CHOCOWINITY — It’s the latest recreational sport sweeping the country, but fans may be surprised to know cornhole toss has been around a lot longer than one would expect.

While little is known about how the game began, one story claims it was first played in 14th century Germany; another version insists that today’s game is based on one invented by Native Americans, who filled pig’s bladders with dried beans and tossed them.

The game gained new popularity on college campuses in Ohio and Michigan in the late 1990s, according to the American Cornhole Organization. Since then, the lawn game has spread throughout the United States.

And Beaufort County is certainly no exception. Just ask Jerry Sneed.

Sneed is president of the Can U Toss? League, which has members throughout eastern North Carolina, including Beaufort, Washington, Pitt, Nash and Wilson counties. On Saturday in Chocowinity, the league hosted its second-annual Toss for Tots fundraiser benefiting the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program. Cornhole enthusiasts from Benson, Dunn, Raleigh, Roanoke Rapids, Greenville and, of course, Chocowinity gathered inside the town’s fire department to donate toys and enjoy an afternoon of good-natured competition.

“It’s kind of like a bowling league,” said Sneed as he greeted competitors prior to the match. “We have 10-week sessions, and we start a new league in January.”

Sneed said a neighbor got him hooked on the game about three years ago.

“He had a set in his yard,” he recalled. “When I first picked it up, they all beat me, but then I figured out how to throw. We’ve been known to throw for six or seven hours straight.”

In addition to the standard cornhole games, in which competitors attempt to land beanbags in a hole in a slanted board, Saturday’s event also included a Tic-Tac-Toe competition and a game based on poker. Each team of two paid an entry fee, which went toward cash prizes for the top teams, and every player brought along at least one new toy for Toys for Tots. By the time the last competitors had arrived at noon, tables were overflowing with trucks and cars, board games, baseball bats and dolls.

Sneed made ACO pro status last year, which required him to play in a certain amount of tournaments and achieve an average score of 98 points. Along the way, he competed in tournaments locally and in Greensboro, Raleigh, Charlotte and Virginia Beach, Va. The ultimate competition, dubbed King of Cornhole, will be played in January in Nashville.

But don’t let the name of the national competition fool you. Sneed said women as well as men are avid cornhole enthusiasts. Several women entered Saturday’s tournament, and among the competitors was at least one husband-wife team.

Can U Toss? is always on the lookout for new members, according to Sneed. The league has hosted games in Washington at Pirate’s Pub and Grill and Music in the Streets. League members meet each Tuesday at the Upper Deck in Greenville for a free tournament in which teams are chosen at random. Winners receive Upper Deck gift cards, he said.

Originally an outdoor game, cornhole may be played indoors, providing a large space is available. Cold weather and windy conditions make outside play a little less enjoyable.

“We’re spoiled, so we play a lot of indoor games,” Sneed said with a laugh.

For more information on joining Can U Toss?, check out its page on Facebook. For more on cornhole toss in general, including a complete list of rules and regulations, visit www.americancornhole.org.