Midway Moments: Players line up for O.C. Fair cornhole tournament

They lobbed them high and lobbed them low.

Sometimes they slid in with much excitement and cheer. Sometimes — oftentimes — they slid off with a thud and a groan from the lobber.

It was flying competitive chaos Friday afternoon at Get Tossed Costa Mesa, a cornhole tournament at the O.C. Fair organized and sponsored by the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce.

Eileen Benjamin, the chamber’s CEO, proudly noted at the outset of the event that it wouldn’t be just fun and games. The winner would get $250 cash. There would be trophies, one of which will be displayed at City Hall.

And it all would be official, using rules set forth by the American Cornhole Assn.

Yes, that association exists.

“We’re pleasantly surprised at how people are interested in cornhole,” Benjamin, wearing an “I ♥ Costa Mesa” T-shirt, said. “It’s definitely not just throwing the bag.”

Under the association rules, the cornhole court has two boards whose front edges are 27 feet apart. The boards have a hole in them, and players must toss a bean bag into the hole for three points. A bag landing on the board is worth one point.

Players are also able to cancel out their opponent’s points. If one player gets a bag in the hole for three points but his opponent tosses two bags on the board, the first player only scores one point.

About 40 teams — with names like Team Fake News, Pirates of the Conquistadores, Mother Shuckers and Corn to be Wild — participated.

Partipicants included Tom Johnson, the Costa Mesa chamber president and a former Daily Pilot publisher. When asked about his chances of winning, he replied, “Not good!”

Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley and Councilman John Stephens also watched the action. Foley remarked how many of the players were from her neighborhood and played cornhole often.

Costa Mesa fire and police personnel had teams. The police called themselves Wach Duo.

Joel Stoltz, a lifelong Costa Mesa resident and cornhole enthusiast, served as emcee. He didn’t spare his words for the Costa Mesa fire team, which got eliminated quickly.

“Now they’re ready to put out a fire,” Stoltz remarked.

Fairgrounds CEO Kathy Kramer also watched the action. She said she didn’t have time to throw a few bags that afternoon, “but I can be moral support.”

Benjamin credited Kramer and the fairgrounds staff for facilitating the event.

The Mesa Water District had two participating teams, one of whom, the Mesa Water Corn “Drop”ers, made it to through a few rounds.

Kurt Lind, who works in the district’s business administration, offered some advice on his bean bag throwing style: “a good, late release, nice arc, soft landing ... you gotta play to win.”

When it got down to the two finalists, it was between teams 51/50 and Fish Tank.

“Assume the position,” Stoltz told the players. “You know the drill.”

The four men squared off.

Their throwing styles were swift. The bags, like flying saucers, twisted smoothly across the playing field and often landed on the cornhole board. One player got three holes in a row.

When other players would cheer at a bean in the hole, the finalists showed little commotion at such success and kept on throwing.

“I thought this was a semi-pro game,” an attendee scoffed, amazed at the apparent skills.

Like the pool sharks of cornhole, team 51/50 quickly defeated Fish Tank. The score was 21-0.

“What we just saw was a learning experience,” Stoltz said of the swift victory.

It turns out that team 51/50 — with Doug Rippy of Costa Mesa and Brian McCaleb of Glendora — are serious cornhole competitors. Their name is from a commonly used code number for the insane.

In their case, McCaleb said, “We’re just a bunch of guys crazy about cornhole. It takes lot of practice.”

His advice for future winners? “Just come out and have fun.”

Midway Moments is a recurring column chronicling the Orange County Fair.

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Twitter: @BradleyZint

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