Printer Friendly Version - Local Youths Hit Their Spots at HotShots State Contest

First-place winners Kyle Sirois of Columbia, Jake DeLuca of Columbia, Gino Gallitto of Old Saybrook, Lauren Golebieski of Seymour, Isabella Garcia of Shelton, and Abby Bergeron of Old Saybrook show off their hardware from the 24th annual Connecticut Recreation and Parks Association’s HotShots State Contest. Photo courtesy of Old Saybrook Parks and Recreation

The Connecticut Recreation and Parks Association (CRPA) held its 24th annual HotShots State Contest at the Old Saybrook Parks and Recreation Department’s (OSPR) Recreation Center on April 1. The event, which was sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods and The Connecticut Sun, featured 59 participants between the ages 9 to 15 who had previously won first place at their local contests that were held in 16 towns throughout the state.

The HotShots contest consists of three one-minute rounds during which each participant can make as many baskets as possible from five specific “hot spots” on the court. Each spot is worth a different amount of points and each player must get his or her own rebounds and then dribble from spot to spot. At the end of all three rounds, everyone’s scores are totaled and the participant with the highest total score wins for his or her age group and division.

In the 9-10-year-old boys’ division, Drew Kulmann of Old Saybrook placed third, Ryan Willey of East Windsor placed second, and Kyle Sirois of Columbia finished first. In the 9-10-year-old girls’ division, Lauren Wright of Stratford placed third, Isabelle Ingersoll of Seymour finished second, and Isabella Garcia of Shelton placed first.

In the 11-12-year-old boys’ division, Gavin Cleary of Milford placed third, Bradley Kulmann of Old Saybrook was second, and Jake DeLuca of Columbia took first place. For the 11-12-year-old girls’ division, Maddie Kieras of Waterbury placed third, Samara Shankar of Chester finished second, and Lauren Golebieski of Seymour placed first.

In the 13-15-year-old boys’ division, Andy Verkovod of Stratford came in third, Christian Piscitelli of Milford placed second, and Gino Gallitto of Old Saybrook placed first. In the 13-15-year-old girls’ division, Morgan Reilly placed second and Abby Bergeron of Old Saybrook placed first.

The CRPA congratulates both the local and state contest participants for a job well done. CRPA would also like to thank OSPR for hosting the state contest, along with all of the individual departments and their professionals who organized local contests for their residents.

Established in 1949, CRPA is a statewide association whose mission is to provide a network of support to its members through professional development and resources in order to enhance the quality of recreation and parks services in Connecticut. Currently, the association represents more than 630 individual members and 131 municipal park and recreation departments throughout the state. For info on HotShots and the CRPA, visit www.crpa.com.

All 18 participants who placed in the top three of their respective age divisions earned awards for their performances at the 24th annual HotShots State Contest that was held at the Old Saybrook Parks and Recreation Department’s Recreation Center. Photo courtesy of Old Saybrook Parks and Recreation