Local hoop shoot champions compete at Grand Junction today

Local hoop shoot champions compete at Grand Junction today

Jan. 26, 2002

STAFF REPORT

Six Cortez area boys and girls earned the right to compete in the District Finals of the annual National Elks Hoop Shoot Competition.

Jennifer Begay, Kellie Derem0, Toni Pickens, Jess Mortensen, Clifford Jones, and Jaron Jacket will head to Grand Junction today, Jan. 26. They were the age group winners of the Cortez Elks Hoop Shoot Competition which was held Dec. 15 at Cortez Middle School Gymnasium.

Begay will represent the Girls 8-9 age bracket. Deremo will represent the Girls 10-11 group. Pickens will represent the Girls 12-13 division.

Mortensen is the Boys 8-9 rep. Jones will represent the Boys 10-11 bracket. Jacket won the Boys 12-13 division.

The local and District events are part of the 30th annual National Free Throw Shooting Contest, sponsored by the national Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. The Cortez competition was sponsored by Cortez Elks Lodge 1789.

The free throw competition is open to youngsters in the age categories 8-9, 10-11, and 12-13. Contestant age groups will be determined by their ages as of April 1, 2002. Contestants under the age of 8 or over the age of 13 on that date will be ineligible to participate. Proof of birthdate must be verified. Parents of contestants should bring a birth certificate, Baptismal certificate or passport so that all contestants may be assigned to the proper age category, thereby eliminating any disappointment that might arise on a technicality. This event is open to the public at no charge and all boys and girls in age groups 8-13 are encouraged to participate, according to local chairman Rick Presnell.

The District winners will advance to the State competition in Salida Feb. 23. The Regional competition will be held in Denver March 16. Winners there will advance to Nationals in Springfield, Mass., April 18-21. Names of the national winners will be inscribed on the Elks National "Hoop Shoot" plaque on permanent display in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.

Last year’s Cortez Elks local competition winners who went to the District competition in Delta were Andi Pickens, Jess Mortensen, Lelani Yellowhair, Skyler Schrage, Latoya Root, and Jake Archibeque. Yellowhair took first place in the girls 10-11 age group and went on to compete at State.

The Elks National Free Throw Contest is the largest and most visible of the many youth activities sponsored by Elks Lodges throughout the United States. The Elks Hoop Shoot has served to highlight the Elks national commitment to youth.

Families participate with contestants throughout the competition. The parents of finalists at the State, Regional, and National levels attend the competitions as guest of the Elks.

The Elks National Free Throw Contest has been effective not only in developing champions but character as well, and the opportunity to develop new friendships. Educators and parents have endorsed the program. It teaches a person to win in good grace and how to accept the moment of defeat without bitterness, according to one parent who wrote to the National Headquarters.

The BPOE is one of the oldest and largest fraternal organizations in the U.S. Today, there are more than 1.6 million members of the elks in 2,250 local lodges found throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

They provide recreational facilities for the entire family. The lodges are also a focal point for many community service and charitable programs that have become an Elks tradition. The Elks National Foundation is presently spending more than $7.5 million each year supporting many different charitable programs, veterans programs, drug awareness, "Hoop Shoot," and other boys and girls programs such as baseball, softball, and sponsoring Boy Scout troops. The Elks also provide many high school students with college scholarships.

Patriotism has always been a hallmark of the Elks. In 1907, the Elks became the first fraternal organization in the nation to mandate the observance of June 14 as Flag Day. More than 40 years later, President Harry S. Truman signed into order a declaration naming Flag Day as a national observance day.