Indiana Cornhole League Rules And Guidelines

Section 1 - General Rules and Guidelines

 

1. All participants in Indiana Cornhole League (hereby ICL) sanctioned events are required to have a paid membership before entering and participating in any event.

2. Memberships will be $30 per player, and include the right to enter events, win prize money, earn points, and receive awards throughout the ICL season.

3. Membership does NOT include entry fees for events. Entry fees will be paid on an event by event basis according to a member's participation in selected events. Each event will have a $5.00 door fee per person to help with venue budgeting. 

4. By becoming an ICL member, you agree to allow the ICL usage of member’s name, image and likeness for promotional and marketing purposes. Members also agree to abide by the rules and regulations spelled out in these guidelines.

5. ICL Divisions will be separated into Advanced, Competitive, And Social. The ICL founding board will have final rulings on Member placement into divisions, however, the Board will fairly account for all recommendations presented before final placement.

6. Abusive language, personal threats, physical violence, and extreme unsportsmanlike behavior will be grounds for membership termination and loss of all points and unpaid prize money for the duration of the Season. Suspended players may apply to the Board for reinstatement prior to the following season. Actions like these will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

 

Section 2 - Divisions and Subdivisions

 

1. Divisions will be presented as follows:

   •     A - Advanced - This will be the ICL’s top division and will consist of Singles and Doubles only                                 

   •     B - Competitive - This will be the “Middle” division and will also be Singles and Doubles only

   •     C - Social - This will be for players the ICL Board approves as appropriate for this level and will be Singles and
              Doubles only.

2. Women’s, Seniors, Co-Ed, and Juniors will all compete as an “open” division. 

3. Advanced Doubles teams will consist of either two (2) Advanced players or one  (1) Competitive and one (1) Advanced player. Competitive Doubles teams must consist of two (2) Competitive players only. Social Doubles teams must consist of two (2) Social players only.

4. Points will be based on 25pts for first place down to 10 pts per bracket, based on the number of participants in each bracket for Regional events, and 50pts for first place down to 35pts per bracket for Majors. (See points charts)

5. Seeding for all events will be determined by points accumulated throughout the season, except for the initial Regional, which will be randomly seeded. 

6. There will be a total of 7 Regionals and 2 Majors, culminating with an ICL Championship in June 2024. Scheduling will consist of one event per month, with the first three (3) months being Regionals (Sept, Oct, Nov), Major #1 (Dec), two Regionals (Jan, Feb),  Major #2 (March), two Regionals (Apr, May), and the Championships in June. (Finalized dates to be determined.)

7. The ICL will use Scoreholio for tracking points earnings and rankings, as well as tournaments. Members will access standings through a  link provided on the ICL website.

8. Points will be accumulated throughout the season with player rankings and seeding for events determined through the points system. In the interest of fairness and transparency, players finishing in the bottom 10% of the Advanced division will be offered the option of reformatting into the Competitive division the following season or remaining in the Advanced division. Players finishing in the top 10% of the Competitive division will automatically be promoted to the Advanced division for the upcoming season. Players finishing in the bottom 10% of the Competitive division will have the option of entering the Social division the following season or remaining in Competitive, and the top 10% of the Social division will be promoted to the Competitive division the following season. This format applies to Singles and Doubles only.

9. Players participating throughout the ICl season will have the opportunity to compete in as many events as possible, however, players will “keep” their top four (4) Regional finishes and “drop” any lower finishes. This will enable players who are unable to attend every event to reach the four (4) Regional maximum, and those who attend more will have the opportunity to drop their lower results. Both Majors will be recorded in the points total. The maximum points available for the 2023-2024 season will be 200. If a player wins four Regionals at 25pts per event, the total is 100. If that same player wins both Majors at 50 pts per event, his/her total would be 100. Thus their total points accumulated for rankings is 200. 

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Section 3 - Event Payouts and Entry Fees

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• Payouts for all Divisions will be as follows:

Singles and Doubles payouts will total a cumulative 70% payout with breakdown as follows:

20% - Adv. Doubles/Singles 1st Place

18% - Adv. Doubles/Singles 2nd Place

15% - Adv. Doubles/Singles 3rd Place

13% - Comp. Doubles/Singles 1st Place

11% - Comp. Doubles/Singles 2nd Place

9% - Comp. Doubles/Singles 3rd Place

7% - Social Doubles/Singles 1st Place

5% - Social Doubles/Singles 2nd Place

2% - Social Doubles/Singles 3rd Place

 

Womens: 70%

Coed: 70%

Seniors: 70%

Juniors: No payouts for Junior Division

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Finishing places paid in accordance with total entries per Division: (3 player minimum)

3-9 players - 2 places paid

10+ players - 3 places paid

 

 *If there is more than one bracket in any division, payout will be as follows: 2 Brackets - (A&B) winners will play for 1st and 2nd place, best 2 out of 3 games. Brackets A and B runners up will play a best 2 out of 3 games for 3rd and 4th place. 4 Brackets - A,B,C&D) bracket winners will play a double elimination bracket, based on seeding, to determine overall order of finish.​​

