The Minnesota Elks Association welcomed 30 kids and their families to the Minnesota Elks Youth Camp for its annual State Soccer Shoot-Out contest recently. These participants won their local and district contests to earn a spot in the State Shoot-Out.

Children ages 9 and under are challenged to earn points by kicking through five goals of various sizes while the kids ages 10-13 take aim at a rope grid in the standard goal with each area worth points based on its difficulty.

This year’s event was a family friendly weekend hosted at the Elks Camp on Pelican Lake near Nisswa. Each participant and their family were invited to spend the weekend at the camp.

In addition to the competition, the families enjoyed kayaking, swimming, mini-golf, hay rides, tether ball, campsites and other activities during their time at camp.

Four area

participants who placed in their age group. From left to right Preston Smith (first place in the 10-11 year old boys), Lindsey Horejsi (first place in the 8-9 year old girls), Brooke Hanson (first place in the 10-11 year old girls) and Cierra Maras (third place in the 12-13 year old girls).

They were sponsored by Elks Lodge 813 of Albert Lea.