ROBERTSDALE, Alabama -- If you like dominoes then the George P. Thames Senior Center in Robertsdale was the place to be on Tuesday as 17 teams, a total of 34 participants, competed in the double dominoes district tournament for a chance to qualify for the 2013 Alabama Masters Games Tournament.

“We’re really excited to be hosting the tournament this year,” said Senior Center Director Sarah Duncan. This is the first year the double dominoes tournament has been held in Robertsdale. The Senior Center has hosted the district Rook tournament the last couple of years.

Qualifying for the Masters Games began in April with basketball free throw, nerfball toss, Frisbee toss, softball throw, horseshoes and billiards tournaments held April 23 at Via! in Mobile. Shuffleboard, swimming, table tennis and tennis qualifiers were held May 14 at the Orange Beach Senior Center.

Additional qualifiers for the state games include:

• Checkers and dominoes, June 18 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Chickasaw Civic Center.

• Rook, 9 a.m. July 9 at Via! on Dauphin Street in Mobile.

• Bowling tournament will be held in August.

Participants, ranging in age from 50 all the way up to 93, compete in the tournament.

According to the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission Website, the Masters Games of Alabama is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles for active adults age 50 and over through social, mental, and physical activities.

They were developed in Oxford in 1990 to provide adults age 50 and above an opportunity to maintain an active lifestyle by participating in a variety of events. Each year there are between 600 and 800 participants from across the state.

For the last several years, the Masters Games have been held each October in Valley, Chambers County.

Tuesday’s tournament consisted of a best-two-out-three-game, single-elimination match. Competitors were paired into age groups with the younger of the two players determining the age group, said tournament coordinator Vivian Barton with the Area Council on Aging. The first and second place teams in each age group advance to the state tournament.

Tuesday’s participants qualified from District 7, which includes Baldwin, Mobile, Escambia, Conecuh, Washington, Choctaw, Clarke, Wilcox and Monroe counties. In addition to participants from the Central Baldwin area, there were competitors Tuesday from Orange Beach, Foley, Saraland, Chickasaw and Mobile.

Results from Tuesday’s competition were not available at presstime.

The Thames Center serves Robertsdale, Loxley and Silverhill, Duncan said. They also have participants from Fairhope, Gulf Shores, Elberta and Malbis.

This is the eighth straight year the Senior Center is participating in the state games, which is sponsored by the Area Agency on Aging, also locally by the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission.

Seniors from the George P. Thames Senior Center brought home more than 70 medals from the 2012 Alabama Masters Games Tournament.

Over the last seven years, the Center has averaged around 22 competitors who have brought home more than 200 medals over the last four years of competition, including 51 gold, 53 silver, 38 bronze and 70 fitness medals, earned for walking a one-mile track at the competition.

For more information about activities at the Center, contact Duncan at 251-947-8973.