Cornhole – MS Rules

Valid through 2025

Special Olympics New Hampshire has created this set of rules based on the American Cornhole Association (ACA), the national governing body for Cornhole, rules.

These rules shall be used to govern all Special Olympics New Hampshire Cornhole competition through the end of 2025 when we next review these rules.

EVENTS OFFERED

• Level 1 Unified Sports Doubles
  • Athletes 13 years or older
• Level 2 (Junior Play) Unified Sports Doubles
  • Athletes 12 years old and under
  • Middle School Unified Pairs

COURT LAYOUT

Dimensions – A court shall be a level rectangular area 8-10 ft wide and a minimum of 28-33 ft long. The court should consist of two boards, designated pitcher’s boxes, and foul lines. A north-south setting is recommended for outdoor courts to minimize the effects of the sun.

Pitcher’s Box – The pitcher’s box is the rectangle 4 ft by 3 ft at each end of the court, parallel and on both sides of the boards. Each player must remain in the pitcher’s box while pitching the bag.

Multiple Courts – To eliminate distraction and safely separate activity, courts adjacent to each other shall be a minimum of 10 feet apart. A greater distance (at least 12 feet) is preferable.

Foul Lines – The Level 1 play foul lines shall be defined as a line 27 ft. from the beginning of the opposite board. The Level 2 play foul lines shall be defined as a line 21 ft. from the beginning of the hole in the opposite board. See the diagram above.

Covered or Indoor Courts – The regulations for covered and indoor Cornhole courts are exactly the same with the additional stipulation that they shall have a minimum 12-foot vertical clearance to the lowest possible obstruction.

PLAYING EQUIPMENT

Cornhole is played with 8 bags, four each of colors, and a cornhole platform.

• Board
  • Each Cornhole board shall be a 47.5-48″ x 23.5-24″ rectangle made of half-inch plywood
  • The hole in the board shall be 6” in diameter and be centered 9” from the top and 12” from each side of the board edges.
  • The front of the board shall be 2.5” from bottom to top and be at near a 90-degree angle to the deck face. The back of the board shall be 12” from ground to the highest point of the deck at a 90-degree angle to the deck face.
  • The board finish shall be sanded to a very smooth texture, and there shall not be any blemishes in the wood surface that might disrupt or distort play.
  • The board can be painted with a semi-gloss exterior latex paint resulting in a surface that allows corn bags to slide but is not so slippery that it allows the bags to slide back down the board.
• Bags
  • The bags shall be made from two fabric squares 6.25” x 6.25” with a quarter inch stitched seam on all four sides. Bags should be made from durable fabric. Each bag shall be filled with approximately 2 cups of feed corn, and finished bags should be a minimum of 6″ X 6″ square and weigh between 14 and 16 ounces. We will allow the use of plastic pellets (all-weather cornhole bags) in lieu of feed corn.
• Court
  • Every effort shall be made to keep the play surface in perfect playing condition. Courts should be free of anything that might distract a contestant during play. Each player is responsible for making sure the court is in good playing condition prior to starting the game. During a game, a player shall not be allowed to alter the court in any manner without the consent of the opponent or official.

UNIFORMS

• Proper Attire
  • Players will dress in a manner which will serve to bring credit to them and the sport of Cornhole. All Unified pairs are encouraged to wear uniform tops that are identical in color, trim and style. Unified pair players may wear shorts, warm-up pants, or pants and they should be identical in color (player bottoms may vary between shorts and long pants on the same team).
• Footwear
  • Players will not be permitted to wear shoes which may damage or disrupt the court surface. Shoes must cover participant’s toes. Players will not be permitted to compete wearing sandals, flip flops, or no shoes.

PITCHING DISTANCES

• Level 1 – Players pitch from the pitcher’s box behind the 27-foot foul lines.
• Level 2 – Players pitch from the pitcher’s box behind the 21-foot foul lines.

