The Best Seats
In The House

Working locally here in the Ottawa area, we were involved in another exciting project with the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB). Covering an area of roughly 2,900 square kilometers in the National Capital Region, the OCSB is home to over 4,600 staff members and operates a total of 85 institutions including 69 elementary schools, 15 high schools and one intermediate school.

As part of some sweeping upgrades to a number of the schools under the board’s management, we were invited to scope a unique project for a couple of the schools not far from our headquarters.

As is common in many aging educational facilities, some of the athletic equipment previously installed inside the gymnasium can become deemed unsafe for use by students and staff members.

One area of great concern and one which we have years of experience in handling is the demolition, removal, and replacement of outdated partition walls used to separate athletic spaces, mainly in gymnasiums.

When it comes to martial arts training facilities, no two are exactly the same. While many differ in design, they also differ in use and specialization. When it comes to dedicated martial arts gyms, the choice of padding and mats is usually of the highest grade possible.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are a number of multi-use facilities, community centres and the like that also offer martial arts programming and for their uses, a different grade of padding could suit their situation more specifically.

While we certainly have the ability to get highly customized in designing any martial arts-style padding, we traditionally offer two main martial arts padding products for these highly specialized facilities.

Named after one of the most prolific Canadian writers of the nineteenth century,François-Xavier Garneau, the École Secondaire Catholique Garneau follows this historical Canadian’s lead on continuing to develop French Canadian culture.

Located in the east of Canada’s Capital, the school’s motto revolves around the words of Michael Montaigne who said, “The gain of the study, it is becoming better and wiser.” Today, École Secondaire Catholique Garneau invites students to engage in a perpetual momentum of improvement, progress,and wisdom through the pursuit of knowledge and excellence.

As our awareness of mental health continues to expand so too does the need for properly planned and inclusive spaces. These spaces are highly customized in design and often feature unique elements created with the end user or users in mind.

Today, these padded spaces are used in a number of different applications ranging from healthcare facilities and educational facilities such as schools, to a variety of mental health institutions.

With the rise in demand for these types of spaces, we have transformed our custom padding department to not only handle the increased volume of requests but have also invested in research and partnerships that aid us in ensuring they are as safe and welcoming as possible.

Working closely once again with our partners at Avron Canada, we completed an incredibly important job which began in late summer.  Keeping with the rising trend of creating inclusive and safe spaces for children with special needs or for those who simply need reprieve from time to time, our attention turned to one school that wanted desperately to make a difference for one of their students.

The school was home to one student that for reasons unknown, would become incredibly self-abusive. While the school did have a small “safe” room, it was quite small and was not set up to accommodate him.

SPORT SYSTEMS (SSCI) has spent the past three decades working hard to reach the top by working closely with clients in providing highly customized athletic facility installations. Our products are built to stand the test of time; our footprint has spread across Canada and now around the world! As a three-time award winner of PROFIT Magazine’s Fastest Growing Canadian Companies, SSCI has cemented itself as the most growth-driven, sales-focused company in the institutional athletic equipment market.

Here we grow again!

We are looking for experienced and hard-working individuals to join our installation and construction team. These positions offer full-time hours, competitive wages and a great working environment.

Please apply via email to jeffhurrle@ssci.ca  - see below for full description

Following the success of a number of projects in Nebraska including a new grandstand bleacher for Pawnee Park in Columbus and new telescopic bleachers for Omaha Christian Academy, we were once again paired with our partners at Crouch Recreation.

Uncovering a wonderful opportunity to replace some outdated retractable bleachers in an Omaha high school, key stakeholders at Crouch Recreation brought the project to our attention and we quickly pooled our resources to have a detailed look at the project.

Located at Millard South High School in western Omaha were a number of retractable bleachers that no longer could satisfy building and safety codes and were quickly becoming a maintenance headache for the local high school.

Located in the western region of the Greater Toronto Area, Woodview Mental Health & Autism Services offers a number of services for children and youth facing mental health challenges and for those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Originally known as St. Mary’s Asylum for girls and Mount St. Joseph for boys, the history of the facility dates back to 1853 and only officially became known as Woodview in the late 1970s. While a number of changes have taken place over the years, the goal remains the same today at Woodview, which has expanded to multiple locations providing community-based programs in the Burlington, Brantford, Halton and Hamilton regions.

Many school boards across both Canada and the United States are recognizing their responsibility to provide safe and supportive learning and working environments for all faculty members and students. Often referred to as calming rooms, de-escalation rooms, quiet areas, calming rooms or sensory rooms, these spaces are based on the concept of reducing both environmental and physical triggers as a coping strategy for those experiencing heightened or depressed states of arousal. Outside of educational facilities, these spaces are common in residences, therapeutic clinics and a variety of other healthcare facilities.

Ensuring that the use of these types of rooms and facilities are not used as punishment or seclusion, the use of these rooms is becoming more regulated by guidelines set out by school boards and other governing bodies.