The Sault’s Brett Davie has become the first American Cornhole League (ACL) Canada professional from northern Ontario.
“I got involved in it three years ago when a friend of mine started a local league. At first it was for fun and to get people involved in the sport. Then the following year people who live in the U.S.A. for the winter took over and we became an actual ACL-affiliated program. It was still for fun but it became a little more serious. Last year I decided to take it really seriously and see where I could go with it,” Davie said in an interview with SooToday.
Davie became a cornhole pro at a tournament held in Cobourg, Ontario Sept. 6-8.
“There were six of us from the Sault who made the Top 100 in the Ontario Conference so we went to Cobourg and I went undefeated to get the first spot. It was very exciting. Nerves came into it but I was happy to keep my nerves calm and play well and get my professional card in the American Cornhole League.”
Davie will soon compete in the ACL Canada Open in Calgary Oct. 25-27.
Cornhole is a game in which players toss bean bags in underhanded throws toward a slanted wooden platform with the objective of passing the beanbag through a hole in the centre of the platform. Regulation size square bags contain corn filling.
The game’s roots can be traced to the 19th century and it became popular in Illinois in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The game became increasingly popular in North America and the American Cornhole League (ACL) was founded in 2015. ACL matches have been shown on sports networks like ESPN, with ACL Canada starting up in 2021. The game is also popular in Europe.
Players get three points for a bag in the hole and one point for each bag on the board. A cornhole match can last for a few minutes while other matches can last up to an hour until one player reaches 21 points. Matches can include single players or doubles.
Players from the local league - known as Steel City Cornhole - first met and played weekly at Soo Blaster on Queen Street East, then The Queen Of Hearts Club on Dennis Street and now at Rankin Arena every Tuesday evening at 7 p.m (registration at 6 p.m.).
Davie estimated there are 40 people in the league - males and females of all ages - with 20 to 30 committed participants.
“It can become serious. Obviously you want to outscore your opponent like in any other sport and win. You want to try and block your opponent from putting his bag in the hole, shoot your bag around his or shoot yours over it,” Davie said.
“There’s a lot to it, like how you stand when you throw, how you grip the bag, how you release it. There are different types of shots. You can slide it, roll your bag over top of other bags, tilt it on an angle so that it goes to one side of the board and cut its way back to the hole on the other side. There’s a lot of things you can do.”
There are many cornhole tournaments in the U.S. but Davie said for now he will be competing on the Canadian pro tour beginning in Calgary then continuing in Niagara Falls in December, followed by three tournaments in 2025 including one in Drummondville, Quebec, another in St. John’s and the Canadian National Championships in a yet-to-be-determined city.
“It’s a great sport. If you join a league it makes you feel like part of a community. Everyone there is super awesome, super friendly so you make really good friends and you always have a good time. The cornhole community across Canada, everyone is so awesome and you make lifetime friends. It makes you feel part of something that’s way bigger than yourself,” Davie said.
Davie, an Algoma Steel employee, said his employer and coworkers have been supportive in his increasingly successful cornhole exploits.
“Brett being the first ACL Canada pro from northern Ontario is exciting for all of us. It’s fantastic,” said Geoff Waterman, Sudbury-based ACL Canada regional director in a phone interview with SooToday.
Davie will be competing in Calgary as a single, with a partner in doubles play and will also be drafted by one of four ACL Canada pro teams based in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and St. John’s.
“Anyone can play. Kids to seniors, anyone can play this game. I have a league in Sudbury that started in 2022, Nickel City Cornhole, and there are others in Sault Ste. Marie, Blind River, Timmins and ages range from 11 to 84. The ACL Canada slogan is ‘anyone can play, anyone can win.’ They’re always looking for new members in the Sault. Everyone should come and check out the league in the Sault. You’ll have a great time,” Waterman said.
More information on local cornhole can be found on the Steel City Cornhole social media page.