Gabrielle DePatsy, Waldoboro, won the Maine Elks Association State Hoop Shoot competition, for girls aged 8-9, on Sun., Jan. 31 at Brewer High School.
DePatsy won the Rockland Elks Lodge local competition on Jan. 16, then won the District Hoop Shoot at Bath Middle School on Jan. 17 to advance to the state championships. She will now compete at the regionals in South Portland March 26-28. Winners of the regionals advance to the National Finals, in Springfield, Mass.
Since its inception in 1946, the Elks National Hoop Shoot competition has grown to include more than three million participants annually. It is the largest nonprofit co-educational sports program in the country.
Much of the program’s funding comes from the Elks National Foundation, the charitable arm of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.
Following the state competition, contestants traveled to Bangor Elks Lodge for a luncheon where they met Maine Elks Association Drug Awareness Mascot Elroy the Elk, who provided them with Drug Awareness materials. Awards were presented after lunch.
Gabrielle is the daughter of Nick and Michelle DePatsy.
