ACL Players Guide

The American Cornhole League (ACL) encourages social and competitive play for all ages and all skill levels. The ACL software makes managing tournaments, leagues and custom events easy and provides the critical infrastructure for a statistical database for the sport. Becoming a player allows you to compete against people of your same skill level and always gives you an opportunity to see how you stack up against the best of the best. Please contact us with any feedback or questions.

ACL Players Guide for the 21/22 Season

Membership Levels

- Bronze: Someone that plays in an ACL player event but has not purchased an ACL Membership. This player will not show-up in the ACL Open Standings


- Silver: This player will show up in the ACL Open Standings, but will not earn the 1,000 bonus points and will not receive tournament entry discounts.


- Gold: Players will show up in the standings, *earn a 1,000 point membership bonus (if purchased on or before 02/28/2022),  save money when entering ACL events and will not pay deposit fees into the ACL Wallet!


- Platinum: Players will show up in the standings, have access to statistics, *earn a 1,000 point membership bonus, save money when entering ACL player events, receive a discount on the ACL Digital Network (ACLDN), get Early Bird registration access for Open events and World Championships and will pay no deposit or withdrawal fees!


- Pro: Players who have achieved the highest skill level in the sport and have accepted the terms laid out by the ACL to become an ACL Pro. ACL Pro’s are automatically Platinum members.

Memberships

Player Membership levelsBronze SilverGoldPlatinumYearly CostFree$10$40$100Player May Participate in ACL Player EventsPlayer Points Appear in StandingsMinimum $5 Discount at Regional, Conference, Open and World Championship Events1,000 Bonus Points if Signed Up By Feb 28th, 2022*Free ACL Wallet DepositsFree ACL Wallet Withdrawals50% Off ACLDN (Digital Network) MembershipAccess to Personal StatisticsEarly Bird Access to Open Events and ACL World Championships (possibly Regional and Conference Events too)

*Note that players MUST purchase their ACL player membership on or before 02/28/2022 in order to receive the 1,000 bonus points.  Anyone purchasing ANY membership after 02/28/2022 will not get the 1,000 bonus points. ALL memberships purchased during the 2021-2022 season will expire on 8/31/2022.

ACL Divisions / Skill Levels

ACL player divisions are intended to group players of similar skill levels together for competitive and social play. It is important that players read this players guide, review and establish their Skill Level. This enables a player to know where they stand and compete against players of similar skill level. Conference/Regional Directors may override a Skill Level if they feel a player is sandbagging.  The current ACL Skill Rating Levels include:

- ACL Pro- ACL Pro means that you have achieved the highest skill level in the sport and have accepted the terms laid out by the ACL to become an ACL Pro.

- ACL Pro players must play in the Advanced division at Regional and Conference events.

- Advanced - Anyone can play in the Advanced Division knowing that this is where the best of the best will compete at the Regional and Conference level. This division offers maximum points towards player rankings. There can certainly be top level ACL players in the Advanced Skill Level who have not yet earned/accepted the ACL Pro Player Title.

- This ACL player can execute sliding the bag and airmailing the bag as needed. Player fully understands game strategy and likely plays and practices on a regular basis.
(PPR Range: > 8) - PPR stands for Points Per Round which is a players average points per round during game play

- Competitive- The Competitive Division is intended for players who are good, but not quite ready for the Advanced level. For areas that have a lot of depth at the top end of players, it makes sense for a Director to offer Advanced and Competitive Divisions for Local, Regional and Conference tournaments.

- This player fully understands game strategy, but may struggle with consistency. At times this ACL player looks like they can beat anyone, but then in a subsequent game or round can struggle. (PPR Range: 7 - 8)

- Intermediate- The Intermediate Division is for players that enjoy playing casually but are competitive enough to beat the Novice level players. ACL Players can enjoy the sport and events without having to play the top players.

- This player has a feel for the distance needed to toss the bag, but can be erratic in getting the bag to consistently be in the middle of the board. This level of ACL player is working on developing a consistent pitch. (PPR Range: 6 - 7)

- Novice- The Novice Division is intended for beginners and large events that have a lot of Intermediate players.

