Coo from the Coop for the week of March 4th

Coming up this August will be the fourth National Championship for Cornhole Canada. This means even the best throwers in Canada have only been throwing for 3.5 years. I remember my first National event. It was right here in Regina in 2022 and was so much fun. Being able to play cornhole against players from all across Canada was amazing. This game of Cornhole is unbelievable because it does not matter what part of the country you are from; you could be teamed up with anyone in a blind draw or sit and go. Then last year I went to Montreal and played in my second National event and wow did people get good. It prompted me to do some digging at the numbers in the past years to see the progression of how good these players have become. This is what I found.

2021-2022: the season leading up to the National event in Regina

• Cornhole Canada Points Leader – averaged 7.08 PPR
• The highest PPR in Cornhole Canada – 7.68 PPR
• The average PPR of the top 16 players in Canada – 7.06 PPR

2022-2023 – the season leading up to Montreal

• Cornhole Canada Points Leader – averaged 7.86 PPR
• The Highest PPR in Cornhole Canada – 8.75 PPR
• The average PPR of the top 16 players in Canada – 7.96 PPR

We are entering the season leading up to the National event in Langley, BC. And the numbers continue to climb. When writing this blog, the top PPR was over 9. The level of play keeps going up, which is awesome to see for the sport. It forces people to continue practicing and improving, and I cannot wait to see the great competition in Langley.

So, how do our club players stack up to the averages across Canada? Good, actually; Saskatchewan Cornhole League’s top players have an average of 8.82 PPR and the top 16 PPR in our League are averaging 7.73 PPR.

So, our club’s top 16 are keeping pace with the average PPR of the top 16 players in Canada. So, when you can come out and play a Friday night or in a Backyard Cup, you are playing with some of the best throwers in Canada.

In the next few months, I will start a list of players attending the national event in Langley, BC. If you are one of these people, please flag me down and let me know. This will make it easier as we get close, ensuring the jerseys arrive on time for the event.

Ok, enough about the statistics. On to our week of play. We started the week with our wonderful SCL Ladies. They were back with seven Ladies out for the Monday night throwdown. Kim, who has been on a mission lately to win every event she plays in was back at it on this night. Kim was sitting in the Queen Seat as Marla and Dana battled it out in the B-side to decide who would have an opportunity to knock Kim off her throne. Dana, with a 24-13 victory, was off to take her shot. The game was close for the first twelve rounds before Kim turned it on and, in 14 rounds, sealed the deal to maintain her crown and claim her victory.

On Tuesday, the Hawks and Pigeons were back in singles play. In the Pigeon Division, one Pigeon seemed to have a bee in his bonnet. Ringo was out to prove me wrong for having him in fourth place in the power ranking. Regan went 4-0 in the round-robin and undefeated to have himself sitting in the King Seat. Oopsidacey gave him a good run in the A-side final, but Ringo’s 7.2 PPR was too much for Mike. Mike went to the B-side and won his game against Stewie to give him another couple shots at Ringo. Mike did not miss his opportunity, finishing his double-dip on Ringo with an impressive 7.55 PPR in the Championship game. This was Mike’s second win in a row in singles play.

Top PPR

• Oopsidacey – 6.89
• Ringo – 6.55
• Joey – 6.54

One player ruled the singles night in the Hawk division, and that was Dylan. I know he has been battling consistency lately, but he was not on this night, and it was something to watch. Dylan went undefeated on the night and shot a 9.4 PPR average over all his games. 27% four-bagger percentage, with only 5% of his bags off the board in the 106 rounds he threw. So, what was going on outside the Spilly show? Patches and Crystal were battling it out on the A-side and the B-side. Andrew had an impressive comeback victory on the A-side to edge Crystal out 21-20. When they met again in the B-side, Crystal jumped out to a 19-7 lead before Patches mounted another comeback. Crystal barred down, defended her lead, and pulled out the victory.

Top PPR

• Spilly – 9.4
• Sure-Fire – 8.3
• Crystal – 8.03

Wednesday marked our first night of the Penguins throwing on Wednesday night. Fifteen players came out to play singles and a great night of throwing. Everyone’s PPR was above 3 PPR, which is unbelievable for week one of this season. Kim again led the pack in PPR, but Pink Genie sat in the King Seat. Joe and Kim faced off in the B-final to see who would get the opportunity to take a run at Pink Genie. It was a tight game, but Kim came out on top and was going to play Pink Genie. Game one was 3-3 after six ends. You would think you could score points when you get a four-bagger, but not with these two Penguins. Kim pulled out to an 11-7 lead after 14 rounds, continued pulling away, and took game one in nineteen rounds. In game two, Kim only needed 13 rounds to finish the double-dip to win the season’s first night. Kim L has been on a tear lately, but there are a few Penguins (Marla, Joe and Sam) that cannot get enough cornhole and play every chance they get. On Wednesday, we talked about practicing with a purpose and practicing shots for a game. Watching all these players in the next seven weeks will be fun.

