Cornhole is a game which has grown in popularity through the years, and a tournament bringing professional and social players was held in Marshalltown on Saturday. The lawn game features players throwing small bean bags into the hole of the inclined board.

Organized by Martin Pantoja, Noel Showers and Chase Trevino, the Iowa Switcholio Invitational was hosted in the Midnight Ballroom, Inside the Meadow Lane Mall venue, players were organized according to skill level – advanced, intermediate or social.

“My favorite part is helping them develop their game,” Showers said. “My favorite thing is getting the social players up to the next level, and getting those intermediate to the advanced.”

More than 100 players ranging in age from 12 to 70, flocked from Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Mason City, Des Moines, Boone, Fort Dodge and more to toss their bags. Trevino was happy with the number of players who showed up.

“This is a phenomenal turnout,” he said, noting they only had two months to put it together. “You don’t see this often. Usually you see this for fundraisers, for something with a deeper purpose. Having the turnout we did says a lot.”

The organizers chose Marshalltown for the first Switcholio Invitational because of the central location.

“Our object was to get people introduced to clubs they normally wouldn’t talk to,” Showers said. “Placing it centrally would facilitate that better.”

The trio chose the Midnight Ballroom because it provided a large enough space. Even though there were 15 games occurring at the same time, Trevino said with a bigger venue, there would have been more.

“If we had more rooms, we would have put up more boards,” Showers said. “We didn’t have the room in here, and we filled the whole ballroom.”

According to Showers, cornhole is the second fastest growing sport in popularity in the country, behind pickleball. He said in a time when a lot of interaction happens digitally, people want to have more face-to-face interaction, and that is why they keep returning to the game.

Trevino believes the sport has exploded in popularity because it is an activity anyone can engage in. The American Cornhole Organization, he said, frequently touts not only can anybody play, but anybody can win.

“I think that’s true,” Trevino said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, the majority of people can throw a bag. Anyone can do this. That’s the most unique thing. It doesn’t matter what you look like, who you are, where you’re from, you just need to throw a bag. It’s even in college now. Kids are getting scholarships for this.”

He said this was not the first event they ever put together, as they host weekly tournaments and fundraisers.

Considering the turnout, bringing the tournament back to Marshalltown is something they would like to do again. Showers hopes to secure a larger venue, such as the Midnight Garden, for 2026.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.