Press Room

By Leslie Perales
Observer Staff Writer

Residents at Tall Oaks of Reston took part in their own version of the Olympics this month without setting foot in Beijing. Though the excitement was real, the residents were playing virtual games on a Nintendo Wii gaming system.

Coordinated Services Management, which owns Tall Oaks and other retirement properties in Virginia, purchased Wii video game systems for each property earlier this summer, said Mia McNaughton, director of community relations at Tall Oaks. The Nintendo Wii is an interactive gaming system where users use a cordless control to complete activities like rolling a bowling ball, swinging a golf club or playing ping-pong, depending on which game has been selected.

To introduce residents to the Wii systems, CSM coordinated a Wii Olympics for its senior living centers. At Tall Oaks, residents carried their own Olympic torch through the halls of the assisted living facility on Aug. 8 for the opening ceremony of the Wii Olympics, and Hunter Mill district Supervisor Cathy Hudgins addressed the "athletes" during the kick-off event.

"At first they just wanted to watch," McNaughton said, but once the residents saw how easy and how much fun it was to play Wii, they wanted to join in the games. Seven teams participated in the games, and bowling was selected as the game of choice for the Olympics because "that particular program for the Wii was really applicable to our residents," McNaughton said. Charlie Good of the Cougar team took the gold medal, while Jane Bachman of the Lion team received silver and Mary Ellen Coleman, also of the Cougar team, earned the bronze medal.

Many of the residents who did not participate still enjoyed the Wii Olympics and watched their children or grandchildren play, she said. The Wii has helped residents to bridge the gap between generations because the gaming system appeals to both the residents and their grandchildren, McNaughton said. She said some of residents' grandchildren have taught their grandparents how to use the system, and many of the residents picked up how to use the game system easily. "The controls are really easy to use for the elderly," she said.

At the conclusion of the games, Tall Oaks hosted a closing ceremony complete with a cake shaped like the Olympic rings. In total, 10 communities owned by Coordinated Services Management participated in the Wii Olympics and Tall Oaks took the bronze medal in the overall competition. All residents who participated received Olympic medals and T-shirts.

McNaughton said Tall Oaks would continue to hold weekly Wii bowling tournaments and continue to get more residents involved in the gaming system. "The Wii has become an integral part of our activity schedule," she said. For example, during one game session, they had to stop to break for dinner because no one wanted to miss any of the action, she said.