Area 1 Regional Soccer Shoot Information

On November 5, 2022, the Maine Elks Association hosted the Area 1 Regional Soccer Shoot contest at the Augusta Tennis Club. Photos from the weekend are now available in the Gallery Section of the Maine Elks website located here: Region 1 Soccer Shoot | Flickr.

Kids from all over New England recently gathered at the Kennebec Valley Tennis Association in Augusta, Maine to compete against each other in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks’ Soccer Shoot championship for Region 1.

Region 1 to the Elks encompasses lodges from New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.  Each state brought one boy and one girl from each of four age groups; 7 years old and younger, eight to nine, ten to eleven and twelve to thirteen.

Intended to help keep our youth focused and away from undesirable activities, the Elks’ Soccer Shoot program consists of two different contests that test different level skills at different ages.  Contestants are grouped by gender and age. 

The competition took place the morning of Saturday, November 5^th, but the competitors and their families were hosted by the Elks of the Augusta Lodge #964 and the Maine Elks Association beginning with registration and a pizza party the evening of Friday, November 4^th and extending to the families departures on Sunday morning.

Maine State Soccer Shoot Director Shawn Stacey, from the Bangor Elks #244, coordinated the event with help from his fellow Bangor lodge members as well as spirited volunteers from all levels of local and state Elks membership from the state Elks association and throughout New England who stepped up to retrieve loose balls and provide other assistance in operating the competition.   

The final standings of the competition were announced, and trophies presented during a banquet Saturday evening at Augusta’s lodge on Civic Center Drive.  Speakers for the evening included two past Elk National Presidents (Grand Exalted Rulers), Mike Zellen from Saugus, MA who’s responsible for lodges from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and David Carr from Ticonderoga, New York who oversees all the orders lodges from New York, Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island.

New England’s top girl and boy shooters are: under 8 – Alexa V from MA and Jayden E from NY, under 10 – Mya S from RI and Easton M from VT, under 12 – Ryan C from RI and Nathan S from RI, and under 14 – Griffin D from NH and Dominic D from RI. 

The first-place shooters’ scores will now be forwarded to the National Soccer Shoot Coordinator.  After comparing and analyzing all the age and gender specific scores from all six regions nation-wide the final top four boys and four girls are expected to be announced as the eight National Champions in the Spring of 2023.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity; to recognize a belief in God; to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its Members; to quicken the spirit of American patriotism; to cultivate good fellowship; to perpetuate itself as a fraternal organization, and to provide for its government, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America will serve the people and communities through benevolent programs, demonstrating that Elks Care and Elks Share.

The Maine Elks Association coordinates the fraternal efforts of twenty lodges ranging from York Lodge # 2788 in the Coastal District to the Presque Isle lodge # 1954 in the Northern District.  To find out more about this and other programs in your area go to www.maineelks.org or www.elks.org.

Advancing from Region I for consideration for National Title are: