Shuffleboard and Bingo Are So Last Year

Helen Reeves, 80, tries her hand at bowling on the interactive Wii video game system donated by D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) to the nonprofit IONA Senior Services center in Northwest Washington. (By Sopan Joshi -- The Washington Post)
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By Sopan Joshi

Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 10, 2008; Page B02

Girard Quinlan, 78, used to bowl during his high school years. Yesterday, he watched some of his friends bowl on a Wii video game at the nonprofit IONA Senior Services in Northwest Washington, but he didn't get up to join in.

"I'm afraid," he said. "I don't want to hurry."

His friend Michael Schaff, 63, just back from getting a strike, wasn't making any headway with his encouraging words: "If I can do it. . . ."

How can a video game improve senior citizens' lives? A lot, apparently, according to a recent study from the Mayo Clinic, which has said such games, which require significant body movement to maneuver the controller, can go a long way in helping older people stay fit, physically and mentally.

"It's not just a gadget or a gizmo," said Jewelyn Sims, director of adult day programs, thanking D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), who donated the $450 gaming console to IONA. "We need activities that are beneficial and adult in nature, and Wii offers those. But people here can't buy it."

Cheh said the console seemed like a good idea for the center because studies have shown that daily mental activity can prevent deterioration of brain functions. She used money from her constituency services fund.

It took her office three months to get the game, she said, because "they are all sold out." Cheh added, "I'm hoping that we can get more so that we can give them to the other seniors centers around."

Senior centers are organizing Wii tournaments for their clientele, said Sally White, deputy director of IONA, adding that the hand-eye coordination required in the game is just right for seniors: good exercise but not too taxing.

Betsy Bowman, 73, had a question for Cheh's staff: "Can we play pool on this?" She said her senior residence at Friendship Terrace doesn't have space for a pool table.

"This would give us space for more activities," Bowman said. "Our building is about 30 years old, and they didn't make them with a lot of space then."

She and other seniors were exchanging notes on the details of operating the Wii's control. Then Bowman gave bowling a try.

"Some video games isolate people," Cheh said. "Wii connects people."