- This player has limited experience with the game and usually has very little control over where the bag is going. (PPR Range: < 6)

ACL Pro

To become an ACL Pro means that you have achieved the highest skill level in the sport and are able to compete in guaranteed prize pool broadcast events. ACL Pros earn money by competing in ACL events and obtaining sponsors.

For full details about being an ACL Pro or Qualifying to be an ACL Pro in the 2022-2023 season please read How To Earn A Pro Spot

Player Types

Players are responsible for updating their type in their ACL Player Profile.

- Juniors – 17 and under as of August 31st, 2022

- College – Undergraduate College Students (Full Time or Part Time)

- Adult – 18 and over as of August 31st, 2022 (who are not College Eligible)

- Senior – 55 and over as of August 31st, 2022

ACL Events

ACL Player Events are created based on the following:

- Area – Local, Regional, Conference, Open, Pro Nationals, Pro Shootout Qualifiers

- Division – Pro, Advanced, Competitive, Intermediate, Novice

- Special – Pro Shootout and other special events

- Charity - Charity events integrated with the ACL

Directors may set up events specific to other criteria like Gender, Skill Level, and ACL Player Type. Not all of these event types are currently supported by the ACL software but anything that impacts the Overall Competitive ACL Open Standings is supported.

ACL Player and Fan Code of Conduct Policy
ACL Code of Conduct

Bring Your Own Bags (BYOB) - ACL Bags Policy

The ACL believes that ACL players should be able to have a choice when it comes to bags. The ACL has set guidelines and created a list of Approved Bag Manufacturers. Players are required to use properly stamped bags from this list for Monthly Regional, Conference and National Tournaments. A Director may use a different Bag Policy or provide bags for Local Events. If a player does not have bags on the list we ask for the Director to provide that player with an approved set.

ACL Bags Policy

ACL Player Tournaments

*Important! A player must pay and play in at least one game in the tournament in order to earn ACL points. This is true for all levels (Local, Regional, Conference, Open, Pro).

LOCAL Tournaments (Unlimited):

- Local points tournaments can apply to ANY singles, BYOP doubles or blind draw doubles tournament. If you are playing in a tournament that does not include ACL Points, ask your Director why?!? Points are awarded based on where a player/team finishes in the tournament.

- ACL Open Standings will take an ACL player’s Top 10 Local Tournament Finishes and use them towards their ACL Rankings.

- In order for a local tournament to be counted for ACL points you must have 6 players (for singles) and 6 teams (for doubles). If you do not have 6 singles or 6 doubles then that tournament will NOT count for ACL points.

MONTHLY REGIONAL Tournaments (10 max per region):

- A Regional Director may run one Monthly Regional Points Tournament for each Division (Advanced, Competitive, Intermediate, Novice) and by Tournament Type (Singles, BYOP, Blind Draw) per month.

- Each Regional Director must offer a minimum of three Divisions (Advanced, Competitive and Intermediate) and include at least two tournaments for each (one singles and one blind draw or bring your own partner doubles).

- The maximum number of Monthly Regional events a Regional Director can run is 10 (10/01/2021 – 07/17/2022).

- Tournaments may be run on different days. Example: 1st Tuesday of every month is Regional Singles. 2nd Tuesday of every month is BYOP doubles. 3rd Tuesday of every month is Blind Draw Doubles, etc…

- In order for a Monthly Regional tournament to be worth Regional points you must have 6 players (for singles) and 6 teams (for doubles). If you do not have 6 singles or 6 doubles then that tournament will NOT count for ACL points.

- Monthly Regionals MUST be seeded starting no later than November.

- All directors MUST offer a minimum $5 discount for Gold and Platinum ACL Members at Regional, Conference and Open events.

- Payouts will vary based on Regional Director.

- Players may play in more than one Monthly Regional Event in a Month, but only the top score for singles and top score for doubles/blind draw will count as their Monthly Regional Score for that month.

- ACL Open Standings will include your Top 5 Monthly Regional Singles + Top 5 Monthly Regional Doubles (Blind Draw or BYOP) scores for Points Rankings.

