CHESAPEAKE, Va. — It’s something a lot of us may have played at backyard barbecues and family gatherings, but these people play cornhole professionally.
“It’s definitely very hard. It’s very competitive too, so it’s anyone’s game,” player Kamryn Belvin said.
This weekend, the Chesapeake Conference Center hosted the Beast of the East 2022 Cornhole Tournament.
Claudell Clark, the Vice President of Sports for the Hampton Roads Chamber said some of the top cornhole players in the country are in Hampton Roads competing for thousands of dollars in prizes.
“‘Anybody could play, anybody could win.’ And that’s true, anybody could play this sport, have fun with it, enjoy it,” Clark. “But it’s very competitive and people play this daily, practice hours per day, play for thousands of dollars travel all over the country.”
He said the doubles championship team took home $2,500 and the singles champions take home $1,500.
Cheyenne Renner is the number one ranked female player in the world.
“I make a living off playing cornhole and through sponsorships,” Renner explained.
Although it’s a competition, Renner and other players say it’s also a chance to meet up with other professional cornholers, and share the love of the game.
“That’s the thing about cornhole, everyone’s a big family - pros, nonpros,” Renner said. “Everyone gets along. It’s great.”
Clark added, “We feel like we’re the biggest [cornhole tournament] on the east coast and one day we want to be the biggest in the country.”
Hampton Roads is even the home of national champions in the sport.
Jordan Camba and James Baldwin won the 2020 American Cornhole League Pro Invitational.
Camba, from Virginia Beach, and Baldwin, from Portsmouth, took home $7,000 at the Philadelphia tournament over the Fourth of July weekend.