 Cornhole tournament fundraisers are everywhere! Let's take a closer look at the cornhole fundraiser with an edition of The Good, The Bad, The Ugly... The Good... About half of Boston Cornhole tournaments are for charities! Why? Plain and simple, they make for great fundraisers. Cornhole is a game anyone can play and it is so much fun! With the emergence of a very competitive landscape in Boston, organizing an event to accommodate both novices and pros can be a challenge. However, when done right, it's a beautiful thing! We may not always make everyone happy, but love trying to assemble the best format we can! The Bad... The "It's for charity" rationalization should not be used to justify a poorly run event. While the cause of a charity is at the center of every fundraiser event, participants are certainly entitled to expectations which include, above all, a well-run tournament that is fun to be a part of. And tournament directors are responsible for meeting those expectations. After all, if we are going to market cornhole as a good time, it should be! In retrospect, there have certainly been some less than perfect tournaments in the past that I would do differently given a second chance! Recently, there was some pretty vocal social media criticism of an event up in Haverhill and several more silent complaints. While it may be easy to villainize someone for speaking out against a charity event, it may be wiser to review the lessons learned to prevent repeating the same mistakes. The bottom line is that people may play charity tournaments for the cause, for the competition, or even for the prize money. Regardless of the reason, they are donating both their time and money to be part of the event. As tournament directors, we need to ensure that the time and money is well spent so that they come back and play again! The Ugly... Unfortunately, this section could go in a few different directions. However, for this installment, I will stick up for my fellow, competitive cornholers! While it is not always the case, far too often competitive players have shade thrown their way when they play at fundraisers and are treated as not welcome. "Ringers shouldn't be allowed to play!" and "If they win, they should give the money back!" These hypocritical comments baffle me when organizations heavily promote tournaments on websites and social media offering cash prizes to entice people to play at events open to the public. If organizations truly want to control who plays or wins, the solution is simple, make it a private event and raise less money! Another strategy could be to advertise modest prizes. This will help keep some paper chasers away, but you may be surprised that many will still show because they just love to play and compete! |
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