Please ensure that you read and understand the Houston Sports & Social Club General Rules. They can be found here.

Houston Sports & Social Club Cornhole Rules

 

ROSTER/WAIVERS:

There is no maximum number of players allowed on a cornhole team roster; however players must be registered with Houston Sports & Social Club and must sign the Houston Sports & Social Club waiver to be able to participate. Please refer to the Houston Sports & Social Club General Rules for rules regarding roster adjustments and additional details regarding waivers.

 

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:

Please refer to the General Rules for details regarding player eligibility. Houston Sports & Social Club staff may require players to verify their eligibility at their discretion. If a player is ruled ineligible, the offending team will be assessed a loss for that game.

 

SPORTSMANSHIP:

Houston Sports & Social Club expects all participants to play with the highest level of sportsmanship. Rude or demeaning behavior to Houston SSC or venue staff, the opposing team, your own team members, and/or spectators will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Unsportsmanlike behavior may result in that player being ejected from the game. An ejection may result in further suspension from participation in current and/or future Houston Sports & Social Club sports. An ejected player is required to leave the premises immediately. Refusal to leave the premises may result in a team forfeit and/or suspension.

 

Any disputes or complaints regarding a sportsmanship or ejection can be addressed with the league after the day of play in which the incident took place. On the day of the incident, the decision made by HoustonSSC or venue staff will be considered final and disputes will not be addressed by the league.

 

 

FORFEITS:
All games will have a 5-minute initial grace period. Once the initial grace period has expired, if team does not have at least 1 player present to play an official game, the opposing team will receive a win for the first set of the night, and an additional 10 minute grace period will be allowed. After a total of 15 minutes from game time, a team still does not have at least 1 player available to play a legal game, the game will be ruled a forfeit. A forfeit will be scored 21-0, 21-0.

 

A forfeit fine may be issued if a team does not provide a forfeit notification prior to the deadline, and does not have the minimum number of players to play an officiated exhibition game (minimum of 1 player). If a team e-mails info@HoustonSSC.com by 2pm on the day of your game (for weekday leagues) or 10am the day of your game (for weekend leagues), stating that they will not be able to field a team, no fine will be assessed. This will allow notifications to reach the opposing team’s members and will allow the opposing coach to inform his team of the impending forfeit.

 

If you believe a forfeit fine is owed to your team, your team captain must complete the forfeit fine request form by no later than 7 days after the forfeit (e.g. if you are forfeited on in a Thursday league, you have until Wednesday of the following week to submit your forfeit fine request). If the forfeit fine request form is not completed within 7 days, no forfeit fine will be assessed. The forfeit fine request form is located at: https://www.HoustonSSC.com/page/forfeit

 

After review, if it is determined that your team is owed a forfeit fine, a forfeit fine will be assessed ($50 per game for regular leagues and $25 per game for doubleheader leagues) and added to your captain's account as league credit that can be used toward a future season. For free agent teams, the fine will be divided by the number of players on the roster and added to each player's account. The league credit will expire 6 months from the day of issuance.

 

Note: No forfeit fines will be assessed in tournaments or playoffs.

 

GAME EQUIPMENT:

 

All cornhole leagues are BYOB (Bring Your Own Bags). Bags must be filled with resin (corn filled bags are not legal for play). General standards for bags are 6"x6", 16oz, and 1.35" thick. Bags may be deemed illegal if they deviate significantly from these standards.

GAMEPLAY:

Each team will play with 4 bags. Captains will play rock, paper, scissors (best 2 out of 3), with the winner choosing which team tosses first. Teams alternate throwing first each set, i.e. the team that tosses first to start the first set will toss last to start the second set. 

 

Partners will face each other at opposite board sets so as to not provide an advantage to one team or another. Once a set has started, partners must remain on their same side of the cornhole board for the entire set.

 

Teams may have up to 2 pitchers on each end, however they must rotate every toss throughout the set. Teams can switch pitchers between sets. If a player arrives late, they must wait until the set is over to enter the game, unless the captain of the opposing team consents to them joining in the middle of the set.

 

Teams will alternate pitches until all bags are thrown. Once all 8 bags are thrown, teams will agree upon the scoring (as prescribed below) and will update the scoreboard. If there is a scoring dispute, the league coordinator should be pulled in for a ruling prior to the bags being moved.

 

Players must stay behind the foul line when pitching. The foul line is defined as the imaginary line that runs horizontally from the front edge of the board.

 

The team that scores points will toss first in the next frame. If nobody scores, the order will remain the same, i.e. the team that tossed first in the prior frame will toss first again.

 

Play will continue until a team reaches 21 points (or more) first. The team that reaches 21 points will win the set.

 

Matches are best 2 out of 3 sets. All 3 sets will be played to 21 points.

 

TOURNAMENTS - Scoring formats will vary depending on the tournament. In most cases, there will be 4qualifying round games followed by a double elimination tournament, with all matches played with 1 game to 21.  I

 

SCORING:

Bag “In the Hole” - 3 points will be awarded for a bag in the hole, which is defined as a bag which thrown through the hole in the platform or otherwise comes to rest inside the platform either by being knocked in by another player’s bag or an act of God).

 

Bag “In the Count” - 1 point will be awarded for a bag in the count, which is defined as a bag that has any portion resting on the platform. If a bag touches the ground and then comes to rest on the platform, it will be considered a foul and must be removed from the board immediately and no points will be awarded.

 

Bag “Out of the Count” – 0 points will be awarded for a bag out of the count, which is defined as a bag that comes to rest anywhere except “in the count” or “in the hole”. A foul bag will be considered to be “out of the count” and must be removed from the court immediately.

 

Cancellation scoring will be in effect, i.e. the score recorded at the end of each frame will be the difference in the points between the 2 teams.

 

For example if Team 1 makes 2 bags “in the hole” for a total of 6 points and Team 2 makes 2 bags “in the count” for a total of 2 points, the result would be Team 1 scoring 4 total points (6 – 2 = 4).

 

FOUL BAGS:

A foul bag is a bag that is delivered in non-compliance with the rules of the game. All foul bags are considered “out of the count” and must be removed from play immediately. If a foul bag contacts any bags that are “in the count”, those bags will be replaced at their original positions, even if the bag is “in the count” and is knocked “in the hole” by the foul bag. Foul bags will be assessed in the following instances:

1. Any bag not delivered within 20 seconds of a player’s turn beginning.
2. Any bag that contacts the ground.
3. A player crosses the foul line on the toss.
4. A player tosses out of turn.

 

TOURNAMENTS - Any rules not addressed here will default to ACL rules.

 

PLAYOFFS

SEEDING:

Playoff seedings will be determined by the best overall records. In the event that 2 teams are tied with the same record, head-to-head matchups will determine higher seedings whenever possible. When head-to-head matchups cannot clearly determine a higher seed, or when 3 or more teams are tied, tiebreakers will be determined in the following order:

1)    Head-to-head matchups (for 2 way ties when possible, described above)

2)    Highest team set differentials for the season

3)    Highest team total sets won

4)    Lowest team total sets lost

5)    Highest team Power Index

6)    Coin Flip