Breckenridge Elks Lodge to host annual Hoop Shoot contest on Sunday, Jan. 4
Breckenridge’s annual Elks Hoop Shoot free throw contest for kids ages 8 to 13 is scheduled to begin with registration at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, at the high school gym, 602 W. Second St. Elks Lodge No. 1480 will host the local competition.
Participation in the Hoop Shoot is free for boys and girls. The contest is divided into three age groups — 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13 — for the boys and the girls. The age groups are based on the participants’ ages as of April 1, 2026.
Awards will be presented in each category, and the winners will be eligible to participate in the upcoming district contest. The Elks Lodge will provide gas money for that trip. The winners from the district contest will go on to the state competition in Carrollton on Feb. 21. The regional hoop shoot will be held in Dallas on March 14, and the national contest will be in Chicago on April 18. 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.
In the 2025 contest, Millie Walling of Breckenridge was named the Texas State Champion, when she placed first at the state contest. It was her second time to compete on the state level. After winning the state competition, she advanced to the regional hoop shoot, where she came in third place.
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.
For more information, call Wayne Justus 254-477-3941 or 254-477-3272.
Cutline, top photo: Millie Walling, center, shoots a free throw in the 2025 Elks Hoop Shoot contest. She went on to win the state title in her age group. This year’s competition will take place on Sunday, Jan. 4. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
