The Best Seats
In The House

When it comes to planning seating in a gymnasium, available space is the first question that is asked in the process. While most schools and other facilities would love to pack the sidelines of any volleyball or basketball game with cheering fans, it often boils down to what exactly the gymnasium in question can handle.

While many gymnasiums are relatively similar in nature, there are those that are outside of the typical (84’ long and 50’ wide) gymnasium sizes. For those that are larger in nature, larger telescopic bleacher seating is the typical solution. For those that are smaller than standard gymnasiums, however, are met with a few additional challenges. When planning seating structures with limited space, it can become challenging, despite the highly-customizable capabilities our products have.

A little over a year ago, we were enlisted by the Anglophone South District School Board to outfit three of the board’s schools with innovative and customized retractable bleachers. As with many outdated retractable bleacher systems, the existing units were made of wood and were quickly becoming unsafe for both operators and spectators.

As part of the agreement, our team was contracted to remove and dispose of the existing bleachers and replace them with state-of-the-art units, complete with custom colouring and lettering.

As an extension of that project, we were again contacted by the school board to replace some existing bleachers that were approaching the end of their lifecycle.

Built in 1993, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Stadium was originally constructed to house the Ottawa Lynx of the International League.  With staggering attendance numbers through the inaugural season, the stadium and team set league attendance records averaging nearly 10,000 fans per game.

Serving nearly 20,000 students in central Ontario, the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board(HPEDSB) operates 39 elementary schools and eight secondary schools throughout the region.

Several of the schools in the district have been in operation for many years, serving many students who are now working professionals. As such, some of the equipment located within those schools are dated and in some cases, dangerous for students to use.

One such location with a storied past is the Trenton High School. Located in the gymnasium of the school was a large and dated folding partition that had been used to separate the space for a number of years. While the partition did a great job fulfilling its purpose, the unit had become not only cumbersome to operate but downright dangerous.

Let’s face it, as a business owner, purchaser or facility operator, it’s hard not to notice the increase in the cost of doing business. While many of these rising costs are the direct reflection of a strong and working economy, they do require those in purchasing positions to strategically plan and spend their budgets accordingly.

One such cost that has risen dramatically over the past decade or so is that of shipping. With the rise of online shopping and e-commerce, goods are being shipped at a record pace across the US and Canada. Pair that with volatile oil and gas prices and you have a perfect storm for rising costs associated with shipping by sea, ground and air.

When it comes to our business, traditionally, we do the majority of our shipping on the ground, depending on the location the goods are to be delivered to. While we explore alternative shipping options when shipping overseas, to the Middle East or to the Caribbean, here in North America, we mainly ship the old-fashioned way: by ground.

Recognized as an International Centre of Excellence thanks to its fully accessible design and inclusive environment, the Abilities Centre truly is one of a kind.

Located in the Greater Toronto Area in beautiful Whitby, Ontario, the 125,000 square foot facility boasts sports, fitness, arts, and life skills programming for people of all ages and abilities.

In addition to a board room, games room, lounge, theatre, 200m indoor track, aerobics rooms and a universally accessible exercise area, the facility is home to three regulation-size basketball courts.

This is where our team was fortunate enough to lend a hand to this amazing facility. Given the variety of participants that frequent the basketball courts, the existing portable backstops were no longer deemed inclusive for all to enjoy. Those who enjoyed the sport from a wheelchair or suffered from other disabilities soon found these floor-mounted systems to be hazardous to their safety.

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.