Willie Wingard is doing his homework and that could give him the advantage and, hopefully, the trophy in the Wii Bowling Championship competition, which is under way at the Lillian D. Green Nutrition Center in Troy.

The first round of the competition started Tuesday morning and will continue today with the champion being crowned on Thursday.

Center director Hassie Green, said the idea to host a Wii Bowling Championship was borrowed from Cable News Network.

“I saw where they were having a National Wii contest, and I thought that we could do something similar here at the Lillian D. Green Nutrition Center,” Green said.

“We’ve had Wii for a while now, and all of those who play it really enjoy it and the exercise is a side benefit. Wii has really captured the interest of a lot of our participants and they are quite competitive, but it’s friendly competition.”

Although the center’s Wii has several games including tennis, baseball, golf and boxing, bowling is the most popular one.

“They all love bowling and maybe that’s because it’s easier to play and, too, they enjoy the competition of one another,” she said. “Several people can play at one time and that makes it a lot of fun.”

The popularity of Wii bowling easily made it the favorite game for the competition and nine competitors – five men and four women – quickly signed up.

“In the first round, each one has to bowl four game,s and we total their scores,” Green said. “At the end of the first round, the four bowlers with the highest scores move on to the second round.”

The top bowler from that round will be crowned the Lillian D. Green Wii Bowling Champion and receive all the perks that go with being a Wii bowling champion, such as being first in line at the Center’s special dinners or sitting closest to the piano at the sing alongs. Things like that.

Wingard readily admitted that he has a hands up on the championship because he has a Wii of his own.

“When we first got this one at the Center, they tried to get me to play it and I said I didn’t want to do anything like that, and now I don’t want to quit,” he said, laughing.

“I could bowl all day and all night. And, I like baseball, too.

“ You just hold this paddle like a bat and swing. It’s a lot of fun and it’s good exercise, too. When I first started, it hurt my arm ,but now it doesn’t bother me at all.”

Wingard practices his bowling form at home, but he said the real fun is bowling with his friends at the Center.

“And, they’re getting pretty good. I hope that I win, but I might not. But we’ll have fun no matter who wins.”