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2010 State
Convention - Hoop Shoot Report President Slesinski, I would like to report
on a successful year. The 2009-10 Hoop Shoot program came to an official end just
three weeks ago at the National finals in Springfield, Mass. It concluded another
year of local, District, State and Regional contests around our State. The success of the Hoop Shoot program
wouldn’t be possible without all of our dedicated Directors and members
from around the state, who helped at each level of competition. Thank you
very much for all your efforts! At this time I would like to recognize our
District Directors and thank them all their hard work, please stand as I call
your name. They are: Tim McCandless (NW), Steve Lucas (NC), Kevin Brouse
(NEC), Christina Sonn (NE), Ken Miller (W), Donna Swigart & William
Smoulder (M), Gary Shepherd (WC), Dave Pular (SW), Kathy Kendall (SC) and
Barry Shultz (SE). The 38th annual State Contest was held
Saturday, March 6 at the State College High School. It was another exciting
contest with 60 boys and girls from across the state, competing for the title
of State Champion and trip to the Regional contest. At this time we would like to recognize our
six champions. Would a Lodge representative please come forward to receive
their plaque? They are: 8-9 Girl
Alexis Williams representing Tyrone Lodge #212 (NC), 8-9 Boy representing
Erie Lodge #67 (NW), 10-11 Girl Hannah Laidig representing Bedford Lodge
#1707 (NC), 10-11 Boy Drew Magestro representing Lodge Sharon Lodge #103 (W),
Sarrah Pollock representing Chambersburg Lodge #600 (SC) and Kody Trude
representing Philipsburg Lodge #1173. The Emile Brady team award, for the District
with the highest score by all its shooters, goes to the North Central
District. Our Homer Huhn award winners, our girl and boy MVP, are awarded to 12-13
Girl Sarrah Pollock and 10-11 Boy Drew Magestro. The State
Hoop Shoot weekend wouldn’t be the success it is without the help of so
many Elk members. Thank you to all the local lodges and Districts, for taking
care of the cost of the families rooms. Thanks to all those that helped in
any way during the weekend.
Whether it was with Friday evening’s registration and reception,
Saturday’s breakfast or awards banquets and at the contest. It was
really a team effort! We’re very fortunate to have so many members
interested in helping. A special thanks to Exalted Ruler Jeff Weyman and all
the helpers from State College Lodge #1600, especially W.F. Reiber and Robert
Kidder, to Glenn Foster for setting up the Drug Awareness booth Friday
evening and donating the basketballs for each contestant, Suellen Shick for
all the photos she takes and photo kits she gives the State Champions, Dave
Pular for all his photos and getting them on the web page and George Carlin
for his years of video taping the contest and banquet. A special thanks to
Kevin Brouse and Dennie Kanouff for handling the contest announcing and MC at
the Banquets and finally to Glenn Klein of Klein Artworks for the great job
his does with printing our programs.
During the
past six years we’ve had a very enjoyable hospitality room, which is
under the direction of Dennie and Jean Kanouff, a big thank you to them. Money
continues to be raised for the National Foundation and Legacy Trust Fund. We’re
currently working on our second $1000 pledges for both of them. Also a
special thanks to our energetic games of chance sellers, they do a wonderful
job! At this time, we would like to recognize Dennie and Jean for their
contributions to the Hoop Shoot program and the hospitality room. A $100
donation was made to the Legacy Trust Fund in their name, and a Certificate was
presented to Dennie. The
weekend isn’t just about crowning our six State Champions. It is also
about promoting good sportsmanship and providing a quality Youth Activities event.
Hopefully, one that all the families will remember for a long time. If
you’ve never attended the State Hoop Shoot weekend, I would encourage
you to consider it. Just ask those that have! Following
the state contest our six champions moved on to the Regional contest and
competed against New Jersey and New York. At the Regional contest our kids
did very well, with three first place and three seconds. Earning a trip to
the National finals were 10-11 Boy Drew Magestro (Sharon Lodge), 10-11 Girl
Hannah Laidig (Bedord) and 12-13 Girl Sarrah Pollock (Chambersburg). I was
very proud of all them for their efforts and sportsmanship. Also would like
to thank all the Elks that attended the contest and banquet, we had a good
showing. All our families enjoyed their trip to Springfield for the National
finals. Although he didn’t bring a trophy home, they had a good time. Although we only had 84% of our States
Lodge’s hold a contest, we had 10 well run District contests and
another outstanding State Contest. It’s was very disappointing that 16
Lodges chose not to participate this year. I just don’t understand this
and would urge them to consider holding a contest this coming year. There
were no Districts this year with 100% Lodge participation. Eight of our ten
Districts had only one Lodge not participates, and the rest were the other
two Districts. Those Lodges not holding a contest were: Aliquippa(W),
Charleroi(SW), Clarion(NW), Columbia-Middletown(SC), Fairless Hills(SE),
Harrisburg(SC), McKees Rocks(M), Renovo(NC), Reynoldsville(WC), Sunbury(NEC),
Towanda(NE), Uniontown(SW), Washington(SW), Waynesboro(SC), Waynesburg(SW)
and York(SC). It’s
now time to start making plans for the 2010-11 contests. We had our committee
meeting yesterday, so we’re off and running. The 2011 State Contest
will be held on Sat. March 5 and the Regional contest on March 26. The
District Directors will be working on scheduling their dates and will
announce them once they’re set. I’ve asked all of them to contact
