NORFOLK, Va. (Nov. 8, 2021) - The Hampton Roads Sports Commission is excited to partner with the American Cornhole League (ACL) to produce the Mid-Atlantic Cornhole Proving Grounds tournament Presented by Pepsi Zero Sugar at the Virginia Beach Sports Center on Dec. 3-5, 2021. By joining forces, the HRSC and ACL expect to attract over 500 skilled cornhole players to participate in this national event.

The Cornhole Proving Grounds is an ACL sanctioned competition presented by Bacardi' Spiced Rum open to all players and features a guaranteed payout of $40,000. The tournament will be free for spectators and will broadcast live via the American Cornhole League’s online streaming network, visible on a weekly basis to 500,000 or more viewers. The weekend will include live music, food, drink, vendors, and cornhole competition for every skill level.

Friday’s action will include a celebrity challenge presented by Hall Mile One Autogroup featuring eight regional media, business, and sports personalities who will be paired up with ACL professional cornhole players in an exciting double-elimination tournament. The evening will also consist of a cornhole pro-am event. This unique exhibition-style tournament will give 64 amateur or social division players the rare chance to compete alongside ACL cornhole pros. Saturday’s full day of competitive cornhole will include singles, doubles, tailgating division, and blind draw play. The day will also feature performances from four live bands giving the tournament a festival-like atmosphere. Additionally, a beer tasting and food sampling area presented by Fire Cornhole will be positioned in the heart of the event footprint on Saturday, creating the ultimate eat, drink and play experience for participants and the general public. Sunday’s board battles will conclude the Proving Grounds and will crown winners of the various divisions, paying out a total of $40,000 in cash prizes.

*Event is free for spectators who do not wish to play in events. All spectators must complete a brief registration form at the entrance of the Virginia Beach Sports Center to obtain a wristband for free entry into the cornhole tournament footprint/area*.

Cornhole Pro-Am Presented By The Hall Mile One Autogroup (Friday, December 3, 2021) - This unique exhibition-style tournament will give 64 amateur or tailgating division players the rare opportunity to compete alongside ACL cornhole pros. The Pro-Am will be limited to 64 players who wish to participate, with a $50 entry fee. The event will begin at 7 pm on Friday, December 3, 2021 and will crown the winning team at the completion of a double-elimination tournament. Players will be assigned to participating ACL pros via a blind draw-type selection process. The event will have a top prize of $1200 and a $3000 total payout to the top eight teams (payout based on max registration of 64 teams). To register, click on either of the two orange buttons marked "REGISTER" on this webpage. Pro-Am will be limited to the first 64 participants who sign up.

*Players (amateurs and pros) who participate in the celebrity Pro-Am will NOT be permitted to participate in the Friday evening blind draw that will be running concurrently.

Cornhole Pro- Am Payouts
Champion - $1200
2nd Place - $750
3rd Place - $380
4th Place - $260
t-5th Place - $150
t-5th Place - $150
t-7th Place - $90
t-7th Place - $90

ACL Open Play Presented by Bicardi' Spiced Rum (Friday-Sunday, December 3-5, 2021)- Advanced, Competitive, and Intermediate players who wish to participate in the ACL Open play throughout the weekend will register using the following link: https://app.iplayacl.com/reg-event-list/event-pre-reg-form/1459. If you would like to participate in the ACL Open play and need to create a free ACL profile, use the following link: https://app.iplayacl.com/join, 

TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR- Josh Keck | josh@iplaycornhole.com
Staff: Ashley Kearns, Kat Halbert and Joe Harsh

EVENT MASTER SCHEDULE

Friday December 3rd
12:00 PM - Doors open
1:00 PM - Senior Singles, Women’s Singles
5:30 PM - Celebrity Challenge
6:00 PM - Blind draws (three divisions - Advanced, Competitive, Intermediate).
7:00 PM - Celebrity Pro- Am

Saturday, December 4th
8:00 AM - Doors open
9:00 AM - Rounders, Doubles. Each round will last approximately one hour
Approx. 3:00 PM - Doubles, Levels 3 and 4
5:00 PM (or 2 hours after Level 3 and 4 begin) - Doubles, Levels 1 and 2

Sunday, December 5th
8:00 AM - Doors open.
9:00 AM - Singles, Level 2 (Competitive) and Level 3 (Intermediate)
12:00 PM - Singles, Level 1 (Advanced)
Sit and go blind draws throughout all three days if boards are open.

FORMAT
ACL Rounders is a Progressive Round Robin format where all teams are put in a pool. 6+ rounds will be played by each team. The first-round opponents will be randomly chosen. For each round after the first, players will be matched up against another team with the same or similar record. 1-0 teams will play 1-0 teams. 3-1 teams will play 3-1 teams, or similar. After the sixth round, teams will be divided into four groups: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4. Players will receive a Doubles bracket after rounders that determines which level they were place in. Doubles will be double elimination brackets with 2 or 4 brackets per level depending on the number of entrants (see start times above). For Singles, players will register for Open Singles and then be placed into the same skill level as what's on their ACL player profile. Advanced players will be placed in Level 1, Competitive players in Level 2, Intermediate and Novice players in Level 3. All games will be played to 21.

REGISTRATION
Early registration for Platinum players members is currently open. If there are open spots after Platinum Early Bird registration, General registration will open for all members on Monday, November 15th, at 5:00 PM EST. Registration will CLOSE on December 2nd if the event has not sold out before then. Only one player should register a team for Open Doubles, but players must register for Open Singles individually.

