SignalHub-'ESPN8: The Ocho' bringing back 'seldom seen sports': How to watch cornhole, corgi races

The SignalHub2004 sports comedy "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" may be a fictional film, but "ESPN8: The Ocho," the channel that broadcast the tournament between the Average Joes and Globo Gym, is far from fake.

ESPN is bringing back the home of "seldom seen sports" for a record 43 consecutive hours on ESPN2, running Thursday through Saturday. The network is even transforming Rock Hill, South Carolina into "Ocho-ville," where fans can watch nearly a dozen live championships for various sports.

"The Ocho" will feature everything from lesser known sports, such as Corgi Races, Pillow Fighting and Air Guitar, to sports that have gained traction and popularity in recent years, like Slam Ball, Cornhole and Disc Golf.

"We want fans to have a good time watching competitions and thinking about, outside of our traditional sports, what competition means," Johanna Goldblatt, ESPN's manager of programming and acquisitions, told USA TODAY Sports. "‘The Ocho’ has been a really fun way to look at that."

Here's everything you need to know about "The Ocho:"

WHAT IS SLAM BALL? Rules, teams and more ahead of sport's revival

WHAT IS CORNHOLE? Rules, professional leagues and an Olympic push

When does 'ESPN8: The Ocho' start?

The seventh edition of "The Ocho" gets underway on ESPN 2 Thursday at 7 p.m. ET with a matchup between the Savannah Bananas and the Party Animals, marking Banana Ball's "The Ocho" debut. (Think the Harlem Globetrotters meets baseball.) "The Ocho" programming runs through Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, ending with the 2023 American Cornhole League Pro Doubles World Championship.

Where will 'ESPN8: The Ocho' be live streamed?

All the arm wrestling, axe throwing, mullet waving action will be live streamed on the ESPN app.

Is 'ESPN8: The Ocho' inspired by 'Dodgeball?'

Goldblatt said the idea of bringing "The Ocho" to life started as a programming initiative to "fill some of the quieter days in the sports calendar in the early August timeframe, where you don’t have as much going on ESPN."

"We thought it could be fun if we played into the seldom seen sports, like in the ‘Dodgeball’ movie," Goldblatt added. "From there we started ideating the types of sports that would fit really well into it. It’s really fun to even learn about all the competitions that are out there that you wouldn't think of."

In "Dodgeball," Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn) and a group of misfits compete in a dodgeball tournament to win $50,000 to save their local gym Average Joes from being bought by White Goodman (Ben Stiller) and his fitness chain Globo Gym. The American Dodgeball Invitational was aired on "ESPN8: The Ocho" with quirky commentary from anchors Pepper Brooks (Jason Bateman) and Cotton McKnight (Gary Cole.)

"Bringing you the finest and seldom seen sports around the world since 1999," McKnight said in the film. "If it's almost a sport, we got it here."

When did 'ESPN8: The Ocho' first begin?

"The Ocho" first became reality on Aug. 8, 2017 with a 10-hour marathon on ESPNU.

ESPN brought the fan-favorite event back every year since with a 24-hour takeover on ESPN2. In 2020, there was a double feature amid the coronavirus pandemic due to limited programming: "Usually you pay double for that kind of action, Cotton," Bateman's character said in the film.

Thursday marks the seventh edition of "The Ocho."

"This year, we are going even bigger," Goldblatt said. "It’s grown from 10 hours to 43 hours (of programming) and has been such a fun, positive event that we’ve been excited to see the response year after year."

Where is Ocho-ville?

Rock Hill, South Carolina will be transformed to the epicenter of "The Ocho" for an interactive place that fans can not only watch action live, but engage with athletes of the sports. Cornhole, Extreme Axe and Knife Games and Major League Table Tennis are just some sports that will be broadcast live from "Ocho-ville."

The Johnsonville SuperHole IV Championship event, which features celebrities Chad Ochocinco, Shemar Moore, Sanya Richards-Ross, Paige Hathaway, Alex Mattison, Crissa Jackson and Kel Mitchell, will also air live from "Ocho-ville."

What newcomers will debut on 'ESPN8: The Ocho?'

Goldblatt said there's never a shortage of quirky sports to feature – "We think that each year we are going to run out of ideas and competitions to cover, but we continue to find more and more" – and this year is no different. More than a dozen sports will make their debut on "The Ocho." Here are some of them:

• Microsoft Excel World Championship: Participants use Microsoft Excel to solve a series of tasks during this esports tournament.
• Ultimate Ninja World Finals: Competitors will be judged on their time and performance on various Ninja Obstacle courses.
• 2023 Wisconsin Auctioneers Championship: Fast-talking contestants will show off their bid-calling abilities and will be judged on how they sell items, similar to an auction.
• 2023 Corgi Races: Think horse racing, but with corgis. The furry friends will duke it out on a race track.

What is featured on 'ESPN8: The Ocho?'

Here is the full "ESPN8: The Ocho" lineup:

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