Local Elks Hoop Shoot winners win at district competition, advance to state competition
Two winners of the local Elks Club Hoop Shoot held in Breckenridge on Jan. 7 won first place at the Elks Club District Competition in Arlington on Jan. 20 and will now advance to the state championship on Feb. 17-18 in Dallas. The district, which includes the Breckenridge Lodge, includes nine lodges.
Millie Walling won first place in the girls 8-9 division, and Pate Gill won first in the boys 10-11 division. Also, at the district competition, Sam McClymond won third in the 8-9 boys division and Ian Hitchcock won second in the boys 12-13 division.
The contest is for kids ages 8 to 13, divided into three age groups: 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13.
The winners from the state competition will compete in the regional hoop shoot, which will be held in Dallas in March. The regional winners will advance to the national contest in Chicago in April. 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. The top-scoring boy and girl will be named the national champions and will receive the Getty Powell Award.
According to the Elks Lodge organization, the contest gives kids the opportunity to participate in spirited competition, develop relationship with peers and travel statewide, regionally and nationally at minimal expense to their parents.
Ian Hitchcock, who placed second in the 8-9 boys division, poses with Keith Stanley, left, the Texas state Hoop Shoot Director, and Wayne Justus with the Breckenridge Elks Lodge. (Courtesy Photo)
Sam McClymond, who placed third in the 8-9 boys division, poses with Keith Stanley, left, the Texas state Hoop Shoot Director, and Wayne Justus with the Breckenridge Elks Lodge. (Courtesy Photo)
Click here to see the Breckenridge Texan story about the local Hoop Shoot competition held on Jan. 7
Click here to see the Breckenridge Texan’s Photo Gallery from the 2024 Hoop Shoot.
Cutline, top photos: Millie Walling (left photo) and Pate Gill (right photo) pose with Keith Stanley, the Texas State Hoop Shoot Director, Wayne Justus with the Breckenridge Elks, and Joe Williams, Past State President of the Arkansas Elks. (Courtesy Photo)
