The Elks’ Hoop Shoot foul shooting competition for the Northern District of Maine was held in Bangor to select six top foul shooters from three age categories in both boys and girls divisions.

Of the six winners moving on to the Elks’ State Hoop Shoot competition, five will be representing the Presque Isle Elks, Lodge #1954.  They are shown below, from left to right, Faith Sjoberg, of Presque Isle; Madelyn Johnston, of Washburn; Parker Deprey, of Caribou; Colby Burlock, of Mars Hill; and Maddie Stratton of Caribou.

Elks Hoop Shoot
Elks Hoop Shoot
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On Sunday, January 17, competitors in the Northern District Hoop Shoot came from Aroostook, Penobscot, Hancock, and Eastern Somerset Counties.The Elks’ State Hoop Shoot foul shooting competition will be held at the Bangor High School on Sunday, January 31, 2016.

Competitors in that contest will be the 18 winners from the three separate District Hoop Shoot competitions held throughout the State.  Of the 18 State competitors, nine boys and nine girls, the five young people pictured above will be representing the Presque Isle Elks, Lodge #1954, as the winners of the Northern District Hoop Shoot.

William Sewall has been director of the Presque Isle Elks Hoop Shoot for the past thirty (30) years.  He explained that nationally, the Elks Hoop Shoot competition is open to all boys and girls between the ages of 8 to 13. In this area, youngsters participate in a preliminary Hoop Shoot foul shooting contest at their schools or local recreation programs.

Nicholas Moore/Thinkstock
Nicholas Moore/Thinkstock
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All competitors attempt 25 foul shots, with the older boys and girls shooting from the foul line and the youngest competitors shooting from a line four feet closer to the basket.   Winners from the school level move on to the Lodge Hoop Shoot competition, which was held at the University of Maine at Presque Isle on January 9, 2015.

The six winners from each Elks’ Lodge competition, three boys and three girls, move on to the District competition, which was held on January 17, 2016, for the Elks Northern District.

According to Sewall, competitors will now move to the State level, to be held on January 31, 2016, in Bangor.  Six winners will be selected at the State Hoop Shoot to move on to the Northeast Regional competition, to be held in Portland, Maine, in February.  The Northeast Regional competition will yield six winners to move on to the National Elks Hoop Shoot competition to be held in Chicago, Illinois.  The winners at the national competition will have their names inscribed in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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