Cornhole PRO League Rules

Last updated:  2018 April

Overview

Cornhole PRO is a weekend tournament expanded and played over 8 weeks.  The number of teams in the league each season will determine the prizes awarded at the end.

ALWAYS MAKE SURE BOTH TEAMS KNOW AND AGREE ON THE SCORE FOR THAT ROUND AND OF THE CURRENT GAME BEFORE BAGS ARE REMOVED FROM THE BOARD.

Participating Players

• Each game, teams field up to 2 players to play on 1 sets of boards each round.
• Teams that are shorthanded may play with only 1 player who can walk back and forth.
• In the playoffs and in the regular season, if a player walks instead of throwing 4 bags they may only throw 3 bags.
• Players arriving late may join games in progress (in an open end).
• If a team is late in the regular season, a game win will be awarded to the other team at the start of the game (scheduled game time) and every 10 minutes after to a max of 5 wins per night.

• If your team wants to substitute a player, follow the rules outlined in the 'subs' section of the FAQ  (FAQ - League Information - Are subs allowed?).

Rosters

• You can have as many players as you want on your roster, but the minimum number of players is 2.
• Additional players, including players who register as free agents, can be added to the roster anytime until the third week of the season.
• Captains are responsible for the conduct of teams. This means they’ll need to make sure all players are legal and conform to league play standards.
• Teams caught with illegal players or subs will lose all games for that night.
• If this happens twice, that team will be excluded from the playoffs.
• All players must meet league player requirements. (FAQ - League Information - Player Requirements)
• All players must wear their league tshirts to participate. (FAQ - League Information - What if I paid late and have not received a league tshirt or forget my league tshirt one night?)
• From time to time for various reasons players may become upset and curse, complain, and more.  When this occurs, our staff will respond and take actions from issuing a warning, to taking a time out, up to ejecting a player form the game.  For more info reference our FAQ. (FAQ - League Information - Ejections)

Equipment & Field Setup

• All equipment will be provided by Be Social Richmond.
• Cornhole boards
• Bean bags 

League Scoring, Standings, Seeding

• There’s no time limit on individual games.
• Games are official once 1 team has scored at least 7 points.

Regular Season

• Teams play as many games per night vs. their opponent as they can fit in 55 minutes.
• Games are official once one team has scored at least 7 points.
• Final game of the night will not count if one team has not scored at least 7 points.
• The final game of the night can end in a tie if at the end of 55 minutes, the score for both teams is tied and each team had scored more than 7 points.
• Teams will be assigned either blue or red bags to start the night.
• Following the first game, alternate the color bags each team starts with.
• Teams with the red bags will choose their positions on the board first, and then the team with the blue bags may choose their positions.

Playoffs

• Teams with 1+ more forfeits during the regular season will be excluded from the playoffs.
• Teams caught using players that are not on their roster or weren’t signed up as legal subs will be excluded from the playoffs.
• Seeding details this multi-game per night sport can be found in the FAQ (FAQ - League Information - How are standings calculated for the regular season?)
• The first team to win 2 games vs. their opponent will advance (best of 3 match).
• Teams will be assigned blue or red bags for the start of the match based on their season standings
• The lower seed (the team with the best record) will always start as blue.
• Teams will alternate bag color every other game.
• There are no ties in the playoffs.

What to Expect on Game Day

Field Setup

• Boards will be placed 27 feet apart, front to front.
• Games begin with all 8 bags on 1 board/side.
• Each team plays with 4 bags of 1 color.

Where to Stand

• Players on the same team will stand on the same side of the board.
• The side of the board is determined by the color bags your team’s been assigned.

Game Play

• The team with the blue bags has honors in round one of all games.
• The team who has honors will begin play by throwing a bag at the opposite board.
• If a player throws out of turn, see cornhole fouls below.
• Players from each team alternate throwing 1 bag at a time until all 8 bags have been thrown.
• A cornhole player may throw from anywhere on their assigned side but must be behind the front edge of the cornhole board they are throwing from.
• You may not cross in back of the hole.

Scoring Points

• 3 points = a bag in the hole.
• 1 point = a bag on the board.
• Any bag hanging off the board that does not touch the ground will count.
• Bags hanging off the front that stay on the board after the front of the board is lifted 4 inches off the ground count. (If the bag falls off it doesn’t count.)
• If a cornhole bag hits the ground then bounces up onto the board, remove that bag immediately—it doesn’t count.

Cancelation Scoring

• After each round of throws, teams count the number of points their team scored and then the points for that round are awarded to the team that outscored the other.
• Example: team A got 1 in the hole and 1 on the board, which is 4 points while their opponent got 2 on the board, which is 2 points—team A receives 2 points that round.

League Standings

• League standings are based on the winning percentage.
• The first team to get 21+ points wins that game.
• If no team has 21 points when time expires, the team with the most points will win.
• If both teams have the same number of points when time expires, players will alternate throwing 1 bag at a time until the tie is broken.

Honors = Who Throws First?

• The team with the blue bags has honors in round 1 of all games.
• The team who wins the round is given honors to throw first in the next round
• If both cornhole teams have the same round score, then the game score stays the same and honors stays with the team who had it the previous round.

Point System

• A bag that goes through the hole = 3 points
• A bag that falls on the playing surface = 1 point
• A bag that is hanging into the hole = 1 point
• A bag that is hanging off the edge but not touching the ground = 1 point
• A bag that is on the playing surface, but also touching the ground = 0 points
• A bag that is hanging off the front edge and is resting on a cornhole bag that is on the ground = 0 points

•  However, if you can remove the bag on the ground without the one on the board falling, then 1 point is awarded.

Fouls

• A player’s foot that goes past the foot foul line (the front of the cornhole board) is a foul. 
  • The throw the foul occurs on is voided, and if the bag is on the board, remove it.
• A Player throwing out of turn is a foul.
  • The throw the foul occurs on is voided.
    • If the thrown bag hits any bag on the board, reset the board.
    • The bag is lost for that round.

• A player removing bags before the last bag is tossed or the score is set is a foul.
• The non-offending team has the option of asking that the round be replayed.
• All removed bags scores would count.

Cornhole PRO prize payout:  (will scale to the number of teams in the league)
Minimum 8 teams needed for a league; max 40 teams
When split to 2 divisions that will occur for end of season tournament; Roughly the top 2/3 in standings for Upper payout and lower 1/3 in standings for a Lower level payout with 30 or more teams in league.  The seeding split will be posted by week 4 in the regular season.

NOTE: $xx off refers to an electronic coupon will be awarded for that value that may be used towards future play in BSR leagues that will be valid for 1 year from the issue date

All rules are subject to change when and as needed by BSR staff