By Ethan Nahté
If you have a boy or girl ages 8-13, It’s that time of year for the Annual Elks Hoop Shoot sponsored by the Mena Elks Lodge No. 781.
For last year’s event, Lisa Walker with the Elks Lodge said, “Whoever gets the most-free throw hoops is the winner. It’s pretty intense. Once they win here, they go to Hot Springs. If they win there, they go to the semi-finals, and then finals. We had one boy that made it to the finals in Chicago.”
That boy was Luke Floyd, who won the overall 12-to-13-year-old division in the semi-finals in Kentucky in 2019.
The Elks National Hoop Shoot is a free throw program has been going on for 50-plus years. The Polk County competition is at the Jim Rackley Gym at Mena Middle School. Signups begin at 12:15 p.m. and the Hoop Shoot begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14. Gym shoes are required. No boots or hard-sole shoes on the gym floor.
The division winners will continue to the quarter finals in Hot Springs, which will take place at the Park Magnet School Gym on Feb 3.
The semi-finals for the Central Region 9 Hoop Shoot are Feb. 16 in Paducah, Kentucky.
The winners from around the country will compete in the 2024 National Finals in Chicago on April 20.
For more information about the contest in Mena contact Ronnie Cook at 479-234-1120.
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