Players must have an account to register. Memberships can be purchased through the player portal under "My Account". To register, click Events Registration > Open Event Registration > ACL Open #2. Players must have money loaded into their ACL Digital Wallet to register.

COST
The cost is $50.00 per player for Gold and Platinum players and $55.00 for Bronze and Silver players for Open Singles. The cost for Open Doubles is $100 per team for Gold and Platinum players and $110 for Bronze and Silver players. Rounders is included in the cost. 10 games are guaranteed for players that compete in both Open Singles and Open Doubles.

Senior Singles and Women’s Singles are $30.00 per Platinum / Gold members and $35 for non-Platinum or Gold members with 70% payouts.

Blind Draws
Advanced - $35.00 per member or $40.00 per non-member, with 75% payout.
Competitive - $30.00 per member or $35.00 per non-member, with 60% payout.
Intermediate - $25.00 per member or $30.00 per non-member, with 50% payout.
*The Open is limited to 512 players.
*NO Refunds will be given after December 1st.
*Outside food and beverages are NOT allowed to enter the building.

PAYOUT
Doubles will be a 60% payout. 85% for level 1, 15% for level 2. Level 3 and level 4 winners get their entry fee back ($100/team). 2nd place gets half of their entry fee back ($50/team).

Singles will be $50/player. All players will sign-up for “Open Singles” and be placed into the skill division shown on their ACL Player Profile (Advanced, Competitive or Intermediate). Players MUST play in the skill level shown on their player profile.

All Singles entry fees are then added up and 60% of the entry fees are split: 70% to advanced, 20% to competitive, 10% to intermediate or, depending on the ratio of advanced/competitive/intermediate singles players, payouts may be 70/60/50% to their respective divisions.

OPEN POINTS
ACL Open points will be awarded for Singles and Doubles standings, not for Rounders.

PLAYER CODE OF CONDUCT
Players must abide by the rules and regulations including the Player Conduct section. Players are not allowed to transfer their registration to another player. Please double check your player profile and make sure all the correct information is listed including your cell phone number for text alerts.

*Registration currently open for ACl Platinum members only; registration for all others begins on November 15, 2021,*

Tailgating Division Play Presented by Optima Health/ Sentara (Saturday, December 4, 2021 @10 AM)- Throwing champion of your backyard and local hangout? Or love to throw just throw for fun with friends from time to time? The Proving Grounds tailgating division is just right for you! Tailgating division play (doubles only- bring your own partner/six-game guarantee per team), with a top prize of $350 will take place on Saturday 12/4/21 beginning at 10 AM (9 AM warm-up and registration). Rounders play consisting of four (4) games per team will kick off the day and upon completion of rounders action, all teams will be placed into a double-elimination bracket based on their rounders win-loss record to ultimately crown one championship team at the completion of the double-elimination competition. Pre-registration fees are just $60 per team for the tailgating division or $75 on the day of the event. To register, click on either of the two orange buttons marked "REGISTER" on this webpage. The tailgating division will be limited to the first 100 teams who sign up.

Tailgating Division Payouts
1st Place - $350
2nd Place - $250
3rd Place - $175
4th Place - $150
t-5th Place - $125
t-5th Place - $125
t-7th Place - $90
t-7th Place - $90
t-9th Place - $75
t-9th Place - $75
t-9th Place - $75
t-9th Place- $75

The Beer, Bands, and Boards VIP Zone Presented by Fire Cornhole (Saturday, December 4, 2021, 11 AM -5 PM)- A VIP experience for cornhole players and food, beer, and music enthusiasts from the region! $35, gives you access to The Beer, Bands, and Boards VIP area featuring live performances from regional artists; Bryan Mayer, East of Blue Ridge, Cody Christian, and Jessie Chong. Guests will also have access a food sampling opportunity of delicious cuisine cooked in house and on-site by local food truck operators; Cast Iron, Chesapeake Concessions and Captian Crabby. Located in the heart of the event footprint, the VIP zone will be open from 11 AM to 5 PM on Saturday, December 4, 2021. Along with access to the exclusive area and front row viewing of live entertainment, the $35 entry fee includes four (4) food samples (you pick from BBQ, Crab Cakes, Wings, Tacos, Grilled Cheese, Hot Dogs, Burger Sliders and Elote (Mexican street corn)) from any of the participating food truck operators and in house staff, and three (3) cans of beer of your choice (you pick from Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Bicardi', White Claw, Angry Orchard, O'Connor EL Guapo and Corona). Additional cans of beer can be purchased within the VIP area at a discounted rate. Canned cocktails will also be available for purchase within the VIP area.

Wristbands for the the Beer, Bands, and Boards VIP Zone can be purchased online via either of the two orange buttons marked "REGISTER" on this webpage for $35. Four (4) food and three (3) beer tickets will be issued to patrons along with their VIP wristband (s) at the Proving Grounds registration station at the entrance of the VBCC. Access to the VIP area on the day of (Saturday, December 4, 2021 11AM to 5 PM) will be $40 and can be purchased at the entrance of the VIP area. Four (4) food and three (3) beer tickets will be issued to patrons along with their VIP wristbands at the time of on-site purchase.

*Registrants who wish to gain access to the VIP area must be 21 years of age. A valid form of photo ID will be required to pick up wristband(s) at the Proving Grounds registration station.

Event Hotel Information

DoubleTree by Hilton Virginia Beach, 615 Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA 23451- $125 Room Block Rate /Phone: 757-425-7800

Make reservations via the following link:
https://hotels.myteaminn.com/v6/search/longLat?_s=VlwnZVivo6RXT-Da&_k=_ao4fKb9&siteId=69374&theme=standard