pros? What separates them?
Ryder: It's all about consistency, right? So what's great about cornhole is that it's so accessible to anybody from any walk of life. Our slogan is: Anyone can play and anyone can win — and we embody that. But it's the consistency at the highest level. These guys are playing at a high level, 80-plus percent in the hole, and they just practice consistently. That's what delivers for them.
Martinez: Is it better to have a high arc on your throw or more direct to the hole? Which one seems to work best?
Ryder: It really just depends on what shot selection you're trying to make. A traditional player has a lower angle if they're trying to do it as a traditional slide shot, meaning I want to land at the center of the board, and I want that bag to slide straight and up and into the hole. That's the most common shot in the game. However, if I want to throw what we call an air mail — throwing it straight in like a swish in basketball — because maybe my opponent has blocked the center of the board, then, yes, I want to change that trajectory. I want to throw it higher so it flies straight in and boom, three points.
Martinez: I think Steph Curry would be a great cornhole player. What do you think?
Ryder: Yes, it's a battle this similar distance, 27 feet from the front of the board to the front of the board. It's a similar distance for an NBA 3-pointer. So yes, certainly some similarities there.
Martinez: You might have to recruit him. Now, in recent years, sports channels like ESPN appear to be more willing to give airtime to sports such as cornhole: axe throwing, dodgeball — if somebody is throwing something for accuracy, I'm there for hours watching. But why do you think it is? Why do you think people in sports channels like ESPN are giving this time?
Ryder:. It's a sticky sport, is kind of what we call it. ESPN views it as an evergreen property. One hundred and forty airings this past year on ESPN networks across the various linear channels. We think it's part of the accessibility and relatability you were just talking about. You started the show by asking, "Oh, have you played?" You're from the Midwest. Everybody's got that relatability story.
The story was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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