Veteran wordsmith Bella Slator says playing Scrabble has helped to improve her vocabulary.
Slator, an active member of the Scrabble club at the 55 Plus Centre, played the board game with her two boys when they were younger. The word game stuck with the family and the 84-year-old even joined one of her son’s at a Scrabble tournament in California.
She said it’s a good way to improve a person’s literacy and vocabulary.
“It keeps my mind active,” Slator said. “The most appealing thing about this game is finding different words and trying to get a seven letter word and it’s very, very exciting. I didn’t have much schooling and I think this helps me a lot. You learn something new every day and you learn new words.
Slator joined more than 50 wordsmiths at the 14th annual Scrabble tournament held at the Intercity Shopping Centre on Saturday. Slator has participated in the tournament for more than five years. She said it’s the love of the game keeps her coming back each year.
She added she’s getting nervous on how good the younger players are getting.
Catherine Powell, volunteer and event coordinator with the Thunder Bay Literacy Group, said they put on the event to raise literacy awareness and to promote some of the free literacy programs available. While illiteracy is still a problem in Thunder Bay, she said the situation has improved.
“There are still a lot of people who don’t have the skills that the government would like them to have,” Powell said. “Computer skills are very important and a lot of people don’t have that skillset. With any job you apply for now, you need your Grade 12 pretty much. There are a lot of individuals who don’t have that. It’s a lot more than reading and writing. It’s about participating in your community.”
Last year the event raised more than $11,000. Powell added she hoped to match or surpass that amount this year.
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