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Sandy Journal

Four Sandy Seniors Bowl Over Their Competition

Jan 30, 2015 12:16PM ● By Shawna Meyer

Four seniors defeated four firefighters at Atria Sandy’s annual Wii Bowling Championship on Jan. 13.

Atria Sandy, a local senior living community, challenged the Sandy City Fire Department to a Wii Bowling Championship on Jan. 13. It was evident from the first frame of bowling that both teams wanted to win the coveted trophy and bragging rights.

This annual duel between seniors and firefighters has been happening for about five years. This year, it was engine #34 that answered the call.

Firefighter/paramedic Michael Dean, firefighter/EMT Mark Arnold and EMT/firefighter Jeff Jorgensen teamed up with Captain/paramedic Dick Hekker to face off against Atria’s team.

“I didn’t want to let down my team, but my expectations were mostly just to have a lot of fun . . . I’ve played Wii bowling before, mostly with my 5-year-old son, Ethan . . . He taught me everything I needed to know,” Arnold said.

The senior team call themselves the Atria Pin Eaters, and this year, it was comprised of Louise True, John Schirack, Ruth Stewart and Helen Eldredge. At Atria Sandy, they have a flat screen television and a Wii console in the game room, so the senior team estimated that they practice once or twice a week.

“I started Wii bowling about five years ago, and I bowl about once a week,” Schircak said. “The firefighters are always interesting competition.”

Cheers and friendly jibes  issued from both teams, and an audience of about 30 Atria residents and staff cheered their team to victory with blue and white pompoms. The Atria Pin Eaters defeated the Sandy City firefighters 746-591.

Stewart bowled the highest score of the competition, which was 250. Schirack was the second highest with a score of 189.  Hekker led the firefighters’ team with a score of 170.

Stewart has been a resident at Atria Sandy for about nine months. She began Wii bowling about two years ago after her husband passed away.

“After my husband died, I started Wii bowling, and that was where I got my comfort... It’s just fun. Win or lose, it’s fun,” she said.