The Union Hose Social Club, at 31 N. Railroad St., Annville, will host its fourth annual cornhole tournament on April 1.
Registration will open at 11:30 a.m., and the games will begin at noon. The tournament is expected to wrap up in the late afternoon.
The first 32 teams, which can be co-ed and have players of any skill level, to register will compete. The tournament has sold out the last three years and is expected to sell out again this year.
The cost to register is $80 per team, which includes food and drinks for the players. Funds raised by the tournament will support N.I.C.K.S. Services Inc.
Event committee chairman Richard Stutzman, a co-founder of the organization whose name stands for New Image Camps for Kids, told LebTown the Union Hose Social Club has “been a phenomenal host and partner for us.”
Stutzman also mentioned his brother, Dennis Stutzman, and the men he works with at Hershey Foods West Distribution.
“They are avid cornhole players. And they actually came to N.I.C.K. with the idea of running the tournament, and N.I.C.K. becoming the beneficiary of the money to help sponsor children,” Stutzman said.
“It’s a round-robin tournament. They have it all on the computer program. We give them the name entries, and it’s plugged into a round-robin program, and the computer generates a bracket and then also recalibrates for a winners and losers bracket, and pretty much runs the tournament for us.”
The first- and second-place teams will win prizes.
“And then, what we call the ‘lovable losers,’ so if there are people that come with a very limited skill set, they have the opportunity to go through the loser’s bracket and still get their entry fee back,” Stutzman said. “It’s a fun day even though it is competitive.”
“If there is anybody that is interested in attending that doesn’t want to play, we ask for a small donation since we’re providing food and drinks,” Stutzman said. “And then they still have the opportunity to buy tickets for raffle baskets, or just sit and watch and enjoy the show and learn a little more about what N.I.C.K.S. is about.”
According to its website, N.I.C.K.S. Services is “a 501(c)(3) approved organization focusing on the under served children of Lebanon County.”
“While we don’t run a camp per say, we raise funds to sponsor children to get involved in extracurricular activities,” Stutzman said.
N.I.C.K.S. Services partners with SPLAT – A Family Art Studio, Chambourcin Spring Farms, Suzanne’s Dance & Gymnastics, Warfield Martial Arts, and other organizations to connect children between the ages of 5 and 12 with “character building extracurricular activities when circumstances might not otherwise allow.”
“We also conduct art classes at our learning center, which we’re getting ready to start our third session of art classes in March, where we do nine-week sessions of art classes,” Stutzman said.
The art classes will be taught by a local artist. The Monday night art class will have 10 first- through third-graders. The Wednesday night art class will have 12 fourth- through sixth-graders.
“So, the cornhole event is one of our structured fundraising events we have throughout the year to raise money to be able to sponsor these children for these activities,” Stutzman said.
N.I.C.K.S. Services also recently received a grant to purchase 12 laptops that will be used in a STEM program they will run. The organization welcomes suggestions for other educational programs they could host.
“We are constantly looking for volunteers and also looking for other partners,” Stutzman said. “Believe it or not, our struggle is to find more organizations to get kids involved.”
According to Stutzman, N.I.C.K.S. Services is considering singing and music lessons, pottery classes, and other activities that stray from traditional stick and ball sports, which the organization feels there is already adequate funding for.
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