MOUNT CARMEL - Mount Carmel Elks Lodge 356 will sponsor the local competition for the annual Elks hoop shoot, the national free throw-shooting contest Saturday at the Mount Carmel Area Elementary School gymnasium. Registration starts at 1 p.m., and the competition begins at 1:30.
The contest is open to all boys and girls, ages 8 through 13. There are three age categories in two groups divided by boys and girls: Ages 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13. Each contestant has 25 shots at the hoop. The boy and girl in each age group with the best scores will advance and represent the Mount Carmel Lodge at the district level.
The district competition is scheduled for Sunday, Feb.12 at the Diehl Senior High School in Danville.District winners advance to the state finals March 3 at State College High School. State winners' names are engraved on the Pennsylvania Elks Hoop Shoot plaque.
Winners from the State College contest advance to the regional hoop shoot in Wilkes-Barre in late March where they compete against the best free throw shooters from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. If they are victorious in Wilkes-Barre, the students and their families will head to Springfield, Mass., in April for the national hoop shoot finals at the James Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Elks hoop shoot began as a local program by the Corvallis, Ore. Elks in 1946. The Elks Oregon State Association took it to a state level of competition in 1958. Gerald L. (Getty) Powell directed the program on a national level beginning in 1972. Three million youngsters, ages 8 through 13, participated last year.
Hoop shoot funding is provided by the Elks National Foundation, the charitable arm of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the USA. The Elks are committed to providing a healthy future for America's youth. For more information on Elks youth programs, go to www.paelks.com/files/youthact.htm. For information on joining the Mount Carmel Elks Lodge, contact the exalted ruler, Ricky Schnee, at 339-2856.