BEAN BAG TOURNAMENT

WCMP Bean Bag Championship

Freedom Fest

June 29th Pine County Fair Grounds

Pine City, MN

Official Rules of Bean Bag Tournament

This is a CANCELLATION TOURNAMENT

COURT LAYOUT

These are the official rules and regulations of the WCMP Bean Bag Tournament. The rules are not a mandate, but rather a guideline to promote consistent and standard Bean Bag Toss play

Dimensions - A Bean Bag / Bean Bag Toss court shall be a level rectangular area 10ft wide and a minimum of 45 ft. long. The court should consist of two bean platforms, designated pitchers boxes and foul lines.

Pitcher’s Box - The pitcher’s box is the rectangle 4ft by 3ft at each end of the court, parallel and on both sides of Bean Bag platforms. Each contestant must remain in the pitchers box while pitching the bean bag.

Multiple Courts - To eliminate distraction and safely separate activity, Bean Bag Toss courts adjacent to each other shall be a minimum of 12 feet apart.

Foul Lines – Foul lines for open adult play shall be defined as an imaginary line 27 ft. from foul line to foul line. Foul line will be parallel to the front of the Bean Bag platform

PLAYING EQUIPMENT - BEAN BAG PLATFORMS AND BAGS

Section A. Equipment Standards – The Bean Bag Tournament has adopted the following equipment specifications and standards for Bean Bag Toss:

1. Each Bean Bag platform shall be a 48” x 24” rectangle made of half inch plywood. WCMP Bean Bag Tournament will only be played with wooden Bean Bag platforms as there is significant variance in play between wooden and plastic or other surfaces.

2. The hole in the Bean Bag platform shall be six inches in diameter and be centered nine inches from the top and 12 inches from each side of the Bean Bag platform edges.

3. The front of the Bean Bag platform shall be approximately 4 inches from bottom to top and be at near a 90-degree angle to the ground.

4. The back of the Bean Bag platform shall be approximately 12 inches from bottom to top and be at near a 90-degree angle to the ground.

5. The Bean bags shall be made from two fabric squares with a quarter inch double stitched seam on all four sides. The bags should be made from 12 oz. / sq. yd. duck canvas and may be any color that is easy to see during Bean Bag play. Each bag should be a minimum of 6” X 6” square and weigh between 14 and 16 ounces.

PITCHING DISTANCES

Adults - All open adult contestants shall pitch from the pitcher’s box behind the foul lines.

Court Maintenance - Every effort shall be made to keep the Bean Bag / Bean Bag Toss play surface in perfect playing condition. Bean Bag / Bean Bag Toss courts should be free of anything that might distract a contestant during play. Each contestant is responsible for making sure the court is in good playing condition prior to starting the match. During a match, a contestant shall not be allowed to alter the Bean Bag / Bean Bag Toss court in any manner without the consent of the opponent or a tournament official.

Distractions During Play - Every effort shall be made to keep from distracting contestants during Bean Bag Toss play. Drinks and other personal belongings should be placed behind the Bean Bag platform in beverage holders or other secure locations to keep from distracting contestants.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Doubles Play - Bean Bag Toss played as doubles in doubles play two contestants are partners against another team of two contestants. In doubles play, one member of each team pitches from one Bean Bag platform and the other members pitch from the other Bean Bag platform.

Innings - Every Bean Bag Toss match is broken down into innings of play. During each inning of play each contestant must pitch all four bean bags.

Value of the Bean Bag

1. Bean Bag In-The-Hole - A bean bag in-the-hole (or Hole-In) is a bean bag which is thrown through the hole in the Bean Bag platform or otherwise comes to rest inside the Bean Bag platform (knocked in by another player or an act of God). A bean bag in-the-hole has a value of three points

2. Bean Bag In-The-Count - A bean bag that is not in-the-hole but lands with any portion of the bean bag resting on the Bean Bag platform is in-the-count. A bean bag in-the-count has a value of one point. For a bean bag to be in-the-count, it must not touch the ground or any other portion of the court prior to coming to rest on the Bean Bag platform. If a bean bag touches the ground before coming to rest on the Bean Bag platform, it is a foul and must be removed from the Bean Bag platform prior to the continuation of play.

3. Bean Bag Out-Of-The-Count - A bean bag which comes to rest anywhere except in-the-count or in-the-hole is out-of-the-count and has no scoring value. A bean bag which is declared to be a foul is considered to be out-of-the-count (no matter where it comes to rest) and must be removed from the Bean Bag surface prior to the continuation of play.

Delivery of Bean Bags

1. In doubles play, the first side of contestants alternate pitching bean bags until they have thrown all four bean bags, then the remaining contestant (pitching from the other Bean Bag platform) continue to alternate in the same manner until all four bean bags are delivered and the inning completed.

2. A contestant may deliver the bean bag from either the left or right pitchers box, in any one inning; all bean bags must be delivered from the same pitcher’s box. A contestant shall pitch the entire tournament with the same hand or arm, except in the case of a medical emergency.

3. Each individual contestant shall deliver the bean bag within 20 seconds. The time shall start when the contestant steps onto the pitcher’s box with the intention of pitching.

Pitching Rotation During The Game - The contestant who scored in the preceding inning shall pitch first in the next inning. If neither pitcher scores, the contestant who pitched second (last) in the preceding inning shall pitch first in the next inning.

Position of Contestants during Delivery

1. The pitcher must maintain constant contact with the designated pitcher’s box during the entire address and release of the bean bag. The opponent, while not pitching, shall stand behind the Bean Bag platform at least 2 feet to the rear of the contestant who is pitching

2. If both contestants use the same pitchers box to deliver their bean bags, the contestant pitching first should cross over to the other pitchers box in front of the Bean Bag platform and then move to the proper position. As the first contestant is crossing in front the second contestant should be crossing over in back and mounting the pitchers box from the rear. If both contestants use opposite pitchers boxes, the contestant who pitches first should step directly back to the proper position described in #1 of this section.

Foul Bean Bags - A foul bean bag is a bean bag which was delivered in non-compliance with one of the rules of the game. It scores as a bean bag out of the count and is to be removed from the Bean Bag Toss court before any more bean bags are pitched. Bean bags already in the court that have been knocked into foul territory by a foul bean bag should be returned to the scoring area. Additionally, bean bags that are in the count, but are knocked into the hole by a foul bean bag must be returned to their original scoring position.

1. The following are rule violations that must be spotted and called by a contestant or assigned judge. The penalty is to declare the bean bag a foul bean bag, which requires the bean bags to be removed from the court prior to resuming play.

(a) Any bean bag pitched when the contestant has made contact with or crossed over the foul line before the bean bag is released.

(b) Except as provided above, any bean bag pitched when the contestant has started or stepped completely outside the pitching box before releasing the bean bag.

(d) A bean bag pitched from a different pitchers box than the first bean bag.

(e) Any bean bag that contacted the court or the ground before coming to rest on the Bean Bag platform.

(f) Any bean bag which struck a previously defined object such as a tree limb, wire, indoor court ceiling, etc.

(g) Any bean bag that leaves a contestant’s hand once the final forward swing of the delivery process has started shall count as a pitched bean bag. A bean bag that is accidentally dropped by a contestant before the final forward swing has started shall not be considered foul and may be picked up and pitched.

2. A contestant’s bean bags shall be called foul if the contestant removes any bean bag before the scoring of that bean bag has been agreed upon. A judge shall be called if a decision cannot be reached. The judge shall determine the scoring for the inning.

Protests - If a contestant desires to make a protest, the protest shall be made to the judge or tournament official at the time the problem occurs. The tournament judge shall make the final ruling on all protests.

LENGTH OF THE GAME

Point Limits - The Bean Bag Toss match shall be played until the first team of contestants reaches (or exceeds) 21 points

SCORING

Cancellation Scoring - In cancellation scoring, bean bags in-the-hole and bean bags in-the-count pitched by opponents during an inning or half of an inning in doubles play cancel each other out. Only non-cancelled bean bags are counted in the score for the inning.

1. Bean Bags In-The-Hole – Hole-ins (HI’s) cancel each other. A bean bag in-the-hole of one contestant shall cancel a bean bag in-the-hole of his competitor and those bean bags shall not score any points. Any non-cancelled bean bag in-the-hole scores three points.

2. Bean Bags In-The-Count – Bean bags in-the-count cancel each other. A bean bag in-the-count of one contestant shall cancel a bean bags in-the-count of the opponent and those bean bags shall not score any points. Any non-cancelled bean bags in-the-count score one point each.

Score Calculation - Cancellation scoring may be easily calculated as follows:
1. The points of both contestants are calculated for hole-ins and in-the-count bean bags.

2. The points of the lowest scoring contestant for hole-in bean bags are subtracted from the points of the highest scoring contestant for hole-in bean bags. The result is the hole-in score for the highest scoring contestant. The hole-in score for the lowest scoring contestant is zero.

3. The points of the lowest scoring contestant for in-the-count bean bags are subtracted from the points of the highest scoring contestant for in-the-count bean bags. The result is the in-the-count score for the highest scoring contestant. The in-the-count score for the lowest scoring contestant is zero.

4. The hole-in score for each contestant is added to the in-the-count score for each contestant to derive the recorded score for the inning.

5. In this manner hole-in and in-the–count bean bags from each contestant or team of contestants are cancelled out and only non-cancelled bean bags are counted in the score

Recording The Score - In tournament play, the score sheet shall be the official record of the game and will be used to submit the Official Tournament Scoring Summaries to the WCMP Bean BagTournament. Contestants are encouraged to pay close attention to the score at all times. If a question or discrepancy occurs regarding the correct score, the contestant(s) may approach the scorer between innings to rectify the situation. If the discrepancy cannot be corrected to the satisfaction of both contestants, a tournament judge shall be called to make the final decision.

APPROPRIATE CONDUCT

On The Courts – As a WCMP Bean Bag Tournament member, while in competition, shall make no disturbing noises or movements that would distract the opponent or competitors on adjacent courts. The first offense shall call for a warning from the judge or tournament official. A second offense shall call for a forfeiture of the game being played. Any further offenses shall call for a forfeiture of all games.

Off The Courts - Any WCMP Bean Bag Tournament member who indulges in heckling, unfair rooting, or any other form of unsportsmanlike conduct toward any WCMP Bean Bag Tournament member or tournament official, shall be subject to expulsion from the tournament and the tournament site. This covers any inappropriate behavior (including profane or abusive language) in, or around, the court area. The member shall also be subject to a suspension from any future WCMP Bean Bag Tournaments.

Tournament Play - The standard method of play for the WCMP Bean Bag Tournament is double elimination random bracket style tournament play.

Possible Forfeiture of Contest – Teams will have 5 minutes to begin play once they have been announced with a lane assignment. If not present within the 5 minute time period, the team will forfeit that game unless there are unforeseen circumstances. Any delay over 10 minutes is automatic forfeiture.

Brackets

All Teams guaranteed two Games, you are eliminated after your second loss

Bracket A

Lose the 1st game, go to Bracket B

Bracket B

Lose your 2nd game, you are out.

Updated 5/2/2019