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• Entry fees will be uniform across all Divisions and are as follows:

Regionals:

Singles - $20 per playerDoubles - $20 per player, $40 total per team

Womens - $15 per player

Seniors - $15 per player

Co-Ed - $10 per player, $20 total per team

Juniors - $5 per player, NO payout
 

Majors:

Singles - $25 per player

Doubles - $25 per player, $50 per team 

Womens - $20 per player

Seniors - $20 per player

Co-Ed - $15 per player, $30 per team

Juniors - $5 per player, NO payout
 

Championships:

Singles - $30 per player

Doubles - $30 per player, $60 per team

Womens - $25 per player

Seniors - $25 per player

Co-Ed - $20 per player, $40 per team

Juniors - $10 per player, NO payout

NOTE* In lieu of cash payment in the Junior division, the ICL will award prizes (ie. bags, jerseys, merchandise, etc.) at all ICL events. Prizes distributed at the sole discretion of the ICL Board.

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• The ICL will be awarding special “ICL Elite” jerseys to the top 8 players in the final rankings of the Advanced division. Those players will compete in a single elimination tournament at the ICL Championships for a prize (to be determined). Winners of the ICL Championships will earn, in addition to prize money, a Championship plaque indicating division won. This will apply to Advanced and Competitive Singles and Doubles, Womens, Seniors, CoEd, and Juniors.

 

• The ICL Board reserves the right to add, alter, or retract any and/or all bonus monies or prizes at its sole discretion.

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Section 4 - Bag Touching Protocol

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1. Touching bags before Frame is complete

   • If any bags in scoring positions (on the board or in the hole) are touched by a player, whether intentionally or unintentionally, before all bags during the frame are thrown, the frame is over.

   • The offending team (team who touches the bags) forfeits all remaining bags and the  total score for the bags they have already thrown is counted..

   • The non-offending team tallies 12 points as if they had thrown 4 bags in the hole during the frame.
      

IMPORTANT NOTE: 12 pts are NOT automatically added to the overall score (scoreboard). The 12 pts are only used within this specific frame before cancellation. 

1. EXAMPLE:

   • Team 1 has thrown 4 bags equaling 6 points

     to this point in the frame

   • Team 2 has thrown 3 bags equaling 7 points

     to this point in the frame

   • Team 2 accidentally reaches down and grabs the bags before the 4th bag is thrown.

   • The frame is over

   •  Team 2’s remaining bag is declared dead and their previous points are totaled.

   • Team 1 automatically totals 12 points for the frame, as if they had thrown 4 bags in the hole

   • Team 2’s total for their 3 bags is 7 points, the 4th bag is not counted

   • Team 1 is awarded 5 points for the frame and play resumes with Team 1 throwing first.

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Section 5 - Player and Spectator Conduct

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Distracting Behavior

1. -  During gameplay, active players should not make disturbing noises or movements that would distract their opponent or other nearby players. Players who feel that there is an issue with player conduct should alert an ICL Board member immediately.

2. Examples of inappropriate behavior includes:

   • Use of profanity and/or abusive language, obscene gestures or other motions intentionally directed towards any opponent(s) involved in a current game

   • Picking up bags from the board or making noises during an opponent's throw to intentionally disrupt the opponent.

   • Any other actions, verbal or physical, deemed inappropriate  and detrimental to the game of cornhole and the spirit of proper gameplay and competition.

3. Procedure and Penalties for distracting behavior

   • If inappropriate player conduct is witnessed during gameplay, an opponent may call a time-out and notify an ICL Board member. The player will not be charged for the time-out.

   • The ICL Board member will report to the court, assess the situation and garner details from all relevant parties. *The ICL encourages all competitors to “self-monitor” and independently resolve altercations as quickly and fairly as possible. 

   • The ICL Board member will temporarily monitor gameplay and determine if further action is necessary.

   • If the ICL Board member witnesses additional offenses, penalties will be as follows:

     • 1st Offense;  The player will receive a “warning”

     • 2nd Offense: The player will receive a “penalty round” assessed as a forfeit of all points in the frame of occurrence. 

     • 3rd Offense: Player is immediately disqualified from current and all remaining tournaments and will be subject to suspension from future current season events.

​Sportsmanship

1. Event players (and spectators) may not participate in any of the following actions:

   • Heckling with the intention of affecting the gameplay of any participant

   • Using profanity or abusive language as a direct attempt to affect gameplay

   • Making obscene gestures

   • Making unwanted physical contact with other players

   • Or any other type of unsportsmanlike conduct deemed detrimental the the spirit of gameplay by the ICL Board.

2. Players that exhibit unsportsmanlike conduct toward other players, spectators, or ICL Board members will be subject to disqualification from the tournament and from the event site.
    

Giving/Receiving Player Advice

1. It is legal for a teammate or spectator to provide advice on bag position and/or next throw recommendation/strategy without solicitation.
    

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