As long as the bags are flying, this league will continue to grow.
Because for Chapel’s Baggers Cornhole League, it’s all about giving players in Central Pasco a place to play.
“I mean, we only started about six months ago,” league founder and manager Jarrett Scheer, a Wesley Chapel resident, said. “We started with 32 players and now we have more than 60 at a tournament. Weekend tournaments do better, obviously, but the weekday tournaments — people are looking for something to do and go out — and those have great turnouts, as well.”
One very popular feature for this cornhole league is that it’s indoors. Given the heat and the rain, players are liking the competition that doesn’t have them in their backyards, sweating and being attacked by bugs.
“People don’t like the elements to affect their throws, so it’s nice and climate-controlled. The better players like it inside because that’s where they play the really big tournaments: inside,” Scheer added.
Scheer and fellow organizer, Jack Piety, host a weekly tournament, where players can win monetary prizes. Every Wednesday, the league sets up at Double Branch Brewing and Bites, at the Grove at Wesley Chapel. Scheer recognized the need for a cornhole league or group because he was tired of traveling a long way just to play.
“Honestly, (I just had to) get (the) name out there — you go and play tournaments, and you just get going with word of mouth and starting a Facebook group … because there was nothing in the Wesley Chapel or Land O’ Lakes area,” Scheer said. “Driving an hour or so to play a cornhole tournament wasn’t always the most fun thing to do.
“Double Branch is just a big space, and with the area there at the Grove at Wesley Chapel, (it) is just booming right now. … And so we get all walks of life that come and play. I even have an 11-year-old kid that comes and beats everyone — he’s pretty good. There are even a few 70-80-year-old players, too. Men, women, children, all skill levels — they just show up and play.”
Scheer welcomes all kinds of competition, to those just looking for fun or those who really are out for competitive play. However, to combat ringers coming in and running a tournament, especially as a two-person team, the tournaments will be Switcholio format.
This is a blind-draw, round-robin tournament, in which players get a new partner for every game and ranked on an individual basis. The organizer can use the leaderboard to recognize and reward top finishers, or seed them into a single elimination playoff.
More so, the league uses the Scoreholio app and site, which allows for live-time scoring. Players can view the leaderboard on a monitor Scheer sets up, as well as on their phones.
That app has helped garner more players for the league.
“I’ve been playing a long time and just found people on there who told me about (this league),” said Brian Robinson, a Brandon resident who traveled to Land O’ Lakes to play in a tournament. “I just play to have some fun, maybe win some money, but this was a bunch of good people — good vibes,” said Robinson.
“I found it on Facebook,” said Howard Smith, a Lakeland resident who entered a tournament because he was staying with his girlfriend in nearby Lutz. “The tournaments are real cool and a great way to win some money. I like the competition — it’s different than just playing around in your backyard.”
“And,” Robinson added, “it’s gone from 30 to 60 people, so it’s definitely popular, definitely something people are looking for here. But hey, the more people, the better the payout (laughs).”
The league is getting players from all over, too. As far as Sarasota and Sebring, to name a few. Which Scheer is all on board for.
“So, I get people from all over the place and they’re like, ‘Oh, wow. I really like this place (Double Branch).’ So they come back or they even go to the other places at the Grove — it helps all the places in Wesley Chapel,” he said. “I hope we just keep getting bigger because I want to bring business to businesses that don’t usually get as much business.
“Just by playing a little cornhole.”
Chapel’s Baggers Cornhole League
Details: A league based out of Wesley Chapel, open to all ages. There are occasional tournaments on the weekends, but the league plays every Wednesday at Double Branch Brewing and Bites, at the Grove at Wesley Chapel. Tournament winners are awarded monetary prizes, paid for by fees to compete.
Info: Visit the league’s Facebook Group, at Facebook.com/groups/4369806859780455.
Published June 29, 2022
Richard Fernandez, of Land O’ Lakes, left, and Gary Montemurro compete during a Chapel’s Baggers Cornhole League tournament, at The Groves Golf and Country Club clubhouse in Land O’ Lakes.
