Humbert Davis, president of the National Association of Domino Bodies (NADB), has expressed his delight with the growth and success of the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) Domino Tournament.

The third phase of tournament took place at the Golden Age Home in Vineyard Town on Tuesday. According to Davis, the tournament aims to promote social interaction, cognitive stimulation, and friendly competition among seniors, while also fostering a sense of community and camaraderie.

“We want to enhance their memory, imagination, and strategic thinking, while encouraging mental health exercises, intergenerational interaction, and skill-sharing,” Davis told the Jamaica Observer.

“The tournament getting bigger and better with each phase and I want congratulate all organisers, staff, participants, everyone who have played their part in this growing initiative,” he said.

“Playing dominoes boosts memory and engages the brain and mind, facilitating information encoding, storage, and retrieval.

“This mental exercise involves visualizing dots, lines, shapes, and patterns, promoting holistic cognitive development,” he added, who commended the partnership with the National Council for Senior Citizens, which has helped bridge generational gaps and promote the sport.

With their exceptional skill and strategy, Linval Blake and Cedrick Bruce have emerged as winners for phase three of the tournament.

Blake said that the tournament was wonderful.

“It was great. We really had a very good time here and it was really a pleasure to come and to really get up and close with these people, some of whom we have never seen for such a long time. Golden Age Home is a place we must pay more attention to, they are trying to support all these people,” Blake said.

Maureen Byfield-Jarvis, NCSC programme officer, highlighted the organisation’s partnership with Golden Age.

“This is not just the first time we have partnered with Golden Age. This is just one activity. We would have a spelling bee competition here as well, and so we try to integrate persons that are outside of the Golden Age Group to come inside and engage in activities,” she said.

She emphasised the importance of creating accessible spaces for seniors.

“We realise that many spaces are not accessible to seniors, and so we want to create safe places where enlightened minds can come and cheer and integrate together. This initiative aims to promote social interaction, mental stimulation, and a sense of community among seniors,” she further said.

— Ruddy Allen