Kato Cornhole champs never caught napping
The first ever Kato Cornhole tournament is in the history books. The inaugural cornhole tournament took place Wednesday at the Myers Field House.
The event was organized by students in Event Management in Sport, a class offered to students in the Sports Management department. The Maverick students took on the challenge of organizing this tournament for a large portion of their grade.
Part of the course’s objectives include describing the concept and creation of an event, evaluating the process of selecting the location of an event or new facility and developing an understanding of the basic principles associated with managing a sport event, along with the application of those basic principles.
The Sports Management department as a whole strongly believes in education through activity. Doing random tests isn’t their vibe.
Senior Chance Kamrowski played a critical role in this event coming to life.
“I was in charge of sponsorships so that was acquisition of like in kind donations. So that was like our prizes. We got a bunch of bobbleheads, we got some hats, we got some tickets to the moon dogs game, so anything like that they’ll use as prizes came through,” Kamrowski said.
The turnout caught many of the organizers by surprise. The tournament consisted of 35 teams of two. This was an extraordinary rise in contestants that turned up compared to an Esports event that took place a few years ago.
The rules were as follows: Both players play one board at a time and stay in their designated lane for the whole game. Players start the game at one board and alternate pitching bags until each player has pitched all 4 of their bags. Players must deliver the bag with an underhanded release. Feet must stay behind the front of the board at the time of releasing the bag as well as inside the pitcher’s box.
Kamrowski was able to tap into his connections that he accumulated over the years to help the class get some sponsors.
“I had to reach out to a lot of old connections. People I’ve worked with in the past, you know being in the Sports Management department, obviously, get some connections with teams. So like, we got stuff from the St. Cloud Rox, I used to work with their assistant general manager. I have some connections to the Timberwolves so they gave us bobbleheads, so the process was kind of fun for me to see my old friends again, and them helping me out. So that’s how that came about,” Kamrowski said.
Prizes were flowing in bunches for the players. Everyone that showed up to the event received a D’Angelo Russell bobblehead, a Timberwolves hat and a Gold Mine coupon from the Reporter. First place won D’Angelo Russell, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns bobbleheads, four Moondogs tickets, two $25 507 gift cards, a $20 Buffalo Wild Wings gift card and a blanket. Second place won D’Angelo Russell, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns bobbleheads, a Buffalo Wild Wings sauce pack and four Moondogs tickets. Third and fourth earned themselves two Wow Zone bowling passes plus everything they got as participants.
Senior Genna Thomazin, who is a part of this class and a sport management major, appreciated the hard work on display by the group to organize this event.
“I haven’t had any previous experience planning or putting on an event, but I really wanted to find a way to bring MNSU students together for a competitive game and sense of community. This class really improved my communication, time management, and leadership skills,” Thomazin said.
The team named ‘Screw Napping’ were crowned champions on the night.
Write to Mohamed Warsame at Mohamed.Warsame@mnsu.edu
Header Photo: HP 469 Event Management in Sport’s students put on the first Kato Cornhole Tournament in Myers Field House Wednesday. Prizes included bobbleheads, coupons, gift cards, and more. (Mohamed Warsame)