Breckenridge Texan

Local kids ages 8 to 13 will have a chance this Saturday, Jan. 6, to participate in the annual Elks Hoop Shoot, a nationwide free throw contest. The winners of the Breckenridge event will go on to the district competition in Arlington next weekend.

Participation in the Hoop Shoot, sponsored locally by Elks Lodge No. 1480, is free for boys and girls. The contest will be from 3 to 5 p.m. at L.T. Cook Gymnasium at Breckenridge High School, 503 W. Lindsey St.

The contest is divided into three age groups: 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13. The age groups are based on the participants’ ages as of April 1, 2018.

The first and second place winners in each category will receive medals, and the winners will be eligible to participate in the district contest in Arlington on Jan. 13. The Elks Lodge will provide gas money for that trip, said local Elks member and contest director Wayne Justus.

The winners from the district contest will go on to the state competition in Carrollton. The regional hoops shoot will also be held in Carrollton, and the national contest will be in Chicago. Everything above the district level will be an overnight trip, and the participants and their parents will get to attend the events as guests of the Elks. Six national winners — a boy and a girl in each age category — will be named.

The national winners will each receive a trophy and have their name inscribed on a plaque in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Last year, one of the national winners was from Texas, Justus said.

According to the Elks Lodge organization, the contest give kids the opportunity to participate in spirited competition, develop relationship with peers and travel statewide, regionally and nationally at minimal expense to their parents.

For more information about the local Hoop Shoot, contact Wayne Justus at justusow@yahoo.com or at 254-477-3941.