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COURT
LAKE ORION DOWNTOWN CORNHOLE LEAGUE RULES & REGULATIONS
A cornhole court shall be a level rectangular area 8-10 feet wide, with 27 feet between the front (foul line) of each opposing cornhole board, for an approximate total length of 40-45 feet.
EQUIPMENT
Official Lake Orion Downtown Cornhole League boards and bags must be used. Players may not substitute personal equipment at any time.
RULES OF PLAY
A minimum of 2 PLAYERS from a team must be present or the team forfeits.
Each night’s play will consist of 4 MATCHES. Every match is broken down into innings (or ends) of play. During an inning of play, each player/team must pitch all four of his/her bags. An inning is never completed until all players/teams pitch all four of his/her bags.
1. A coin flip determines which team has the choice of pitching first or deferring. The team scoring in the preceding inning pitches first in the next inning. If neither player/team scores, the player/team who pitched first in the preceding frame shall retain first pitch in the next frame.
2. Players/teams stay in their designated lane for the whole game. Please practice proper social distancing between teams.
3. Players/teams alternate pitching bags until each player/team has pitched all four of his/her bags.
4. Players then walk to the end of their lane to the other court, take score, and resume pitching back to the other board; alternatively, if four players are present are present from either team, that team may elect to have two players at each end for the duration of the match.
5. Unlimited substitutions within the team are permitted (for late-arriving players, for instance), but all players present must alternate (either 1-4 at each end or alternating if two players at each end) with maximum participation encouraged. There is no penalty for a player tossing out of turn.
6. All tosses must be made from behind the foul line at the time of release. Players must pitch the bag with an underhand release.
SCORING
The approved method is “cancellation” scoring. In cancellation scoring, the points of one player/team cancel out the points of their opponent. Only one player/team can score in each inning.
Bag In-The-Count (Woody) : Any bag which comes to rest anywhere on top of the board: 1 POINT
Bag In-The-Hole (Cornhole) : Any bag which is thrown through the hole or knocked through the hole by another bag: 3 POINTS
Foul Bags – Refers to any bag that has not been determined as Bag In-The-Count or Bag In-The Hole or was designated a foul bag as the result of rules violation
The winning team must score exactly 21 points to win the match, however there will be no reverse scoring (points taken off for failure to hit 21 exactly on a turn). If a team exceeds 21 points during an inning (end), they revert to their score at the start of the end.
FOUL BAGS
1. The following are rule violations that may be spotted and called by an opposing player. The penalty is to declare the bag a foul bag, which requires the bags to be removed from the court prior to resuming play. A foul bag is defined as:
(a) Any bag pitched when the player has (1) made contact with or crossed over the foul line
(b) Any bag that contacted the court or the ground before coming to rest on the board
(c) Any bag that struck a previously defined object such as a tree limb, wire, indoor court ceiling, etc.
(d) Any bag removed from the board before scoring has been agreed upon for that bag
(i).The offending team (who touches the bags) forfeits all remaining bags and tallies the score of just the bags thrown before the foul was reported
(ii).The non-offending team tallies twelve (12) points as if they had thrown four Bag In- The-Holes (Cornholes) during the inning
2. A bag that leaves a player’s hand once the final forward swing of the delivery process has started shall count as a pitched bag.
3. A bag that is accidentally dropped by a player before the final forward swing has started shall not be considered foul and may be picked up and pitched.
THERE ARE NO PROTESTS. ALL FOULS OR SCORING ISSUES MUST BE RESOLVED BY TEAM MEMBERS, with the overriding understanding that this is a fun league first and foremost.
HOUSEKEEPING
Scores for each match must be presented by team captains (or designees) to the designated scorer at the American Legion at the end of each night’s play. Won-loss record and total points scored against will be used to determine standings and to break ties.
WHEN PLAY IS COMPLETE, please call the American Legion at 248-693-2782 and ask for the Cornhole Commissioner to make arrangements to retrieve cornhole boards. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE THE BOARDS OR BAGS UNATTENDED AT ANY TIME.
