Participants in the nationwide Elks Hoop Shoot have to be a lot younger than the event itself. The free-throw contest is more than 50 years old, but it’s open only to kids 8 through 13 years old.
The annual Hoop Shoot will be held Saturday, Nov. 30, at the Wrangell community center gym. The times are 10 a.m. for ages 8 to 9; 11 a.m. for ages 10 to 11; and noon for ages 12 to 13.
Kids’ age as of April 1, 2025, will determine which group they will shoot in.
They will each get five warm-up shots at the hoop, followed by a round of 10 throws and a second round with 15 throws, explained Jeff Jabusch, who has volunteered for the event since the 1980s.
The winners in each age category will receive medals for first, second and third places, with separate competition for boys and girls.
Along with the medals, every kid will receive a free basketball to take home and can enjoy free hamburgers at the Elks Club after the Hoop Shoot ends.
Jabusch said kids should arrive at the community center about 15 minutes early to sign up, and “it’s a good idea to a bring parent,” though it is not mandatory. No advance signup is required.
The scores from Wrangell’s Hoop Shoot will be sent to the program’s state directors to line up against competition held by the 15 Elks Lodges across Alaska. The state winners will travel to regional and, if they qualify, to national competition, courtesy of the Elks-funded program, Jabusch said.
The Wrangell Elks Lodge pays for the basketballs, medals and burgers.
For more information, call Jabusch 907-305-0086.
The basketball net will be at the usual height — 10 feet — but players in the 8- and 9-year-old bracket will shoot from four feet closer to the basket than everyone else who will stand at the free-throw line 15 feet away from the net.
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