Indiana Cornhole League Rules And Guidelines
2024-2025

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/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/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.

D - All Divisions will be separated via SPR rating on Scoreholio with thresholds as follows: 

 

Advanced Singles - Any player with an SPR of 60 or higher must play in the Advanced Division. Players with a lower SPR may elect to play in the Advanced Division if they choose to do so. 

 

Competitive Singles - Players with an SPR between 52 and 59.99 qualify for the Competitive Division. Lower SPR players may play in the Competitive Division. Players above 59.99 may not play in either Competitive or Social Divisions. 

 

Social Singles - All players with a SPR rating of 51.99 and below may play in the Social Division. Players above this threshold may not play in the Social Division. 

 

** Doubles teams will be rated using a TEAM SPR **

 

Advanced Doubles - Any team comprising a TEAM SPR over 60 MUST play in the Advanced division. (For example, Player A has an SPR of 62 and Player B has an SPR of 59, their TEAM SPR is 60.5, and they must play in the Advanced division.)

 

Competitive Doubles - Total team SPR will be a minimum of 52 and maximum of 59.99

 

Social Doubles - Total Team SPR will be a Maximum of 51.99 (no minimum SPR)

Player/Team placement will be effective at said player/teams initial event registration, and remain valid through the current ICL Season. IF a player or team wins TWO events prior to Regional #4 (Jan), AND said Player/Team is in the Competitive OR Social Division, that Player/Team will be moved UP to the next higher Division for the remainder of the Season, BUT will take the total accumulated points with them to the higher Division. 

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 or one (1) Competitive and one (1) Social Player. Social Doubles teams must consist of two (2) Social players only+

4.  Points will be based on 25 pts for first place down to 10 pts per bracket, based on the number of participants in each bracket for Regional events, and 50 pts for first place down to 35 pts 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 2025. 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.

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 six (6) Regional finishes and “drop” your lowest finish. Both Majors will be recorded in the points towards each players’ total. No Majors will be dropped. The maximum points available for the 2024-2025 season will be 250. Six Regionals at 25 points = max total 150.  Two Majors at 50 points = max total 100.​

10.  Players must compete in a minimum of 2 regionals and 1 major to qualify for participation in the championships in June

11.  The ICL uses member emails in conjunction with Scoreholio to track player performance and points totals.  ICL player emails must match the email used to register for events. 

 

Members found to have multiple email accounts registered to the ICL will be subject to a warning, followed by suspension from ICL participation for the remainder of the current season.  Players that have been suspended will be subject to review by the ICL board for reinstatement.

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Section 3 - Event Payouts and Entry Fees

 

​1.  Payouts for all Divisions will be as follows:

All Divisions*, Singles and Doubles, payouts will total a cumulative 70% payout.

*Juniors: no payouts

 

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. 

 

2.  Entry fees will be as follows:

Regionals:

Singles - Social = $15/player, Competitive = $20/player, Advanced = $25/player

Doubles - Social = $15/player ~ $30/team, Competitive = $20/player ~ $40/team, Advanced = $25/player ~ $50/team

Womens - $15/player

Seniors - $15/player

Co-Ed - $15/player ~ $30/team

Juniors - $5/player, no payout

 

Majors:

Singles - Social = $20/player, Competitive = $25/player, Advanced = $30/player

Doubles - Social = $20/player ~ $40/team, Competitive = $25/player ~ $50/team, Advanced = $30/player ~ $60/team

Womens - $20/player

Seniors - $20/player

Co-Ed - $15/player ~ $30/team

Juniors - $5/player, no payout

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Championships:

Singles - Social = $30/player, Competitive = $40/player, Advanced = $50/player

Doubles - Social = $30/player ~ $60/team, Competitive = $40/player ~ $80/team, Advanced = $50/player ~ $100/team

Womens - $25/player

Seniors - $25/ player

Co-Ed - $20/player ~ $40/team

Juniors - $10/player, no payout

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Effective 10/1/2024 - If buying tickets the day of an event, an additional $10 will be added to each event played.

 

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

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Section 4 - Bag Touching Protocol

 

​​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. 

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 are 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

 

​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: the 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

• Any other type of unsportsmanlike conduct deemed detrimental 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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