ATLANTA —Sensation for seniors - Rocky Mount
Cathryn Creasy gazes at the 10 pins. She steps back, winds up and releases. A bowling ball spins quickly down the lane. Eight pins fall. The spry senior smiles, waits and throws again.
“I got a spare!” Creasy cries out to two dozen fellow seniors at the Snellville, Ga., senior center. The 80-year-old bowls once a week, but never before like this.
Move over, bingo. There’s a new game in town, and it’s playing for keeps at senior centers across the country. For the past year, folks in their golden years have learned to bowl, box, golf and play tennis and baseball — virtually — with Nintendo’s Wii video game system.
“Senior centers are changing; bingo is not the big hit anymore,” said Kathi Clotfelter, senior program supervisor at the Snellville Senior Center.
The center unwrapped its Wii in June but officially introduced the video game at a recent ice cream social.
“(Wii’s) a new thing for most centers,” said Clotfelter.
The numbers bear that out. The Atlanta Regional Commission aging program reports that 21 of the 46 senior centers it works with obtained the console that took the nation by storm in 2006. Centers have hopped on the Wii bandwagon over the past year, with officials citing its social, physical and competitive benefits.
(Article includes photos of Snellville residents Cathryn Creasy and Charlotte Griffin enjoying the Wii system at the Snellville Senior Center)
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