Good Sportsmanship

All players participating and registered in Happy Hour Cornhole games shall behave in a sportsmanlike manner.

Any players behaving in an unsportsmanlike manner shall be ejected from the bar and if deemed necessary suspended from the league.

Unsportsmanlike behavior can consist of but is not limited to the following:

1. Any personal attacks or harassment based on gender, race, religion, age, sexual orientation, and national origin.
2. Physical violence or threat of physical violence of any kind.
3. Taunting in a manner that is malicious or un-welcome.

Note: Good natured taunting is allowed so long as it does not conflict with rule 1. In the instance where a team is offended by any taunting they shall inform the Happy Hour Cornhole representative in attendance. The referee shall inform the opposing team’s captain and request that the taunting cease. If the taunting does not cease, the Happy Hour Cornhole representative in attendance can eject the offending player(s) and award a forfeit, as deemed necessary.

Happy Hour Cornhole is primarily a social organization with the goal of providing a forum for individuals age 21 and over to meet and interact while participating in a relaxed pseudo-sporty atmosphere. Should any player threaten this goal with their behavior, Happy Hour Cornhole reserves the right to refuse this player’s continued involvement in the league.

Inclement Weather

Should inclement weather (in this case snow or freezing rain or ice storms) threaten game play on the day a game is scheduled, all team captains and co-captains shall be notified by 5:30 pm, with the expectation that the captain or co-captain will notify their teammates.

The Happy Hour Cornhole website will be updated by 5:30 pm to reflect such news as whether games will be cancelled.

Game cancellations will be decided by Happy Hour Cornhole and The Barking Dog as whether they will open or not.

The Happy Hour Cornhole website will be updated whether games will be cancelled. Please check Happy Hour Cornhole’s Twitter Feed or Facebook page to be sure, which will be updated as appropriate.

In the case of game cancellation due to inclement weather, Happy Hour Cornhole shall make every effort to re-schedule games for the end of the season or a bye-week.

Players

All players shall:

1. Have read and signed the Happy Hour Cornhole required waiver. Any player that has not signed the waiver shall be prohibited from participating in all games.
2. Be at least 21 years old on the day the season opens.
3. Have health insurance that would cover any potential injury that could occur while playing, watching or refereeing cornhole on the day the season opens.
4. Have paid their registration fee.

Refunds

Refunds for a placed registration will be considered up until 2 weeks prior to the season starting. Once said two week threshold has passed, no refunds will be considered.

Teams

All teams shall:

1. Consist of a minimum of 4 registered players and a maximum of 8 registered players.
2. There are no gender based requirements to participate in a Happy Hour Cornhole league game.
3. Have a captain and a co-captain.

Equipment

Happy Hour Cornhole shall provide all equipment needed for game play. Equipment shall consist of boards, bean bags, a league provided t-shirt and a score sheet for each team.

Uniforms

Happy Hour Cornhole shall provide all registered players with a t-shirt. This t-shirt shall be considered the team’s uniform and all players shall be required to wear the shirt to be considered eligible to play during a game.

Players are permitted to alter their shirts with the following restrictions:

1. The Happy Hour Cornhole logo, sponsor bar logo, and beverage logo, shall not be removed (this includes cutting), covered or obscured in any way.
2. No web addresses (other than that of Happy Hour Cornhole), organization name, or phone number may be included on the shirt.
3. Any words, symbols, or phrases that would run contrary to the Good Sportsmanship rule.

Regular Season Games

All regular season games shall begin promptly at 7:00 pm and 7:45 pm.

All regular season games shall consist of 15 frames or last for no more than 50 minutes.

Forfeited games and mutually agreed upon 0-0 ties shall not be rescheduled.

Regular season points shall be as follows: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss.

Playoff and Championship Games

The playoffs shall occur on the final Wednesday of the Happy Hour Cornhole season. Game play shall remain the same as during the regular season, however, any games that result in a tie shall have overtime.

Overtime

If both teams are tied at the end of 15 frames in the playoffs, the winner shall be determined in a final overtime frame where all regular game rules apply.

The Playing Field

All games shall be played in the second floor of the Barking Dog. Each set of cornhole targets shall be set up directly across from each other, roughly between 7 and 10 paces apart.

Frames

Each regulation game shall consist of 15 frames. A frame shall consist of both players from each team alternating throws until all eight beanbags have been thrown.

Substitutions

Teams can interchange their throwers following each frame as often as they desire. Players shall not be substituted mid frame.

Note: Players can be substituted mid frame for an emergency or injury.

Game Play and Set Up

Games shall be played between two teams consisting of 2 players on each respective team.

Note: For a game to count, teams shall have at least two players present.

Each team shall set themselves up at each cornhole target directly across from their teammate on the same side of the cornhole target.

Note: Players can throw their bags from either side or behind the target so long as they do not cross the front of the cornhole target. See foot fouls below.

Each team shall be given four beanbags (two with each member of each team) of the same color (red or gold) as their team’s assigned beanbags.

To determine which team throws first, one member of each team shall throw one beanbag at the opposite cornhole target. The team whose beanbag is closer to the hole (if it does not go directly in) will have the right to determine if they would like to throw first or second.

The game continues by alternating throws between all four players, until all eight bags are thrown. The players shall alternate throws at each target with player 1 from team 1 throwing, followed by player 1 from team 2 throwing. Both players will alternate throws until all four bags have been thrown. At this point, both players at the opposite cornhole target will throw their bags as well in the same manner. Once all eight bags have been thrown, the scores shall be tallied and recorded.

The next frame shall begin once the winning team has determined who will throw first.

Note: If the score is tied after the previous frame, the team that threw first in the previous round shall throw first again.

Tossing

All beanbags shall be tossed in an underhand manner.

Scoring

Teams can receive points for beanbags thrown based on the following criteria:

• Four points for a bag that goes through the hole.
• Three points for a bag that is on the cornhole target, but pushed in by another beanbag
• One point for a bag that has landed on the cornhole target on the fly.

 Note: This includes bags that are “hanging” off any edge of the cornhole target.

Points shall not be awarded under the following circumstances:

• Any beanbag that is touching the ground and the cornhole target at the same time.
• Any beanbag that bounced off the ground and then onto the cornhole target.
• Any beanbag that is being held onto the cornhole target by a beanbag on the ground below it.

Scoring shall be aggregate, i.e. not cancellation scoring. All points for every bean bag thrown shall be added up to come to a total frame score for each team. Each team is capable of a total maximum score of 16 for a frame.

The winner of the match will be the team that has accrued the most points through all 15 frames. If there is a tie at the end of the match, the team that has won the most frames will be declared the winner.

Fouls

• A foot foul shall be called if a player’s foot has crossed in front of the cornhole target from which they are throwing.
• A player foul shall be called if a player goes out of turn.
• A throwing foul shall be called if a player tosses a bag in an overhead manner.
• A beanbag thrown that hits the ceiling or anything attached to the ceiling (such as a fan).

In all cases if a foul occurs, the player’s throw shall not count and the beanbag removed from the field of play.

Note: If a thrown beanbag that has been determined to be a foul and disrupted beanbags on the cornhole target, the placement of all of the beanbags shall be returned to their spots before the foul occurred.