Dumais advances far in Elks contest
Jason Dumais of Mapleton had quite the experience this fall with the Elks Soccer Shootout, which took him all the way to Smithfield, R.I. for a victory against competitors from the six New England states and New York.
JASON DUMAIS of Mapleton shows off the awards he won as the Area I Elks Soccer Shootout champion. 
With Dumais is Michael LaFrance, president of the Presque Isle Elks Lodge.
A 12-year-old sixth grade student at Presque Isle Middle School, Dumais’ journey began with the local competition at Presque Isle in early-October, where he won the U-14 boys’ division.
He then proceeded to win the regional event in Houlton, which led him to the state competition in Augusta. There, he finished in a tie, which led to a “kick-off” tie-breaker with five additional attempts for each participant. Dumais received a pep talk from Presque Isle Lodge President Michael LaFrance and then went on to win by five points.
That victory allowed him to make the trip to Rhode Island Nov. 3 for the championship in Area I, which covered seven states.
Upon arriving in Smithfield to register, each contestant received a gift bag full of goodies and a warm-up suit which depicted the state color and the Elks logo and was to be worn throughout the weekend event.
Dumais, like all his competitors, was asked to sign all seven soccer balls that would later be handed out to each boy participating in his division. The seven boys in the U-14 division also exchanged state pins amongst themselves, that they then hung on their name badges.
The Area I shootout was at the Wide World of Indoor Sports Arena. The excitement of the days’ events could be felt throughout the building by the participants and adults alike.
Dumais captured the title with a score of 40 points. The rest of the results for the division were as follows: Christopher Mountain, Connecticut, 23 points; Bradly Davis, Massachusetts, 29; Jacob Pike, New Hampshire, 12; Michael Brussel, New York, 19; Jake Hart, Rhode Island, 23; and Keanan Kelly, Vermont, 27.
At the banquet that evening, he was presented with a trophy for participation and another trophy for becoming Area I champion. He was also honorably mentioned for having the second highest score out of all the boys’ divisions. He joined the other Maine champions by signing his name to the Elks Soccer Shoot Out banner.
“I met a bunch of guys my own age from different places and we had fun playing soccer,” said Dumais on the favorite part of the experience.
He is the son of Michael and Stephanie Dumais of Mapleton. They also attended the trip to Rhode Island along with his sister, Jessica Dumais; grandparents Royce and Doris Sargent of Monticello and his uncle, Andrew Sargent of Monticello.
Others supporting the Maine contingent in Rhode Island were Michael and Cathy LaFrance, representing the Presque Isle Lodge; George Jones, head of the Maine Elks Soccer Shoot; and Dwayne Guy, president-elect of the Maine Elks.
