Throughout 2013 and 2014, Maurice Lapointe High School in Kanata, Ontario has been in the midst of a large-scale addition to the entire school. The scope of work included a new cafeteria, gymnasium and sports field for the high school, a member of the Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario (CEPEO).
In addition to the construction and development of a new gymnasium, Maurice Lapointe was also looking to enhance their current gymnasium as well. We were called upon by the CEPEO to tackle the job of upgrading both gymnasiums by providing a number of products suited specifically for both spaces.
New Gym Upgrades
As part of the school’s Phase 2 building construction, a large two-storey secondary gymnasium was added to the school which aims to accommodate up to 700 occupants and provides a state-of-the-art facility to serve their students and the surrounding community. As part of the completion of the project, we were to provide Maurice Lapointe High School with new basketball systems, retractable bleachers, a new gym divider curtain and customized permanent wall padding.
Installed were new ceiling suspended basketball backstops complete with regulation sized glass backboards and electrically-operated winches for ease of use. A large bank of retractable bleachers was also installed inside the gymnasium as spectator seating was also a large area of interest for the recently completed gym. With this new bleacher system, the school can now conveniently sit approximately 250 spectators for sporting and community events.
Given the sheer size of the new gym, a centre drive gym divider curtain was also installed by our team, allowing the facility another level of adaptability for the allotted space. This type of curtain gives the gymnasium the ability to be quickly split in half for a more versatile use, or raised to allow for larger-scale events.
As with most indoor athletic facilities in which fast-paced sports like basketball are played, custom designed and installed permanent wall padding was also needed under the main basketball backstops as a safety precaution. These wall mats featured highly customized cut outs to fit perfectly around existing air returns and electrical outlets.
Existing Gym Upgrades
In addition to all of the equipment installed in the newly constructed gymnasium, we were also commissioned to provide a number of enhancements to the existing gymnasium. This gymnasium also received brand new ceiling suspended basketball backstops, which required some technical design and customization given the proximity of the backstops to the existing stage area. The installed basketball systems were complete with an aut-o-loc safety restraint system to a wall mounted backstop for safety purposes. In addition to the above, we also provided an adequate amount of custom stage padding to ensure the gymnasium was up to current safety regulations.