their District Lodges and confirm their Local Director contact
information. Our goal
for 2010-11 is simple, have every Lodge hold a contest and increase our
overall participation. If any Lodges have any questions or need help planning
their contest, don’t hesitate to contact your District Chairman or
myself. We would like to thank everyone who
placed a Booster or Good Luck ad in this year’s State Contest program. The
ads covered the cost of printing the programs. We plan on doing this again
next year. If you or your Lodge would like to place an ad, let me know. If
you get a chance today, stop by the Youth Activities table out in the hall
and pickup a copy and a results sheet. We have a lot of programs left, so
take a couple. In closing
I would like to thank our Committee Advisor PSP Denny Kanouff and Regional Director
Frank Bonner for their oversight, the State Trustee’s for their funding
and the Advisory Board for their continued confidence. Please reminder to
support the National Foundation, without the generous funding, we would not
have the program here in Pennsylvania that we enjoy. Steven
Lucas State
Chairman May 15, 2010 HISTORY First, we ask that you permit us to give you a brief history of basketball, then we'll tell you all about the Elks Hoop Shoot Program. The game of basketball began in the winter of 1891, at the Young Men's Naismith began his initial "Basketball" game by splitting his
class members into two separate teams, while the school janitor brought in a
pair of peach baskets that Dr. Naismith designated as "goals."
These "goals" would facilitate the scoring for the new sport, while
two students, Frank Mahan and Duncan Patton, were then given the task of
choosing up sides. Thus, the first Basketball game in history began, and it
fell to William R. Chase, a youngster from But the first game in Basketball's history was a truly defensive one, and
the final score was 1-0. Actually, the first "official" basketball
game took place on The Elks Hoop Shoot Competition was begun as a local Elks Lodge event in All Pennsylvania Elks Hoop Shoot contestants are given a brief warm-up period before they begin their quest to sink as many as possible of 25 shots from the foul line. Ties are frequent and all are broken by giving each of the participants an equal number of extra shots until one wins. Since we have three distinct age categories, a child's birthday is very critical in determining what age bracket an entrant will compete in. All these rules will be made quite clear prior to sign-up at the local level. It was during Grand Exalted Ruler Francis M. Smith's administration in
1972 that the committee was asked to attempt Oregon's Hoop Shoot on a
national basis; the result being 24 happy young men shooting from eight Elks
regions at Kansas City, MO. The next year saw the addition of another region
and this time 27 sharp shooting boys were competing in the National Hoop
Shoot Finals. Gerald L. "Getty" Powell was appointed as the first
National Hoop Shoot Director in 1972, and his guidance and devotion to young
people was a driving force in the rapid expansion of the Elks Hoop Shoot.
"Getty" Powell was a proud, dedicated and active member at the Powell was replaced in 1979 by another equally talented and devoted Elk,
Emile J. Brady of the By 1975 the Elks had also included the National Winners names on a
beautiful plaque that hangs permanently in the James Naismith Basketball Hall
of Fame in Emile J. Brady retired from his National Hoop Shoot responsibilities in 1997, and not only has he left us with the most successful Elk program in history, but the lives he touched with his visionary ability and managerial skills will live on for future generations who like the thrill of competing one-on-one. The Hoop Shoot competition here in Pennsylvania's ten districts and 105
Elks Lodges begins in the late fall and early winter and consists of local
contests, with the winners of these events representing those Lodges at their
district Hoop Shoot. These district winners then advance to the State Finals,
presently held at State College High School in State College, Pennsylvania,
each March; the winners here have their names engraved on the Pennsylvania
Elks Hoop Shoot plaque in State College. Expenses are paid for the winning
players and those who score highest in one of the six bracket titles then
advance to the Regional Hoop Shoot in The 2009-2010 Pennsylvania Elks Hoop Shoot finals took place at State College, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, March 6, 2010, and the Regional contest at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was held on Saturday, March 20, 2010. The Elks National Hoop Shoot Finals took place at the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday, April 20, 2010. The 2010-2011 Pennsylvania Elks Hoop Shoot finals will be held at State College, Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 5, 2011, and the Regional contest at Wilkes-Barre, on Saturday, March , 2011. The Elks National Hoop Shoot Finals will take place at the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday, April , 2011. That's our Pennsylvania Elks State Association Hoop Shoot Program in a nutshell, an event that is currently under the capable leadership of Steve Lucas of Tyrone Lodge No. 212 of the North Central District. If you have any questions as to how and when you can find an Elks Hoop Shoot in your Pennsylvania community, please E-Mail Director Steve Lucas at hoopshoots@aol.com. You can also locate the nearest Elks Lodge quickly by using the link to our Pennsylvania Elks Homepage shown at the bottom of this page. Hey, thanks a million for visiting us --- and may we be the first to wish you good luck in the Pennsylvania Elks Hoop Shoot for 2010-2011. |
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