by Cori Hilsgen
news@thenewsleaders.com
The annual Knights of Columbus basketball free-throw competition will be held Saturday, Jan. 14, at the All Saints Academy-St. Joseph upper-floor school gym.
Registration and practice begin at 1:30 p.m., and the contest begins at 2 p.m. Participants are required to provide proof of age and written parental consent.
The event is open to boys and girls ages 9 to 14. They will compete in their own age divisions.
Participants at the local level are allowed three practice shots and then make 15 free-throw attempts. Ties are determined by successive rounds of five free-throws per participant until a winner emerges.
Winners at the local level advance to the district level and make 25 free-throw attempts. Those who win at the district level go on to compete at the regional and state levels.
International winners are announced by the Knights of Columbus international headquarters based on scores earned at the state-level competitions.
Last year, more than 20 children participated at the St. Joseph competition. More than 120,000 children competed in more than 3,600 local competitions.
Local resident Mark Berg-Arnold has been helping coordinate the event for the past 20 years. He began organizing the event when his oldest son was 10 years old and said he planned to continue to do so as long as he had a child who is eligible to participate.
The event is hosted by the Father Werner Council 7057 of the Knights of Columbus. The event has usually been held on Sunday, but will be held on Saturday this year.
For more information, contact Berg-Arnold at 320-363-1077.
