The Best Seats
In The House

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.

In the fall of 2017 we proudly announced an exciting project that had been in the planning process for a number of years. Working in conjunction with FIFA and our esteemed colleagues at the Barbados Football Association, the project was slated to get underway during the winter months.

As the details were confirmed through correspondence, it was soon time to have boots on the ground of the small island nation. As the necessary materials began arriving in Barbados to build the bleacher seating that would soon flank the sidelines of this exciting stadium, so too did our experienced installation crews.

Following the Fraser River downstream of the Fraser Canyon, you will find the picturesque Fraser Valley of southwestern British Columbia. The fertile soil of the area accounts for over half of the province’s annual agricultural revenue and stretches into the metropolis of the great city of Vancouver.

It is here where one of our most recent projects landed us, more specifically, in the City of Abbotsford. As the largest municipality of the Fraser Valley, the city retains a good portion of its residents to work locally, rather than commute to nearby Vancouver. This among other reasons is perhaps why the Conference Board of Canada has identified Abbotsford’s economy as one of the most diverse in Canada.

Let’s face it, mobility is a reality for most soccer leagues and organizations across North America today. With many teams without a home pitch, the need for equipment that can be easily transported is more important today than ever before.

Today’s coaches and organizers are responsible for the complete set-up of both practices and games for their teams and with most acting on a volunteer basis, the need to get from their day job to the soccer pitch can sometimes be a struggle.

To avoid a time-consuming set-up, we proudly carry a variety of goals, nets and other accessories all designed to help make the lives of coaches and organizers a little easier. With these volunteers already sacrificing so much of their time and energy, the process for these individuals really should be as painless as possible.

Nestled along picturesque Lake Champion in northern Quebec lies the small Cree community of Nemaska. Located nearly 1,100KM north of Montreal, the community is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the area’s outdoors and diverse wildlife.

Nemaska, which means “Place to Fish” is well known as a premiere fresh water fishing locale and promotes sustainable methods of tourism in the area with help of the local residents.

Born and raised with a strong connection to the outdoors, residents are well versed in hunting, fishing, trapping and other outdoor pursuits and continue to cherish and pass down this heritage to the next generation. Serving as home to such a diverse selection of outdoor activities, the community is known for camping and canoe tours during the summer, ice fishing, dogsledding and snowmobiling in the winter and various other events and activities throughout the year.