The 5th annual Canadian National Cornhole Championships (CNCC) took place last week in Beaumont, AB featuring the best of the best when it comes to cornhole in Canada. It also featured some talent from nearly 900km southeast here in Weyburn, including Devin Furgason. Furgason took home some hardware in the Tier 4 intermediate ranking, winning the Top Men’s Singles, Top Open Singles, and the Top 16 Singles, making him the best cornhole player in that Tier 4 Division. He also placed second in the Men’s Doubles and third in Open Doubles. Furgason provides an overview about the Nationals tournament and how it celebrates cornhole across Canada.
“Cornhole Nationals, it's an event basically designed to celebrate all the players from all over the country. We all have our own clubs like we do here in town. Also, Regina, they're a big hub in Regina. They have a great spot. It's one of the only purpose-built facilities in the country or maybe it is the only one. So, there's lots of ways to get out, but the national event it's meant for people to be celebrated from players from all over the country and all different divisions, kind of something for everybody out there.”
Furgason explained the tiering ranking system in Cornhole. With the baseline being Tier 5, then a point system is created to determine your ranking. Essentially, cornhole players across Canada participate in tournaments and your ranking and scoring goes into a national point system. From there, it’s divided into 4 divisions, Tier 3, Tier 4, Tier 5, and League with Tier 3 featuring the best of the best, Tier 4 being intermediate and so on.
Devin Furgason is currently ranked #304 nationally and #79 in Tier 4 rankings, impressive given the reduced number of eligible tournaments compared to other players. While some cornhole players have entered into up to 26 eligible tournaments, Furgason only has 2. However, skill doesn’t lie, and neither does hardware as he won all of the Tier 4 Singles competitions. Furgason hopes he’ll use this success to springboard him into Tier 3.
“So, Nationals kind of wraps up everything for the season, that's for Cornhole Canada as well their season is done. So, the new National season, for points and everything, starts up again this Fall and that’s when the Weyburn Cornhole League starts up again as well. We made a move this year, we lost our facility from last season, so we’ll be under a new roof this year, but still looking forward to getting going there and start building something as far as like the turnips and stuff go. Yeah, I think I'm ready to make the jump. I'm looking forward to making the jump into Tier 3 and it's like I said, it's going to be a battle. But learning lots and all the people around, they’re there to pull you along. They're not trying to stomp you back down kind of thing. So, it's a great sport that way.”
The Weyburn Cornhole League will take action at the Knox Hall this upcoming season and they welcome all who are interested in playing to join them. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a 'cornhole wizard' like Furgason as he says, they’re a super inclusive group and will help you learn and get better and all while having some fun.
For more information about Cornhole Canada or the Weyburn Cornhole League, visit www.cornholecanada.ca and follow the Weyburn Cornhole League’s Facebook page to find out when they’ll be tossing next.