Cornhole tournament at Ramona Country Fair hosted by local business

A cornhole tournament with cash prizes will take place at the Ramona Country Fair on Saturday.

State 31 Cornhole, started by Ramona resident Rita Brown and her husband Carl, will host the tournament under the covered pavilion at the fairgrounds.

Teams of two can sign up for $50, $25 per person, to compete in the double elimination tournament that begins at 11 a.m. with a round robin, Rita Brown said. Each team will play four other teams to determine their seeding before the elimination rounds begin.

“You and your partner will get to play four games with four other random teams that buildings this ranking of points,” she said.

Once the round robin is over, teams will compete in a double elimination tournament where the team match-ups are created based on the points scored in the round robin.

Organizing tournaments is nothing new for Brown. She’s been hosting the weekly Wednesday cornhole tournaments at Reds, Whites & Brews, where State 31 Cornhole originated. The Browns selected that company name because they were both born and raised in California, the 31st state.

Brown said she and her husband started playing cornhole frequently during the pandemic. It gave them the chance to do something outside when they weren’t able to go anywhere else.

“As things started opening back up we were wishing and dreaming that there’s some place we can hold tournaments and get people to come out and enjoy the game like we did,” she said.

Brown said her partnership with Reds, Whites & Brews to put on weekly cornhole tournaments eventually led her husband to wanting to design his own bags, which resulted in the birth of their company.

“It’s all about the materials you use, the original cornhole bag from the Midwest is made with corn and duck cloth,” Brown said. “So in the sport of cornhole the bag and board designs have progressed and so it really is just a lot of testing of different fabrics to see which ones are going to stand the test of time, being outdoors and not breaking the more you throw them at the board.”

Because of the material used in State 31 Cornhole’s bag, customizable bags are available where any picture, illustration, or design can be placed on the fabric.

“We’ve made bags that look like a Tiffany box, we’ve made bags that have literally somebody’s face on them,” Brown said.

Brown is hoping to have cornhole bags available for purchase at the Ramona Country Fair along with other apparel from State 31 Cornhole.

The cornhole tournament at the Ramona Country Fair has been a staple for the past several years. Last year was the first time State 31 ran the tournament on their own, without the involvement of Red Whites and Brews, and this year will be the same.

Tournament participants can pre-register for the event through the Scoreholio app or in person before starting at 10 a.m. Venmo and cash is preferred for payment but a card option will be provided. Players don’t have to bring their own cornhole bags, State 31 Cornhole will have bags for teams to borrow for the tournament.

“It’s primarily a scholarship opportunity for the Chamber to support Ramona students,” Brown said. “Half of the money is going straight to the fundraiser and the other half is distributed between the first, second and third place winners.”