Photos courtesy of City of Monte Vista Seven teams competed in the Monte Vista Recreation Department's first-ever Cornhole Tournament on Saturday at Chapman Park. Troy Lussenhop and Bruce May took first place. A custom cornhole set was raffled off at the Monte Vista Recreation Department Cornhole Tournament on Saturday at Chapman Park. Recreation Department Director Jaime Hurtado, pictured, was pleased with the tournament and wants to do it again next year.

Event was fundraiser for Sanchez Park playground

MONTE VISTA — There was plenty of sunshine and a slight breeze in the air on Saturday afternoon at the Monte Vista Recreation Department's first-ever Cornhole Tournament.

The event was held on Aug. 28 at Chapman Park and a sign-up page was available on Monte Vista Recreations’ Facebook page. Seven teams signed up and played in the tournament.

Cornhole is a popular lawn game in which players take turns throwing 16-ounce bags at a raised board with a hole in the far end. A bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the board scores 1 point. Play continues until a team or player reaches or exceeds the score of 21. Bags used to be filled with corn kernels, hence the name cornhole. Bags nowadays are usually filled with plastic resin or another material that will maintain a consistent weight and shape.

The event was family-oriented, and participants had to be at least 12 years old to participate. Food and beer were available for purchase. 

Monte Vista Recreation Department Director Jaime Hurtado was pleased with the turnout.

“The people have really had fun, and we are very happy with the turnout here,” Hurtado said, adding that he wants to make this an annual event with proceeds going toward Recreation Department projects.

The tournament was a fundraiser that benefited the restoration of Sanchez Park in Monte Vista. The City of Monte Vista is in the process of replacing the playground equipment at Sanchez Park thanks to a Kaboom grant. Proceeds from the tournament and raffle will help with the playground project.

The big winners of the tournament were Troy Lussenhop and Bruce May, who took first place. They were proud to be a part of the tournament.

“It's exciting to win this for a good cause. It was exciting to win, and it was exciting to play with my father-in-law in this tournament," Lussenhop said. "We really had a lot of fun together.”

Lussenhop’s Father-in-law, May added,” It was fun to play, and this is definitely for a good cause. I also enjoyed bringing my wife here and being the winner because it is her birthday today.”

A cornhole board set was raffled off on Saturday. The lucky winner of the set was Dwayne Enderle. The winner was not present at the time but did not need to be present to win. 

Hurtado said he is organizing a cornhole tournament at Chapman Park during the Potato Festival, Sept. 11 in Monte Vista. It is open to the ages of 14 and older. Cost is $60 per team with a 15-team limit. Format is double elimination.

For more information on the tournament, visit www.facebook.com/montevistarec/.