Bowling

[Sara 0]

I set up a "bowling lane" in one hallway of the nursing home I work in. The pins are empty 2-ltr bottles (painted so they can be seen on the white floor). I'm the pin-setter, score-keeper and ball return. Just for kicks, I line up the bowlers LOL. So far, I have no volunteers or other help, but hopefully that'll change ..... I get darn pooped!!!

 

I use those long foam things that kids use in pools (about 4-5' long) and set up the gutter guards with those (that way most balls get at least one pin). Our main concession is that ALL bowlers have to sit and bowl. The "lane" is naturally not as long as one in a bowling alley. I use a kickball/4-square ball for the bowling ball, so that stroke residents can more easily "bowl". Sometimes the ball bounces, but that's life! We have both men and women who bowl, some who have never bowled before. One resident is blind, so I stand behind the "pins" and talk to him so he has a sound to aim at. I'm still working out the logistics to have something that makes sound for him, rather than me standing there.

 

Each week (we just had our 2nd week) the participation grows. I'm in a nursing facility with 27 residents.

 

Week 1 was 2 men -- we just "learned" that week .... worked out the kinks, etc.

 

Week 2 was 3 men and 1 woman -- the woman had never before bowled. Due to contractures of both arms, she couldn't get the ball to the floor, so it bounced most of the way ............and she won (woman power!!! LOL).

 

We had approximately 4-5 spectators (residents) too. Lots of laughter and cheering and encouraging each other .... the residents STILL talk about it and are looking forward to our next bowling night. We bowl at night so that the hallway we use is less occupied.

 

I can't tell you how long the "lane" is, other than about 16', or more, long. I haven't measured it. We're thinking about setting up in the dining room next time so that more can participate and more can watch. So far, we only do 5 frames per game .... that lasts long enough this AD doesn't fall over from exhaustion (lol) and the residents are building up their strength to last longer. This is really the most physical they are, and they're loving it!! I feel really good about this activity ............ beats the Gardening Club all to heck (they're not interested LOL).

[trixiedg 0]

That sounds like so much fun! I think we may try that also. Thanks for sharing.

[Guest Tinki]

Great idea! Sounds like you found a winner!! I love the pool noodles as the gutter bouncers!!! Thanks for sharing with us!!!

 

Karen

[turtle 0]

What a great idea. I like the idea of using the pool noodles as gutter guards. My residents enjoy bowling but I sure do get tired of chasing the ball around the dining room. Thanks for the tip.

[Hope 0]

We actually have the plastic bowling set with a 2.5 lb. bowling ball (rubber I think). Our bowling is every Friday morning, we bowl 3 frames. We have 2-3 people who can stand; the rest sit; however, we had a bowling ramp donated by a resident who had trouble getting a good swing and I was mentioning to our volunteer one day they make a ramp- well, this guy overheard and sent his wife to me to find out how much it cost; now we doubled our participation (bless his heart, he just passed on this week). Now, the problem began: I tried to make 2 separate times, ramp and without, to keep score equally; well, you know, not everyone comes when they should, some come early, some late, even when I called it "orange team" and "green team" bowling. So, I had to let them come (okay, reality is, I had to go get those that were up and ready and HOPE someone might look at their calendar marked that they like bowling and bring them down); then start. I give out stickers I print up, with Orange Team and Green Team bowling, 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Those with a ramp get the orange, those without get green, and I write their name, date and score on them, as well as if they got a strike, or first time bowling, etc. Some of our people choose to throw it like a basketball; they can still use their arms but can't do the backswing; on e day, a lady who uses a ramp was just really weak and not very alert, and we actually joked we would have to use her knee if she didn't wake up-her knee actually came up and pushed it off the ramp, and she enjoys being told about bowling with her knee! I try to get people not to use the ramp if they're on the borderline. If they don't use it, I give lots of praise and may even write - on their GREEN sticker-"didn't use ramp today". These are the big 2x3" labels I print up, and stuck on the w/c arms, they can be popular all day-or week, until the next game. I just have trouble scoring the strikes/spares when they gang up in a row- if they get a strike on the 3rd frame, I give it a 20; a spare on the 3rd gets a 15; but it's the ones inbetween that I probably don't score the same from one game to another. But if you can get a ramp, it sure will include almost as many levels as a music event can, with good participation! Oh, I have large stickers permanently (more or less) taped on the floor for placement; then, a pink sticker for where the w/c should be; and a yellow sticker to mark standers as well as those in gerichairs or w/c with the ramp. Have fun!

[Mandyatscr 0]

We bowl about once a month here. We normally have between 15 and 20 people bowling at a time. I even started a bowling league last year and we had 5 teams of 4. They bowled every other week for about 4 months. We took the winning team to a local bowling alley that has the handicapped ramp as the treat for the winners.