Seniors at Victoria Landing hold their own mini Olympic Games

It may not have been the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, but the inaugural seniors’ games that went on at Victoria Landing last week certainly had a competitive feel.

Residents of Victoria Landing and 15 other retirement residences across Canada owned and operated by All Seniors Care took part in a variety of activities and results were then compared with scores from competitions at company locations in other parts of Canada. Medals were then to be awarded to those finishing first, second or third.

Tuesday, the event was Wii bowling, whereby residents used Nintendo Wii electronic equipment to play 10-pin bowling. By activating a hand-held device and using arm motion to simulate the release of a bowling ball, residents such as 85-year-old Catherine McDiarmid had a rollicking good time racking up some pretty good scores. Bertha Geysen, for example, posted a score of 200 and led her group as she moved into the playoffs.

“I like the competition and it’s fun,” said McDiarmid.

For Ernie Bayes, it was his first time playing Wii bowling and while it took him a couple of frames to get the hang of the Wii device, he rattled off a couple of strikes and spares towards the end of the game.

Chanlie Moyer, director health and wellness at Victoria Landing, said Wii bowling is offered to residents a couple of times a week. “It’s good for them mentally and physically and their fine motor skills get a workout,” she said. “Even having to get up and down from their chair 10 times (in a 10-frame bowling game) is good for them.”

The seniors’ games consisted of a walking challenge was held Monday, bowling Tuesday, trivia games and Scrabble Wednesday, a golf challenge Thursday and billiards wrapped up the competition on Friday. Each day also featured a different speaker, with Brandon in Motion rep Maureen Bonar speaking Monday, Niki Rondeau and Jayne Troop from the Brandon Regional Health Authority speaking Tuesday, Adam Brown of the Alzheimer’s Society speaking on Wednesday, Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame inductee and Victoria Landing resident Doug Steeves (speaking about golf) on Thursday and Mayor Dave Burgess the guest speaker at the closing ceremonies on Friday afternoon.

A poster advertising the seniors’ games at Victoria Landing said the benefits of participating were, among other things, to encourage an active, healthy lifestyle and to help maintain physical and mental fitness, learn new activities and enjoy greater energy and enthusiasm for life in general.

Comments

Be the first to comment!