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Cornhole took over Kinsmen Park on Saturday, with dozens of boards set up across the lawn.
If you aren't sure what Cornhole is, you aren't alone, but the lawn game has recently begun to garner more interest across North America.
"I always used to play Cornhole in the backyard, or when camping and we always had the smaller boards and bean bags," said Chris Schuk, president of the Kelowna Cornhole League. "On TV, I saw the American Cornhole League (ACL) really blowing up so I thought there's gotta be something in Canada, sure enough I found Cornhole Canada and here we are."
Play on Saturday was a mix of singles and doubles events, with competitors of all ages attempting to throw the most bean bags through a small hole on a board.
"Canada-wide, (Cornhole) really taken off," said Schuk. "I was the very first league to sign up and since then I think we have just over 50 leagues in Canada in the Canadian Cornhole League so the word is coming and it is slowly building."
The tournament on Saturday was the 2nd annual Cornhole Tournament, hosted by the Kelowna Kinsmen Club (KKC).
The KCC is a Canadian Service Organization that was founded back in 1944. Its mission is to 'serve our communities greatest needs', and has taken on several community based projects throughout the years.
"Our biggest initiative is Cystic Fibrosis. We've always raised millions and millions to try and find a cure," said Kelly Hutchinson, the President of the KKC. "We have many community based projects on a local scale too, like the Mission Sports Field, we built that. This park that we had the event in, we built this many decades ago. It is called Kinsmen Park for a reason."
The tournament had play throughout the whole day, including singles and doubles action. The learning curve of the sport is minimal, providing an easy barrier-to-entry and hopeful expansion into more events.
"Any money that you spend supporting our events go right back into the community," said Hutchinson. "We love supporting our members. If anybody has any interest and wants to join the club, the next project could be yours!"
Click here for more information on the KCC, and here for the Kelowna Cornhole League.
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