Many hours spent honing her skill at making letters into words has paid off in a big way for a Rimbey senior who successfully played her way to a silver medal at the Canada Senior Games.
Gladys Wilson won second in Scrabble at the Games held Aug. 30 and 31, losing out to a contender from Saskatchewan in the final game.
Winning was a great honor, she said, noting she had lost only one game prior to going into the final competition.
“Gosh, yes, I was very pleased,” she said. “I’m not very good at getting rid of all my letters and I was competing against all of Canada, so it was nice to win.”
Wilson won at the zones and took a silver medal in provincials, but a phone call from her son, Randy Conti who lives in Calgary, was the deciding factor for her to attend the Nationals.
“Randy came with me and it was very nice to spend the time with my son as well as attend the Games,” she said.
Wilson began playing Scrabble several years ago when she lived in British Columbia.
Later, when she was living in Ponoka, she took up the game again, this time with a serious contender who had won several gold and silver medals.
The lady, who has since died, taught her a lot, she said.
“She beat me, she beat me and she beat me,” she said. “When I did win, I think she let me.”
Now that Wilson lives in Rimbey, she regularly visits three Scrabble sites on the computer to keep current with the challenges of the game.
Scrabble is an excellent way to keep your memory sharp, meet new people and learn new words, she said.
“It also gives you pride in yourself when you do well. And even if you don’t, it’s fun.”