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Care Center residents square off in Wii bowling

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BY CHERYL BENTLEY

THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: April 11, 2009

On a recent afternoon, a group of seniors at Peninsula Care and Rehabilitation Center in Tarpon Springs got into a friendly argument about someone sneaking in extra turns.

The thing that sparked such passion was Nintendo Wii Sports, a videogame that allows users to play five popular sports in a virtual setting. Players mimic actions performed in the real game using a handheld wireless remote control.

The Peninsula seniors were playing the bowling portion of the game. They were in good company. President Barack Obama, according to news reports, is a fan of Wii bowling, which he plays with first daughters Malia and Sasha.

"They're using new technology," observes a proud Cathy Wagner, the center's quality of life program director about the Peninsula's players. "Just because they're living here in a nursing home doesn't mean they shouldn't be involved in the outside world."

The game gives the players physical skills such as using their arms in a range of motion as they would if they were holding an actual bowling ball.

The handheld device promotes eye-hand coordination. "It's not that easy," Wagner said about the art of simulating a bowling game with the device. Players must push down on one button to start the frame and hold another button at the same time they release their arms to simulate the bowling movement.

The package also includes tennis, golf, boxing and baseball. The Peninsula staff thought the bowling portion would be more appropriate for the seniors because many of them had bowled both as adults when living independently and at the center, where staff formerly set up traditional bowling games.

She has found many seniors to be resistant to playing a game using technology, Wagner noted. She was only able to recruit a handful of residents to serve as either bowlers or cheerleaders, but considers that a good beginning.

From the looks of the seniors who were playing the game, it seemed as real as the real thing. They cheered one another when one of them got a strike and commiserated when all but one of the pins was knocked over.

"I like it," said 86-year-old Olive Tucker. "At first it was hard to learn, but I like it now."

"I got two strikes tonight," she said with a twinkle.

She formerly bowled with real pins and ball at the center, Tucker noted, but she enjoys Wii bowling just as much.

Staff members like it, too, said Wagner, because they don't have to contend with bowling balls and pins, as they once did with the actual game.

The Tarpon Tigers, a team of four seniors and an alternate, recently had a big match versus bowlers living at the Tarpon Springs center's sister facility, the Pinellas Park Care and Rehabilitation Center.

Wagner recruited other seniors to serve as cheerleaders for the Tigers and she herself added a cheeky "Go Tigers!" that day to an e-mail to staff at the Pinellas Park facility.

The inaugural match, held in Tarpon, saw the Tigers earn a split of two games with the Pinellas Park Patriots. A rematch in Pinellas Park is set for this Monday, April 13.

"The Wii bowling tournament brought excitement to the residents who participated as well as provided an opportunity for education and a new experience for these bowlers, all of whom have in their lifetimes bowled the 'old-fashioned' way," Wagner said. "The spectators (staff and families) were awed that people of the greatest American generation can also learn and use 'new' technology. The Wii isn't just for kids anymore!"

She wants the Peninsula residents to be connected to the world, rather than retire from it, Wagner explains. As well as connecting them through high-tech bowling, she had discussions of current events every Sundays. Many of the seniors appear to be fascinated by Obama, she says.

The center is on the right track, she says. "With Wii bowling and the news, you see them being involved in what's going on in the world."

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