Weiser Elk’s excited for upcoming Hoop Shoot

As quickly as fall sports start in Weiser, the seasons change and the area’s young athletes move right into the next season, which over the next few months will include boys and girls basketball, and youth wrestling. 

 Boys and girls ages 8 to 13, will want to mark their calendars for the 2025/2026 Elk’s Hoop Shoot Contest on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Weiser Middle School, where they will compete in three different age groups to see who can make the most free throws out of 25 shots taken.

 According to the official rules contestants must be at least 8 years old and no older than 13 as of April 1, 2026. 

 Taking over for Weiser Elk’s 30-year hoop shoot organizing veteran Darrell Krause last year, Dave Jenkins said he has assisted at the annual hoop shoot for the past five years.

 “We’re really hoping to see a lot of kids,” Jenkins told the Signal American. “They just need to practice their free throw shooting and then show up to register at noon and the competition will start at 1 p.m. on Dec. 13. The Elk’s Lodge covers all the expenses, so there is no charge for the contest.”

 After allowing as many as five warm-up shots before the first round, the contest is broken up into 10 allowed shots in the first, and then 15 in the second round. In the case of a tie, additional five-shot sets are used until a winner is decided.

 Winners from each age category will qualify for a second round, a district competition at Nampa Christian High School on Jan. 17, 2026. District winners will move on to a state contest, and state winners will go to regionals. 

 Regional champions will qualify to compete in Nationals, which will take place at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena, home of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and DePaul’s Blue Demons.

 The Elk’s Hoop Shoot program was founded in 1972, and has been a partnership with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame since 1975, and national Hoop Shoot champions have their names inscribed there.

 See you at Weiser Middle School, Hoop Shooters!