2024-2025 Rules

Eligibility

1. A contestant may only enter one official Lodge Hoop Shoot contest. The Lodge sets the rules for feeder/preliminary contests.
2. Contestants must be at least 8 and no older than 13 as of April 1, 2025, to participate.
3. The Director is responsible for ensuring that the contestant competes in the correct age-group. Use the Age-Group Calculator on the Hoop Shoot website here to verify age-group assignments before your contestants compete. Contestants who shoot in the wrong age-group will be disqualified.
4. As the Hoop Shoot tournament progresses, contestants may not switch divisions and may not skip levels of the competition. To advance to the next level of competition, a contestant must have participated in and won the previous level. If the first-place winner is unable to attend the next level of the contest, the runner-up may be invited in their place.
5. Contestants compete in one of six divisions:
   • Boys, ages 8-9
   • Girls, ages 8-9
   • Boys, ages 10-11
   • Girls, ages 10-11
   • Boys, ages 12-13
   • Girls, ages 12-13
   • If the contestant will be age 7 on April 1, 2025, they are too young to participate.
   • If the contestant will be age 8 or 9 on April 1, 2025, they shoot in the
     8 to 9 age-group.
   • If the contestant will be age 10 or 11 on April 1, 2025, they shoot in the
     10 to 11 age-group.
   • If the contestant will be age 12 or 13 on April 1, 2025, they shoot in the
     12 to 13 age-group.
   • If the contestant will be age 14 on April 1, 2025, they are too old to participate.

Official Contest Rules

1. Shooting times are set by the Hoop Shoot Director. All contestants must be present and ready to participate at their designated contest start time. No contestant may compete before or after their designated time. Contestants who compete before or after their designated time will be disqualified. No exceptions. 
2. Shooting positions will be drawn randomly. The method is left to the discretion of the Director.
3. All contestants should be allowed at least 10 minutes to warm up. Warm ups should take place under the supervision of the contest officials. 
4. To start the contest, Boys 8- 9 shoot at one end of the gym and Girls 8- 9 shoot at the opposite end of the gym at the same time. Boys and girls in the 8- to 9- year-old age-group shoot 4 feet in front of the regulation foul line. Use painter’s tape or gym floor tape to mark the line. No other tape should be used.
5. A free throw is the opportunity given to the contestant to shoot a basket for score from within the free throw circle and behind the free throw line (except for 8- to 9-year-old contestants, see Rule 4). A free throw begins when the ball is given to the contestant at the free throw line. It ends when the shot is successful, when it is certain that the shot will not be successful, or when the ball becomes dead.
6. Each contestant, in order of their draw, may have up to 5 warm-up shots (if desired) and will then shoot 10 shots for score. The designated Line Judge should inform the contestant and the scorers that the contestant is shooting for score. This will be the last verbal contact that the Line Judge will have with the contestant.
   
   Upon completing their warm-up shots and 10 shots for score, the contestant will report to the end of the line or sit on a chair until the remaining contestants have completed their warm-ups and 10 shots. After the other contestants have finished shooting, the contestant will shoot 15 shots in the same order, without an additional warm-up, to complete their 25 shots for score.
7. The Line Judge should signal made or missed shots to the scorers. 
   
8. Decisions by the Head Scorer, Line Judge and Hoop Shoot Director are final. No spectators can change a decision made by a contest official.
9. Each free throw attempt shall be made within 10 seconds from the time a contestant is handed the ball.
   
   The Line Judge should count 10 seconds, either silently in their head or with a 10 count out of the contestant’s line of vision, for each free throw attempt. If the contestant does not shoot a free throw as defined by Rule 5 within 10 seconds, as determined by the Line Judge, a penalty occurs, and the shot is void. See Rule 11.
10. Contestants must stay behind the foul line until the ball has touched the hoop, backboard, or net. If a line violation occurs, a penalty occurs, and the shot is void. See Rule 11. 
11. If a foul is committed, the Line Judge will indicate it by signaling a “T” with their hands, signifying that a technical foul has been committed. This should be done in clear view of the contestant and the scorers. Scorers should note a foul with a circled “T.”
    
12. Ties will be broken in the following sequence: five-shot sets; previous contest score(s) if applicable; coin toss. 
    
    The Hoop Shoot Director determines the number of five-shot sets. The Hoop Shoot Director may choose to continue to shoot a series of five shots until the tie is broken and the first-, second- and third-place winners are determined in all six divisions.
    
    During the tiebreaker, contestants will compete in the same shooting order as the regular contest. All tie-breaking shots will be made at the same basket as the previous 25. 
    
    A tie cannot be broken in any other manner except by those described in Rule 12. The tie-breaker method is up to the discretion of the Hoop Shoot Director. 

Contest Code of Conduct

1. Only contestants, officials, scorers, and the official photographer—designated by the Director if applicable—are allowed on the floor during the contest. 
2. No flash photography should be taken of a contestant while shooting for score except by the official photographer.
3. Only authorized personnel are allowed to sit close to the basket or move behind the basket while the contestant is shooting. If there is any disturbance, the Line Judge must pause the contest and clear the area.
4. Spectators should sit on the side of the gym and be as quiet as possible. Phones should be turned to silent or vibrate for the duration of the contest. In no way should spectators cause any loud or intentional commotion that will distract the contestant. 
5. All contestants should maintain silence and cause no commotion that will intentionally distract another contestant. Taunting or purposely distracting a contestant, as determined by the Hoop Shoot Director, will result in the disqualification of the offending contestant.

Other Contest Regulations

1. The Hoop Shoot Director sets the time, date and location of the contest and promotes the contest information publicly.
2. The basketballs used in the contest should be furnished by the Director, whose duties are to ensure that the balls meet regulations. The basketball hoop must be set at regulation height of 10 ft.
3. There should be three scorers at each basket to record the results on official score sheets. Scorers should sit behind the contestants while they shoot. To avoid error, scorers should focus their attention on the Line Judge, not the contestant, during the competition. 
4. At each basket, there should be three officials with matching referee shirts (or the same color/style shirt)—one rebounder on each side of the foul line to retrieve the ball, which should be passed to the Line Judge standing by the contestant. The Line Judge will then hand the ball to the contestant.

Equipment and Attire

• BOYS:
  • In the Boys 8-9 and 10-11 age divisions, the 28.5-inch basketball will be used.
  • In the 12-13 age division, the basketball will be the regulation size 29.5- inch ball.
  • All basketballs should: 
    • Have 7 to 9 lbs. of air pressure
    • Have channels and/or seams not exceeding 1/4 inch in width 
    • Be made of leather or composite leather 
• GIRLS:
  • In the Girls Division, all basketballs used should: 
    • Be regulation size (official) for girls/women – 28.5 inches 
    • Have 7 to 9 lbs. of air pressure
    • Have channels and/or seams not exceeding 1/4 inch in width 
    • Be made of leather or composite leather
• ALL CONTESTANTS:
  • Are required to wear gym shoes.
  • Should wear a T-shirt and pants or gym shorts.
  • Basketball uniforms are acceptable, but not required.