*Points tables for Stack Brackets can be found at the end of this document.

CONFERENCE and STATE CHAMPIONSHIP Tournaments:

Again this year will be a State Championship event for each state. Therefore in 2021-2022 there will be two Conference events per Conference AND one State Championship per State. The State Championship events will count for Conference points.

The Top 100 players in each conference will be invited to the Conference Championship event and Conference Pro Qualifier which will be held in August or September 2022. More details on those events later in this document.

ACL Player Open Standings will include Top 2 Conference/State Singles + Top 2 Conference/State Doubles (Blind Draw or BYOP) finishes.

- ACL Conferences are formed at the discretion of the ACL.

- Each Conference will hold 2 Conference Events and 1 State Championship per State throughout the 2021/2022 season.Conference/State Event dates MUST be approved by the ACL National Directors. We do not want Conference Events to be run the same weekend as ACL Open Events in the same geographical area.

- The 2 or 3 Day Conference/State events MUST include Advanced, Competitive and Intermediate (Singles, BYOP, Blind Draw). Plus Novice and Seniors/Juniors/Women’s/Crew if time allows.

- Conference Events MUST be seeded

- Players may only play in their assigned Conference events and the State Championships of the State they live in. Players who are located close to conference lines and who would like to compete in a conference other than their assigned conference MUST compete in a majority of their REGIONAL events within the desired conference.

Open Tournaments (12 minimum):

- Each player may play in as many Open tournaments as they wish.

- There will be a MINIMUM of 12 ACL Open Tournaments during the season. 

- Open tournaments are a minimum 2-Day event and include Open Doubles and Open Singles. Any additional tournaments held at Open events will count for local points.

- Doubles will be $100/team. Each team will play a minimum of 6 doubles games using the ACL Rounders format. After ACL Rounders is over all players are split into 3 or 4 levels for doubles. Each level then competes in a double elimination doubles bracket. Level 1 is the top level and will earn the most points and earn the most prize money. All players will play no less than 8 doubles games!

- Doubles will be a 60%+ payout. 85% for level 1, 15% for level 2, level 3 and level 4 winners get their entry fee back ($100/team), 2nd place get half their money back ($50/team).

- Singles will be $50/player. All players will sign-up for “Open Singles” and be placed into the skill division as shown on their ACL Player Profile (Advanced, Competitive or Intermediate). Players MUST play in the skill level shown on their player profile. 

- All singles entry fees are then added up and 60% of the entry fees are split as follows: 70% to advanced, 20% to competitive, 10% to intermediate

- Event MAY also include a Pro Shootout Qualifying event

- ACL Open Standings will include your Top Open Singles + Top Open scores.

*New Conference Championships Events
Anyone finishing in the top 100 in their Conference will be invited to participate in their Conference Championship event. This event will be held in August/September 2022. The event will include:

- Free jerseys/shirts to anyone who qualifies for the event

- Free entry into the Blind Draw tournament with a guaranteed prize pot

- The right to play in single and doubles

- The right to play in the Conference Pro Qualifier where the winner will earn the right to be a Pro for the 2022-2023 season.

Dekarounds

Dekarounds are one way of determining what skill level an ACL player may be. A dekaround involves a player throwing by him or herself a total of 10 rounds (40 bags) and totaling their score. A player can throw by themselves by starting on one side of the board, throwing 4 bags and counting their score for round 1. They then walk down to the other board (staying on the same side) and throwing 4 more bags and counting their score. After 10 rounds (40 bags total) you see what your total score is. An average of 91 or above puts you in the Advanced Skill level. 75-90 is Competitive, 60-75 is Intermediate and 65 and below is Novice.

To make it even easier the ACL has a way to track your score for a dekaround. To do so you can follow these steps:

1.   Go to https://www.iplaycornhole.com/ and click on Login in the upper right hand corner.       

2.   On the next screen login to your ACL account. If you do not have an ACL player account you can click on “Join ACL” and create a new ACL account (it’s free!)

3.   Once logged in click on “Dekaround”

4.   Then click on “Start Dekaround Tracker”

5.

https://bit.ly/3mOslvi