Local clubs getting into baggo business

Odds are, more people than not have played that game where the object is to throw the bean bag into the holes on the wooden board.

Commonly referred to as "bags," this longtime backyard recreation staple continues to soar in popularity as an activity that is easy to play and can be enjoyed by just about anybody.

In the upcoming weeks organizations in both Huntley and Batavia will be holding bags tournaments - also referred to in some circles as cornhole games.

"A lot of social places in the area have been hosting these events and getting good turnouts," said Tom Rancak, a member of the Huntley Rotary Club and the chairman for the organization's upcoming first Baggo tournament to be held indoors at Pinecrest Golf Club in Huntley on March 14.

"We saw another rotary club do a bags tournament and they had a really good and successful turnout. It's a popular little game that people seem to enjoy. This is something our club has been thinking about for about eight months."

The Huntley Rotary Club event will be held in the main bar area at Pinecrest with three or four bag setups, according to Rancak. In the Huntley tournament, each player starts out with four bean bags on each side. Two points are awarded for each bag that goes into one of the holes and one point is given for each bag that stays on the box. Games, which feature two-person teams, are played to 21 points.

"It's just like horseshoes with the exception that it's a lot lighter to throw a bag than a horseshoe," said Rancak.

Both the Huntley and Batavia tournaments reference Baggo, the name of a well-known Hot Springs, Ark., -based company that produces and sells bags products (including custom Baggo boards) and has distinct Herald City roots.

"The game has been around forever. We played it growing up in Libertyville at block parties with wooden homemade sets," said Baggo, Inc.'s Kirk Conville, a 1986 Libertyville High School graduate who runs the company with his brother, Eric Brasseale.

Conville's family started the company after seeing a television show that chronicled another formerly popular, but dangerous backyard recreation game.

"A girl was killed playing lawn jarts and her father quit his job and went to Washington and it took him four years, but in 1988 Congress banned the sale of lawn jarts," said Conville. "They did a piece on '60 Minutes,' and my dad (David Conville) was watching it and saw there was a void in the marketplace. It took about five years with the engineering and design and getting the trademarks and patents."

David Conville wound up making a fold-up version of the original bags game and took it to the higher-ups at Budweiser.

"They said that they loved the game, but they wanted it made out of plastic (Baggo boards are made of polyethylene, as opposed to the long-standing wooden version)," said Kirk Conville.

"I quit my full-time job in 1998 and took over the company. We've been doing real well. Now we do business with all of the major beer companies. We do a tournament at the Wisconsin State Fair. We've got a Baggo fan page on Facebook."

Conville says the game has become exceedingly popular at trade shows and with park districts.

"Anybody can play it," said Conville, who still keeps a home in the Barrington area. "We just did a tournament with the American Camping Association where we paired people up with someone they didn't know. It was a great icebreaker. We do something at the National Parks and Recreation Show where all the CEOs of the park districts play. My dad and I step out and play and he's 70 now."

For the Batavia event, the Batavia Parks Foundation has partnered with Baggo, for its "Toss for a Cause" event this Saturday at the Eastside Community Center. The tournament is open to adults 21 years of age and older.

"This is the third one we've done," said Matt Ellmann, a member of the Batavia Parks Foundation. "The other two we've done have been highly popular. This has been a popular game for a number of years. It has a universal appeal. You can drink a beer and play it. It's not too difficult to organize. It's very easy to do and easy to learn to play."

Both tournaments have fundraising components to them. The Huntley event will see 50 percent of the proceeds go back into the Huntley Rotary Club, while the proceeds from the Batavia confab will benefit the Batavia Parks Foundation, which promotes community and quality of life for all citizens by acquiring and distributing resources which enhance opportunities and advocate stewardship for open space, parks, facilities and recreational programs within the Batavia Park District.

If you go

Here's the lowdown on two local upcoming bags tournaments.

Batavia

When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28

Where: Eastside Community Center, 14 N. Van Buren St.

Format: Teams of two will play a minimum of three games. Cash prize of $100 for first-place team.

Cost: $50 per team and includes the tournament, beer, wine, soda and snacks, prizes and child care for children ages 5-11.

Registration: Available at the Batavia Park District Civic Center, Eastside Community Center or at www.bataviaparks.org; call (630) 879-5235.

Huntley

When: Saturday, March 14

Where: Pinecrest Golf Club, Huntley

Format: Single-elimination competition (best-of-3 first-round format)

Cost: $30 per team (includes competition, food and beverage specials, big screen TV's (for viewing) and a 50/50 raffle); 50 percent of the funds from the tournament will be paid out to the first and second-place winners.

Registration: Call Tom Rancak at (815) 341-7174 or e-mail trancak@classicmortagesolutions.com.

Baggo on the Web: www.baggo.com