Tomorrow is the annual Jefferson Elks Lodge #2306 Hoop Shoot Contest.

Jefferson Elks Secretary Steve Smith says the competition takes place at the Greene County Middle School at 10am, with registration beginning at 9:45am. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio there are four age and gender divisions, from 8 to 13 years old, with the boys and girls that qualified through their physical education classes in school. 

This is a contest to see how many free throws each person can make out of 25 attempts, with the top first and second scorers in each age and gender division to move onto the district competition in January. Last year, two kids from the Paton-Churdan School District not only advanced to the district contest, but went onto state, and those were Keegan Minnihan in the 10-11 year old boys division and Karleah Rice in the eight to nine year old girls division. 

Smith describes his favorite part of the Hoop Shoot Contest is watching the kids’ faces when they compete, as they are very determined to do their best. Tomorrow’s event is free and open to the public.