Seniors face off in Wii bowling tournament


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The Wii champions gathered for a celebratory photo. The first-place winners, Jack Myers (front left) and Ann Clark (back left) held up a number one sign, while runner-up winners Mary Jane Long and Carolyn Graff held up a number two.

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After the games were over, there were no hard feelings between the players. They gathered to congratulate each other on a job well done.

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The final game of the Wii Tournament was a serious competition, but bowler Jack Myers still gave plenty of friendly support.

By SARAH FOOR

sfoor@vindy.com

For weeks, seniors at the Austintown Senior Center have been heading down to the bowling alley without picking up a ball or strapping on the very fashionable shoes.

They have been playing Wii bowling in the center’s activity room during the month of May and have competed in weeks of preliminary match-ups before their May 19 tournament.

The center’s director, Bill Adams, hatched the idea for a tournament when he saw how many guests enjoyed the Nintendo Wii game.

“There were so many people playing for fun, I thought it would be great to add some competition,” Adams explained. “We work to be tech-savvy at the center, and each week, we’ve been submitting our scores into the Older Americans Month video game tournament. There are some very serious stakes in this tournament.”

The teams for the event included Ann Clark and Jack Myers against Mary Jane Long and Carolyn Graff for the top spot.

The crowd during the game was lively and the players were supportive of each other.

“I bowl alone most of the time, so I’m just loving the friendly competition today,” said Myers.

The teams competed in three fierce rounds, but it was the total scores of every game in the tournament that determined the winner.

Myers and Clark were crowned the champions with a combined score of 1,236 to Long and Graff’s 1,046.

After all was said and done, both parties were in good spirits.

“We all played really well, but you definitely gave us a run for our money,” Clark admitted to Long and Graff.

The center’s next Wii bowling tournament is planned for sometime this summer.