PLAYER BEHAVIOR

• Whenever possible, a player should move out of the box when an opponent is playing.
• Unsportsmanlike Conduct – Players shall act in a sportsmanlike manner at all times. Any act which is deemed as poor sportsmanship such as insulting language, gestures, actions, or words which produce ill-will, if flagrant, may result in disqualification.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Sequence of Play

• In Unified doubles, play two players (one athlete and one partner) are teammates against another team of two players (one athlete and one partner).
• A coin toss by the referee will determine which team starts, side, and choice of bag color.
• Player one from team A will toss 1 bag, followed by one player from team B tossing 1 bag. The players will continue to alternate throws until all 8 bags have been tossed.
  • An athlete may deliver the bag from either the left or right pitchers box (see court layout above); but, in any one (1) inning, all bags must be delivered from the same side of the pitcher’s box.
  • An athlete shall pitch the entire tournament with the same hand or arm, except in the case of a medical emergency.
  • An athlete must use an under-hand toss.
  • Teammates will throw straight across to each other (see above).

• The team who scored the most points in the preceding half-inning shall pitch first in the next half-inning. If neither pitcher scores, the team who pitched second (last) in the preceding half-inning shall pitch first in the next half-inning.
  • The games will played to 21 or 30 minutes.

Scoring and Value of The Bag

1. Corn Bag In-The-Court – Any bag which comes to rest anywhere on top of the board. Each is worth one (1) point.
2. Corn Bag In-The-Hole – Any bag which is thrown through the hole or knocked through the hole by another bag. Each is worth three (3) points.
3. Foul Bags – Refers to any bag that has not been determined as Bag In-the-Court or Bag-In-the-Hole or was designated a foul bag as a result of a rules violation. It has no (0) value.
4. Point scoring – Each half inning, the total number of points scored by each team will be added to their total scores. Points will not cancel and both teams may earn points each half inning.
5. Ties at the end of inning – In the event that both teams have the same score, the team that went first will go first for the next half-inning.
6. Ties at the end of tournament play – if two or more teams are tied in the final place standings at the end of competition, ties will be broken by the following tie break procedure:
   1. Head-to-Head
   1. Point Differential
   1. Total Points Scored
7. The first player/team to reach (or exceed) 21 points at the conclusion (end) of an inning is the winner.

Position of Players During Pitching

• The pitcher must be within the pitcher’s box (see diagram above) or behind the foul line at the time of the release.
• A player must pitch all four bags from their designated pitcher’s box.
• Players must pitch the bag with an underhand release.

Fouls

• Foul Line – any part of the player’s foot or any apparatus used by an athlete such as a wheelchair, crutches, cane, etc., may not cross the foul line at the front of the pitchers box. The referee shall call the foul when it occurs and pause play to assess penalties before any more corn bags are pitched.
• Ground Bounce – If a corn bag touches the ground before coming to rest on the platform, it is a foul and must be removed from the Corn Toss platform prior to the continuation of play.
• Penalties – If the bag thrown when the foul occurred (foul bag) landed in the hole or on the board, it should be removed before any more corn bags are pitched. Corn bags that were move by the foul bag should be returned to their original scoring position.
  • Corn bags already in the court that were knocked out of scoring territory by the foul bag should be returned to the scoring area.
  • Corn bags that were on the board and knocked in the hole must be returned to their original scoring position on the board.

Protests – If a player desires to make a protest, the protest shall be made to the judge or official at the time the problem occurs. The judge shall make the final ruling on all protests.

LENGTH OF THE GAME

Point Limits – The game shall be played to the 21 points or 30 minutes. The first team ahead after 30 minutes or who reaches 21 points at the conclusion of an inning is the winner. The winning team does not need to win by two or more points.

The Inning Must Be finished – The game can never end in the middle of an inning. Thus, if a team ahead after 30 minutes or who reaches 21 points is tied, the game cannot end until the other side is allowed to pitch all of their corn bags and the inning is completed.

Skunks – The game shall be played to 21 unless a team scores 7 or more points at the end of an inning before their opponents score any points. It this case the game is a skunk and the team that scores 7 or more points wins the match.

Timeouts and Delays of Game

• Timeout – The official may grant a timeout whenever the circumstances explained appear to be of sufficient validity to do so. The timeout will be limited to 10 minutes.
• Intentional Delay of Game – If, in the opinion of the official, the game is intentionally delayed without sufficient or valid reason, the official must give a warning. If play is not resumed immediately, the delaying team will forfeit the match.