Seniors introduced to Ping-Pong at long-term care home get competitive
Leslie Torresan was walking by a Ping-Pong table at a local Walmart when, on a whim, she decided to bring it to the long-term care facility where she is the director of recreation.
Recreation director organized tournament on a whim
Amy Hama, left, and Jasmine Murtadza play Ping-Pong at Normanna long term care home. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
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Leslie Torresan was walking by a Ping-Pong table at a local Walmart when, on a whim, she decided to bring it to the long-term care facility where she is the director of recreation.
What happened next was a pleasant surprise.
Soon after initiating weekly Ping-Pong games at the Normanna long-term care home in Burnaby, Torresan noticed the seniors starting to get competitive.
So, she organized a tournament, dividing the players into two teams: Team Blue and Team Pink.
Leslie Torresan attributes the success of these tournaments to her colleagues and volunteers at Normanna. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Team Blue
Marija Uzelac sits with her trophy from last month's inaugural Normanna Ping-Pong tournament. Uzelac says her favourite part of the game is the competition. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Carlos De Leon also won in last month's tournament. He sits next to Uzelac on Team Blue. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Uzelac and De Leon are the first to represent Team Blue. The tournament consists of four competitions and 8 teams.
Team Pink
Amy Hama, 94, is one of the few seniors who grew up playing Ping-Pong. She says the game is a good workout and that the movement makes her feel good. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Jasmine Murtadza, 95, is also on Team Pink. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Nurintan Murtadza helps her mother remember another competitive sport from her past. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Murtadza shares a picture of her mother sitting with a winning badminton cup. Jasmine says those were 'happy days.' (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
And the winner is…
Hama hits the ball back to Team Blue. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Uzelac prepares to return the ball to Team Pink. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Staff at Normanna cheer on the players. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Team Blue takes the lead 12-7 and remains in the lead until the end of the tournament. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
The residents celebrate over lunch. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Hama says she doesn’t care if she wins or loses as long as she gets her turn to hit the ball. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Uzelac is hesitant to admit it at first but she thinks winning is important and is happy her team won. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
De Leon plans to keep playing as long as he can. 'It makes me feel happy," he says. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
