| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2010 2:01 am |
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Local News 
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Seniors get into the swing of bowling (video) The Everett center holds a tournament using popular electronic game console It was billed as a girls-vs.-boys slap-down competition -- and pride was on the line.There was only one problem. Ernie Arnold, an 89-year-old World War II Navy veteran, spoke in a stage whisper, calling it nothing short of "consorting with the enemy." During a Wii bowling tournament at Everett's Carl Gipson Senior Center on Monday, some of the "boys" were giving tips and encouragement to the "girls" -- and vice versa. All this was happening even as only a few pins separated the collective scores between the two teams. "Come on Aj, you can pick it up!" Jim Wise called out to opposing team member Aj Merrill. She was lining up a shot to try to knock off the two remaining pins on a spare. At that point, the boys team led the girls team by just a few pins. Merrill, 62, said she's only been playing Wii bowling, a video game in which players mimic typical bowling actions, for about six months. An accident in 1999 has made it difficult for her to move her feet while playing Wii bowling, she said. Yet she rolls a 185 average. "It gives you the feel of competition, definitely," Merrill said. Her next frame left her with a 3-6-4 split. "If she went in between the 3-4, she could get it," said Bob Mace, who has helped organize Monday's Wii bowling tournament. Mace, 68, said it was his idea to have a Wii tournament, a first for the Everett senior center, that would pit the girls against the boys. Games are conducted much as they would in traditional bowing center, he said. "Any individual bowler will have their own particular style in how they throw the ball in live bowling," he said. In Wii bowling, they have their own style on how they move the controller to advance the ball down the lane, Mace said. "There's a certain amount of skill to get strikes," he said. Mace said he and his wife, Marilyn, have been practicing on their own Wii console at home. "We try to get a couple games in every day after lunch," he said. Deb Loughrey-Johnson, senior center director, said the regular Wii competitions at the center have become intense. "The people who do the Wii don't do bingo," she said "You've got to separate them." Arnold, who will turn 90 on Aug. 27, turned his back on the Wii screen and clapped his hands once in playful frustration at the end of his game. "I just got beat -- whamped!" he said. He said he's been playing Wii bowling about nine months. Arnold said his score was lower than he had hoped because he is trying out a new Wii bowling style. "I want to refine the way I'm doing it," he said. "Once I get it down, I'll increase my score by 20 to 30 points." At the end of team play, the men's team had beaten the women's team 1,413 to 1,263. A playoff round was held between the two top finishers for each team, Wise and Seher Seighers, 58. Wise, 73, ended up beating out Seighers by four pins and was proclaimed the winner of Monday's event. But Wise didn't have long to bask in his glory. Just minutes after being congratulated and having his picture taken shaking hands with Seighers, Marilyn Mace announced that the next tournament is scheduled for Aug. 27 in Granite Falls. At high noon. Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com. |
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It's great seeing all the seniors cheering for one another. Fun times!
Dave C | Jul 27, 2010 11:12 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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