Ava Compagnoni, avcompagnoni@ursinus.edu
Intramural Corn Hole is the hottest new trend on campus this semester due to the absence of collegiate sports. The one-time summer backyard game has now become the talk of campus; both students who participate in athletics and those who do not join forces at the Floy Lewis Bakes Center for friendly games. Athletes have turned in their regular sporting equipment for the bags and boards and a couple of tosses to show down against other teams. The intramural teams compete twice a week, 18 teams going head-to-head to see who has better throws and luck with the board.
Without his normal collegiate sport season, men’s tennis player Mason Groff ’21 says the intramural league has provided some lower intensity competition. “I would say it provides a bit of competition, but more of a sense of normalcy. It is also fun to participate in something I normally wouldn’t do and play a nice game against some friends.” The competition between teams is not super serious, just a good outlet while sports are on lockdown. Despite what people may think, cornhole can be misunderstood as relatively easy, but it does in fact get competitive. Luckily, Ursinus’ intramural league is friendly, high-spirited, and can encourage students to mingle with their fellow friends/classmates who hang outside of their own bubble.
A new addition to the list of intramural sports held here at Ursinus, cornhole could definitely use a few more teams, “I think more students should get involved, it is a simple game and the more you participate in a few games, the better you get. It is not super tasking and I have already created some fun new memories to add to the list I have made here at Ursinus,” says Groff.
Each team has two players along with a team name they picked for themselves, which is where the players’ creativity comes in. Current team names include: Keepers of the Hole, Washington Cornhole Team, Armadillos, Find the Hole, Bag and Boujee, Bags of Fury, Berks Elite, Kappas, Basic Pitches, Cornholios, Please Join the Frisbee Team, Forgot to Warm Up, Airmail, Maized and Confused.
Now, you may be thinking, is there a level of strategy or skill to this game? Should I practice before heading out to the Bakes and potentially get absolutely clobbered? The answer to all of this is no. Intramural leagues create a welcoming environment for students who would like to participate in an informal version of athletics, but not at the collegiate level, “The way the game works is usually by how lucky and upbeat the players are that night, most of the game is go with the flow, but there is definitely strategy when it comes to the scoring,” states Groff. The score goes up to twenty-one, and players cannot go a point over, or it sets the team back in points. So, the winning point can depend on landing a bag on the board or in the hole, depending on certain situations. Groff describes his ending strategy to winning a cornhole game, “The way teams finish the game is crucial, getting stuck just under twenty-one due to lack of strategy can break the chances of winning. There is definitely a lot of thinking that goes into the final points along with the skill.”
So, the next time an intramural sports email is sent to the student body, gather some friends and try it out! No harm, no foul; if you find you enjoy it, continue to participate, as there may be some friendships to be made. Perhaps before we depart, catch a game or two in the Bakes. The first bag is thrown at seven and the last bag is tossed at nine. Follow Ursinus_Intramurals on Instagram to keep track of events, scoring, and more opportunities to get involved. Go Bears!