Great Barrington — Insurance company Health New England brought their New England cornhole tournament to the Claire Teague Senior Center on Friday, July 12.
The company is bringing the tournament to other locations in Berkshire County as well, including the Adams Visitor Center, Dalton Senior Center, and the Sheffield Senior Center.
Cornhole is a game where players throw bean bags at boards mounted at a slight angle on the ground with holes in them. Points are earned for landing on the board or into the hole.
The winners of the Claire Teague Senior Center tournament were Ashland resident Tracy Piper and Great Barrington resident Joseph Kay, who were both on the winning team.
“My strategy for winning was throwing the bag so it hit hard on the surface,” Kay said. Kay, 95, is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Marines and frequents the Senior Center.
Piper’s father can also regularly be found at the Senior Center. “Oh my gosh, the cornhole boards were so slippery,” Piper said. “But Joe has such a great shot.”
“Tracy was my anchor lady,” Kay added. “I’m proud to have had her on my team.”
“As part of my job with the company, I visit many of the senior centers across New England,” said Health New England Government Program Coordinator Lee Jaggi. “I’m very close with the directors and people who work at these centers. They have been all looking for something that they could introduce to their seniors. To me, cornhole is a perfect solution because it’s something everyone can play. Our company likes to promote activities for people to stay active.”
Jaggi said that participants had fun throughout the cornhole tournament. “People started to laugh the second they picked up a cornhole bag,” Jaggi said. “It was amazing how we accomplished our goal. To me, there is no strategy in playing cornhole. It’s just about having fun and getting the bag in the hole.”
The company is also giving away a set of cornhole tournament boards to every location participating in the tournament. “We had a wonderful time in this tournament,” said Senior Center Director Joan Peters. “Cornhole is a perfect community event. We were all laughing and having a good time. We’re just grateful that Health New England has all of us gathered together.”
