Things are going just as Barb Trammel had hoped. As the founder and director of Granny Basketball, Trammel is thrilled to be hosting a Granny Basketball information meeting for potential players on Saturday, May 25.

The information meeting will be hosted at the Oakdale Library beginning at 11 a.m., and will cover a number of things as well as the guidelines of the basketball league which follows the 1923 women’s basketball rules. Participants need not be a “granny,” in the traditional sense, but must be at least 50 years of age to participate. No previous basketball experience is necessary to play.

“If a person can bowl, they can play granny basketball,” Trammel said.

Growing up in a small town in Iowa, Trammel said she was raised playing basketball.

“It was a small-town phenomenon,” she said of her early years on the court. “There wasn’t anything else to do there, so everybody followed the girls. It was a big deal.”

Once she graduated from high school, the basketball enthusiast shared she took a 40-year break. Ultimately, she returned to the court at the age of 59 through the efforts of a fundraiser. The idea behind following the 1923 women’s basketball rules for the fundraising event was sparked by stories Trammel’s dad used to tell her of early days of basketball.

“We decided, as old as we were we could even play by those old rules,” she said. “So, we thought it was just going to be a big exhibition game for a fundraiser. But after we got done playing, no one wanted to stop playing. So we thought about it and away we went.”

That was in 2005 and so began the start of something which many became interested in.

Trammel currently plays for the Columbia Gold Diggers Basketball team. A team which traveled to Oakdale in February of this year to play against the Oakdale High School girls basketball team.

“All the ladies in Oakdale got excited about it,” she said of the February exhibition game. “So I decided to go ahead and set up an informational meeting so we could get it going down there.”

The organizer shared it takes four to five ladies to have a team and six players are required to join the Granny Basketball League.

“But it doesn’t take long,” she said of having a full team. “The biggest thing will be finding a place and a time to practice and so forth.”

As Trammel prepares for the Saturday informational meeting, she noted it’s the camaraderie and the fun, which she enjoys most about the teams. She also mentioned the value of the physical and mental benefits of playing with the other ‘grannies.’

“A lot of it is the women that meet and it’s so fun to start teams,” the now 79-year-old said. “I just love that.”

For additional information visit the website grannybasketball.com or e-mail Trammel at GBLbarb22@gmail.com.