Friday night’s FunHolio had a slow start to registration, but when the bags flew, 47 players were battling it out for the Friday title. After the round-robin and the partners were picked, Caesar ended up with the Ghost as a partner and beat Patches and Dennis as he went undefeated to win.

POWER RANKING

TIER 3 Power Ranking. This group has not changed much since I started writing this blog, but there is a group of players just outside of it, and at some point, they will make their presence known. Stay tuned to see if the top five can keep elevating their game to keep the outliers out.

1. Jonathan– Stays in the number one spot.
2. Spilly – with a crazy impressive win on Tuesday, is in the two-spot. If 9.4 PPR is the new bar, there will be a lot of quick games. Hopefully he can keep it up because it will push everyone’s bar up.
3. Newson – holding on by a thread in the number three spot, but one bad night does not define this Hawk; he will be back and taking names, mark my words.
4. Crystal—Watching what happens in the next few months will be fun because many people will get better, but watch out for Crystal. She has worked on her game and is coming into form nicely at the right time. Crystal’s methodical, quiet throw makes it very difficult to find a rhythm, which adds to the difficulty of playing her.
5. Patches – For a few weeks Andrew has been raising people’s eyebrows with his game. He still has times when he struggles, but when he is firing, you better have your best game or it will be over fast. If he can eliminate the tough ends, look for Andrew at the top of the rankings.

TIER 4 Power Ranking. These rankings are difficult to complete, with so many of the top players not playing every week.

1. B-RAD—Brad did not play the last two events. For those who do not know B-RAD, he played doubles last year with a well-known Hawk, Glenny. B-RAD does not get to come out as much as he would like to, which is why he is starting this season in Tier 4..
2. Oopsidacey – Mike, with a second straight win in Singles, is gaining traction as one of the best throwers in Tier 4 and deserves to move up a spot in the rankings. I have watched Mike’s trajectory in the last few months, and I will predict that he will be making many waves in the next few months, leading up to Provincials in July.
3. Bonnie Day – Bonnie did not play in singles this week but did have an impressive win with her partner Shondell in Pigeon Doubles at the mid-season tourney. Watching the weekly match-ups between the number two and three rankings is awesome.
4. Ringo—Regan stays in the fourth spot. With his great play on Tuesday, he was one win away from the third spot. Regan hopefully can get out and practice more because if he does, he will be a force to be reckoned with.
5. Jennifer – Jen drops to the fifth spot.

TIER 5

TIER 5 Spotlight

Joann P0 – Joined the Tier 5 Penguin group last season, and she is a regular other than a few weeks away from vacation. Her PPR has slowly risen over the first eight weeks, and I look forward to watching it rise in the next eight weeks. If you see Joann in the club, make sure you say hello.

My name is Kevin Bittman, and I am on the Board at the SCA and a proud member of the Backyard Pigeon Coop. I have been playing cornhole for a couple of years, and I would say I am not great, but I try to get better every week. Cornhole, for me, is a fantastic community of people that, no matter your skill level, you can come out and have fun at the Backyard at the SCA. This blog is my opinion and how I see things in Regina’s cornhole scene. It is meant to be a way to keep people engaged in what is going on at the Backyard and the SCA. I hope that we can continue growing the game in Regina and Saskatchewan. The Backyard at the SCA is located at 2363 2nd Avenue in Regina. The venue has eight regulation cornhole lanes, a bar, and a small kitchen. Each week, the Backyard hosts events for all skill levels, and I will attempt to highlight some of these events and give my perspective on the club and the players in Saskatchewan.

Marcus – Marcus has been a regular on Friday night Funholio, but this week, he threw some more in our Wednesday Night Tier 5/Newbie night. Marcus throws a great flat bag and is very accurate, and I will look to him to fine-tune the game very quickly and move to Tier 4.

I left it at two spotlights this week solely to give you this commentary. Tier 5 has been a great way for people to enjoy the great game of Cornhole without the pressures of having to play highly skilled players. The goal of Tier 5/Penguins is to provide a space for people to learn the game and practice their skills. We have had players who have excelled and increased their and now play in Tier 4. We also have players that just come out to enjoy the game more than the competitive aspects. This is part of Tier 5 because it allows players to take their time and improve on their timelines. The players that excel will move up and compete with the Pigeons in Tier 4, which opens the door for different Penguins to be on top of the Tier 5 division.