The Messenger Inquirer reports on the ACO World Championships of Cornhole XII

Keith Lawrence published an article today in the Messenger Inquirer about the ACO World Championships of Cornhole XII and the ACO Corporate Slyder Cup. Check out the article below.

Cornhole championships upcoming

By Keith Lawrence

Owensboro will be the cornhole capital of America from Tuesday to July 29.

The Ohio-based American Cornhole Organization is bringing its World Championships of Cornhole XII to the Owensboro Convention Center those days.

Frank Geers, ACO founder and president, said last week that he expects 300 to 400 players from 23 states — from Florida to Massachusetts to California — to compete in the tournament.

“We expect between 500 and 600 people — counting families and friends — to be coming to Owensboro that week,” he said.

The week of activities begins Tuesday with the ACO Corporate Slyder Cup — a local corporate cornhole challenge being sponsored by the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau to raise money for the American Red Cross.

Jared Bratcher, the CVB’s sports marketing director, said only 10 teams were signed up last week.

“We need 40 to give the Red Cross money and have good prize money,” he said.

Each team has five players. The entry fee is $100.

Bratcher said people can call the CVB at 270-926-1100, or stop in at 215 E. Second St. to enter a team in the corporate challenge.

Mark Calitri, CVB president, said, “Cornhole is a great example of a niche indoor sporting event that works at the Owensboro Convention Center.”

The CVB, he said, is “focused on finding more of these indoor options to use that facility and others in the community.”

Geer said there’s plenty for local people to do during the tournament.

“Every day, there will be activities for people off the street to see and do,” he said. “There’s no charge to watch the competition.”

Geer said he’s trying to arrange national coverage of the tournament, but “we’ll be streaming it live on our web page and our Facebook page.”

The world cornhole championships were in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the last two years.

Before that, they were in Las Vegas, Cincinnati and Charleston, West Virginia.