The Best Seats
In The House

Known as an on-island suburb, the small town of Montreal West is a picturesque community that is comprised largely of young families. With a bustling downtown core business area spanning Westminster Avenue between Milner and Cruzon, Montreal West’s downtown is still dominated by small, locally-owned businesses.

Having worked closely with the primarily English-speaking community over the past number of years, we were once again called upon by their parks and recreation department. Dominated by family-oriented activities, Montreal West is home to a number of community operated sports fields. As part of the updating process that many communities go through over the course of history, we were once again tapped to supply some bleacher seating for use at one of the community’s sports fields.

When it comes to baseball, anyone who has played the sport will tell you that practice makes perfect. A multi-faceted sport for participants, baseball requires players to maintain cardiovascular health, field ground balls, catch pop flies and swing the bat at 90 MPH fastballs when required.

Training for such a sport is intensive and when it comes to batting practice, there is no such thing as too many swings. While getting a few friends together to throw the ball around casually is one way to sharpen your skills, those who really want to excel in the batter’s box enlist the help of professional equipment.

During practice or even at home, the use of batting cages for aspiring or current baseball players is a prerequisite for success. Spending more time in the cage staring down fast balls from an automated pitching machine is a sure-fire way to get better with a bat in your hands.

Having a strong partnership with the Anglophone East School District on Canada’s East Coast, our team was once again called upon for another necessary but unique project. The school, established in 1981, is comprised of both a middle school (Salisbury Middle School) and a high school (JMA Armstrong High School).

Given the fact that the school is, in fact, two schools under one roof, the gymnasium is obviously a busy place. Serving as home for Cougar athletics, sports programming is a large part of student life at JMA Armstrong.

As with many retractable bleacher upgrades that our team is involved with, the school had a set of retractable bleachers previously installed that were unfortunately dated and deemed no longer safe. As building codes continue to be updated across Canada and the United States, many of these older wooden systems are in need of replacement and we were once again, happy to answer the call.

A part of the Ktunaxa Nation, ʔaq̓am is a member community based on the values of family, unity and cooperation. Taking pride in their heritage, language and culture, the community operates a number of programs and services including an elementary school, daycare, after school and summer school programming, community health and education services, economic development, lands and natural resource management and housing and administrative services.

Accounting for the largest population of all Ktunaxa Nation Bands, the ʔaq̓am community also occupies over 18,000 acres of land under management.Located in the Rocky Mountain Trench in the East Kooteney region of southeastern British Columbia, roughly ten minutes north of Cranbrook.

One of America’s favourite and most beloved pastimes is the game of baseball. Invented in historic Cooperstown, New York during the mid-1800s, the game has evolved and is enjoyed by millions who both watch and play the game across Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

In the world of 100 MPH fastballs and the bats to match, player safety is of obvious concern, particularly during recreational play and practice. Once solely reserved for those playing in the “big leagues,” today’s baseball organizations are becoming increasingly aware of player safety and are quickly outfitting ball diamonds with the proper equipment to protect players of all ages.

While batters are required to wear helmets, those standing on the pitching mound, infield or outfield are often left relatively unprotected. While during game play, the eyes of players are concentrated on the ball, during organized practice, there are often numerous activities taking place.

If you’ve been following us over the past few months,you know that a select number of our team members were lucky enough to spend some time on the beautiful island of Barbados this winter.

While it certainly wasn’t a typical visit filled with island-themed libations and hammocks strung between palm trees, it was an experience our organization won’t soon forget. While the warm weather and palm trees were awelcome addition to the project, the hard work started many months ago when we were approached by the Barbados Football Association and key stakeholders at FIFA.

The planning process was intense as anyone would expect and one that wouldn’t be complete without a multitude of moving parts. Towards the end of 2017, all of the necessary parts and plans came together and the project was officially underway.

One of our more recent projects brought us back to the historic city of Montreal. Nestled along the St. Lawrence River, the vibrant city is a pleasure to not only visit but to do business in as well.

The call came in a few months ago from a general contractor who was looking for assistance in designing some highly-customized wall padding for the high school located just outside of the city’s downtown core.

Before organizing our first on-site visit to the school, we were provided with some technical drawings to help our team better understand the challenges ahead. Given the complexity of the design of the space we were immediately connected with the school-commissioned architecture firm with whom we visited the location with.

The sports world is evolving at a rapid pace. While the product on the field, ice or pitch is still inherently important, today’s savvy spectators are looking for so much more when it comes to the spectator experience.

With the rise of high-definition televisions, PVRs and online streaming services, professional sports franchises are doing more than ever to entice fans into stadiums across Canada and the United States.

As the research continues to be compiled, industry pundits are emphasizing spectator experience paired with the talent on the field to create the perfect combination of the live sport experience. While avid fans are still looking for the win, the stadium experience is becoming equally important.

As a number of major stadiums have undergone or are set to undergo massive renovations, some franchises and organizations are forgoing dated stadiums and instead are opting to start from scratch. With a focus on the spectators’ increasing importance, just what do the next generation of sports fans expect from their favourite venues?

Formed in 1986 through the amalgamation of Glenlyon School and Norfolk House, Glenlyon Norfolk School is one of western Canada’s premier university preparatory day schools.

Located in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, the institution has history dating back to the early 1900s and celebrated 100 years of education in 2013.

Today the school is made up of the Beach Drive Campus and the Pemberton Woods Campus. The Beach Drive Campus serves students from Junior Kindergarten ages to Grade Five and was originally reserved only for boys until 2003 when the campus welcomed female students for the first time.

The Pemberton Woods Campus, on the other hand, services students from Grade 6 through to Grade 12. While each campus has its own principal, the entire school is administered by the Head of School, Dr. Glenn Zederayko.

With the spring season officially underway, planners, managers and operators are preparing once again for additional outdoor play within their communities and organizations. As we shed the layers of heavy clothing and move into something more comfortable, soccer pitches, football fields and outdoor basketball courts are once again in season.

As such, many facility managers take this time of the year to evaluate, design and/or construct their outdoor play areas for these types of sports, including basketball.

As one of the most popular sports here in North America, basketball courts in communities and in school yards are among the most high-traffic and most heavily participated areas.

At Sport Systems, we got our start in the basketball industry. With our headquarters located in picturesque Almonte, Ontario, we share this hometown with the inventor of basketball Dr. James Naismith and as such, began designing basketball hoops over 40 years ago.