The first annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism just kind of happened. Actually - the original intent was not even to be a charity event if I remember correctly. It was the summer of 2005. We wanted to have a get together at our house. We had also discussed with friends that it would be great to have a cornhole tournament. We decided to have a tournament the last weekend in August before the Ohio State football season started. It was $20 a couple and winner take all. We encouraged all couples to be co-ed to keep it fair and fun, but we did have one all male teams (Team Sensitive). Last minute, our friends Timmy Roberts and Julie Frederick (now Julie Roberts) recommended that half of the winnings go to the winner while the other half go to a charity of our the winner's choice. We gathered maybe 9 or 10 couples at most, got a keg of beer and ordered pizzas and oragnized a double elimination (best 2 out of 3) tournament. As you can imagine, best 2 of out 3 double elimination took a while to finish. I think we started around 3pm, and we had to bring out lights to finish the competition because it was so dark. In the end......wouldn't you know it, Timmy and Julie ended up being the winners (did I mention Betsy and I came in second?). Knowing our situation with Brady recently being diagnosed with autism, Timmy and Julie opted to donate all of their winnings to the Autism Society of Ohio. I think the total donation ended up being about $180 if i recall correctly. Timmy and Julie are the godfathers of the tournament if you will.
This is how it all started. The 2nd Annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism in 2006 was very similar to the first. There were a limited number of couples.....possibly 15 teams? Although this year we did advertise that the money would go towards Autism Speaks. But the format was still the same.......double elimination (best 2 out of 3). This year we decided to get a trophy for the winners and also get one for last year's winners. Again the tournament ran long but it was a good time had by all. After a second place finish in 2005, Betsy and I won the 2006 tournament and we chose to donate all of our winngs to Autism Speaks. I really don't recall the amount, but I think it was somewhere around $300.
The 3rd Annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism in 2007 is where it really started to grow. Again, I don't recall a lot of the details, but I am thinking it was close to 20 teams. It might have had something to do with the numerous beers consumed and my 11 second keg stand where I was dropped on my head by my 'friends'. I admit 11 seconds is very weak, but I do not claim to be a very good chugger of beer. This year we changed the format to double elmimination, but eliminated the best 2 out of 3 and substituted that you must hit 21 on the nose. It added a fun twist and yet reduced the amount of time it took to complete the tournament. There was even an hour delay due to thunderstorms and tornados in the area. For those that were there, they know how small our house was. It wasn't easy to fit everyone into our house.
The new twist in this year's tournament is that several people (even those who did not participate) made donations to Autism Speaks. In the end it was Amos and Drew (don't know the last names - they were friends of friends) who took home the trophy. As has been the case with the winners in the past, Drew and Amos chose to donate all of their winnings to Autism Speaks - not keep any winnings to themselves. For the record, Betsy and I came in 3rd place (top co-ed couple). That's 2nd, 1st, 3rd in 3 years. We can't be stopped. Again - I don't remember the exact amount, but I think we raised somewhere around $800 in 2007.
But the best is yet to come...................
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