A Step in the Right Direction?

It’s time to bring back up one my favorite topics that charge up the masses: the STEP RULE! If Cornhole wants to become an even more mainstream sport (YES Cornhole is a sport) it needs to address the elephant on the broadcast THE STEP. Every other sport has a rule regarding this:

Darts: A player may throw a dart or darts from any point of the playing area as long as  their foot stays behind the front edge of the throw line. If a player wishes to throw from a  position on either side of the throw line, they must stay behind the line, which is an extension  of the throw line. 

Bowling: The foul line stretches from gutter to gutter, separating the approach from the  lane. The line extends infinitely to either side as well as up and down. That is, if you finish your  throw by stepping over the line on an adjacent lane, it's a foul. 

Discus: The discus can only be thrown by an athlete when he or she will stand inside a  circle which has a diameter of 2.5m. During the course of throw, the athletes are prohibited  from touching the top of the rim. However, they can touch the inner part of the rim. An athlete  cannot touch the ground beyond the circle. 

And for our Players from the North…. Hockey: Offsides. A team is offside when any member  of the attacking team precedes the puck over the defending team's blueline. The position  of the player's skate — and not that of his stick — is the determining factor. If both skates are  over the blueline before the puck, the player is offside. 

Many a player is on a board somewhere working on a  push or role bag and thy believe they need so much  momentum that they need to cross over the line as they  

release the bag. This has gotten out of hand recently  due to players now throwing so hard they are crossing  past the foul and center line of the board after release. But I do not blame any of the players they are playing  within the system, what I mean by this is look at Nascar.  The teams READ THE RULES in order to find the grey  area and loopholes to work within their interpretation or  understanding of the rule in question. The same in  Cornhole you need to call over an official to dispute any  perceived infractions, but most tournaments have what  maybe 1 or 2 people that understand the rules enough to  enforce or advise on the true meaning of said rule.  

1. Gameplay 

1. Proper pitching technique 

1. A pitch is defined as one player throwing a cornhole bag towards the  opposite board from which he or she is standing attempting to make the  bag onto the board or into the hole. 

1. A player is not necessarily required to attempt to contact the  

board. He or she may voluntarily choose to earn zero points on a  

pitch by pitching the bag intentionally off to the side or short of  

the board.

2. A pitch of a cornhole bag may be underhand or overhand. When pitching  a bag, players must release the bag before any part of the player’s body  touches the ground on or beyond the foul line 

3. Upon release of the bag during a pitch, a player must have at least part  of one foot inside the pitcher’s box with contact to the ground and not  across the foul line 

1. No part of a player’s body, except for a hand or arm, may cross  the midpoint of the board in the direction of the opposing player’s  pitch box (i.e. a player may not straddle the board in order to  attempt a shot) 

2. Players may not step on the cornhole board while pitching a  cornhole bag or after the follow through of a pitch. Penalty for this  is the same as 4.a.v as outlined below 

5. A player may not step on or beyond the foul line before the release of the  bag during a pitch/throw 

1. In the event of a player stepping over a line, an official can be  called to the court by the opposing team. A director may also  voluntarily officiate the game without a request from the opposing  team. 

2. Once the official is contacted, he or she will come watch the  remainder of the match. 

3. If the player steps over or on the foul line during this observation,  the player will receive a warning from the official. An official may  also voluntarily officiate a game at any time. 

4. For every pitch from that point in the game onward that the player  steps on or over the foul line, he or she will have the bag  

corresponding to that pitch forfeited. In the event that an official’s  first witnessed foot-foul violation is viewed to be intentional, the  director can skip the warning and proceed straight to the penalty  for violation. 

1. A forfeited bag will be removed from the area of play  during that round by the official with as little disturbance  

to play as possible. 1. If the forfeited bag has already caused bags in play  to move, the player or team opposing the player  who pitched the forfeited bag decides to either (not  both): 1. Have an official place the moved bags back  in their original location as best as possible per instructions by both teams. 

2. Accept the new bags’ locations and proceed through the remainder of the round. 

2. Any scoring that is unavoidable when removing the bag  from play will still count. 

5. In the event that a player is utilizing a follow through step after the  release of the bag over the foul line, the player must get back  behind the foul line before their opponent’s next throw is  

delivered. A failure to get back behind the foul line in time will  result in the same penalty for a foot-foul violation. This rule will be  officiated in the same manner as foot-foul violations with a  

warning followed by immediate action by the director.

1. The opposing player may not throw their next bag until the  

previous player’s bag has come to rest at the other end of  

the board 

I my FRIENDS am lost because this sounds like a guy in a cheap $3.00 suit that works in a  plaza with a gas & sip and massage parlor. I do not speak lawyer so this seams very  ambiguous, but I am just a VOICE in and around the hole.  

To be fair here is the other leagues rule: 

4.3 Pitching Cornhole Bags  

Pitching 

• Players alternate pitching bags (one player at a time) until each player has pitched all (4) of  their bags. 

• A player must pitch all (4) cornhole bags from their designated pitcher’s box. • Players must pitch the bag with an underhanded release. 

• One foot must be completely within the pitcher’s box at the time of releasing the bag. • A player may not touch the ground on or beyond the foul line before their bag has contacted  the board at the opposite end of the cornhole court. If a player crosses the foul line  prematurely, it will be considered a foot foul. 

4.4 Foot foul  

A foot foul is called when a player’s foot touches the ground on or beyond the foul line before  their bag has contacted the board at the opposite end of the cornhole court. Procedure and Penalties for foot fouls: 

• If a foot foul is witnessed by the opponent, they must call a time-out and notify a Certified  Official. The player will not be charged for the time-out. 

• A Certified Official will report to the court to observe the game. 

• The Certified Official will alert both players as why they have been called to the court, as a  “warning.” 

• If the Certified Official witnesses additional offences, penalties will be as follows: • 1st Strike: The player will receive a “1st Strike” and their bag will be declared a dead bag and  removed from the playing surface. The non-offending player may choose to replace any  affected bags as close to their original position as possible or leave them as they are. • 2nd Strike: The player will receive a “2nd Strike” and their bag will be declared a dead bag  and removed from the playing surface. The non-offending player may choose to replace any  affected bags as close to their original position as possible or leave them as they are. • 3rd Strike: The player forfeits their current match on the third offense. 

NOTE: A Certified Official may also voluntarily officiate the game without a request from  players 

4.5 Accidental Release  

• Any cornhole bag that leaves a player’s hand once the final step (if taken) and final forward  swing of the delivery process has started, shall count as a pitched bag. 

• A cornhole bag that is accidentally dropped by a player before the final step (if taken) and  final forward swing has started, shall not be considered a foul bag and may be picked up and  pitched.

Let know what you think about this topic in the comments below! Don’t be shy, because on this  topic, you won’t change my mind…………………………..

-Don “The Voice”

Previous
Previous

The why…

Next
Next

To roll, or not to roll, that is the question........