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Given the sheer speed of short track speed skating events, it is no surprise that the risk for injury for participants in this sport can be high at times. In the province of Quebec alone, there had been over 280 injuries reported between 2009 and 2011 on short track speed skating rinks.

These findings have caused Speed Skating Canada to re-evaluate the safety guidelines with regards to speed skating protective padding as of late. In doing so, they have now established a minimum padding standard for both practice and competition speed skating events.

This spring we were approached by the Islamic Institute of Toronto, and tasked with making some great improvements to the gymnasium in their beautiful facility located in Scarborough.

The Islamic Institute of Toronto (IIT) was established back in 1996 and has grown into one of the premier Islamic Educational Institutions in Canada.  Today the educational center offers courses in Arabic Language, Islamic Jurisprudence, Ethics, Spirituality and much more in their Toronto location.  The institute now resides on an 8 acre piece of property and contains a school, bookstore, administrative offices and obviously, a gymnasium.

The good people at the IIT opted for six new ceiling suspended basketball systems for their gymnasium, and ended up going with the popular 3103 Forward Folding / Rear Braced System from us.  This system is a perfect fit as it is designed for areas allowing sufficient space behind the backboard for a rear brace and unobstructed room to the front to fold up. 

It’s been nine long years since CFL football fans in Ottawa have had anything football related to cheer about. This season marks the return of the CFL to Ottawa with their new expansion team; the Ottawa REDBLACKS, and the city is abuzz with excitement for their home opener on July 18, 2014.

The REDBLACKS new home will be the freshly designed and renovated TD Place located at Landsdowne Park in Ottawa, and along with a sharp new look, seating and concessions, Sport Systems was contacted to install players benches for the football club.

The bench chosen was our 18 foot length portable aluminum player’s bench, equipped with backrests for player comfort.

Whether you operate or are part of an indoor or outdoor athletic facility, the issue of useable space is often a topic of discussion. Today, we expect more from our sports fields and facilities optimizing both available space and cost effectiveness.

The majority of smaller bleachers are designed using the standard angle frame structure, ensuring a solid foundation for your spectator seating. While this design does not pose any problems whatsoever and is widely used across North America, more outdoor facilities are switching to the permanent I-Beam structure for use with their grandstand seating.

Long track speed skating, as its name suggests, is one of the fastest competition sports on the planet.  With highest recorded average skater speeds of upwards of 34 MPH (54 km/h) in Olympic competition, you can very well imagine that safety is a main concern of participants and organizers of speed skating events and facilities. 

As of recent, Speed Skating Canada has prepared a set of guidelines for establishing the minimum speed skating crash protection needed for both practice and competitive applications.  Although these published guidelines are thought to be the utmost in safety, the organization stresses that facilities ideally should not only meet these speed skating padding standards, but exceed them to further ensure skater safety.  

The idea seems simple enough, locating and acquiring a bench for use for coaching staff and players for a variety of sporting activities at your recreational field or facility. The fact of the matter is; there are many choices, including style, size, mounting preference and utility.

This article will quickly guide you through the variety of choices you have when selecting a players bench for your athletic program, field or facility.

As with all athletic facilities, the safety of participants, staff and spectators is always priority number one. When it comes to ceiling or wall mounted basketball equipment like backboards and backstops, the Aut-O-Loc system is the industry leader, providing a new standard in gymnasium equipment safety.

This safety strap is engineered with safety in mind; this basketball backstop strap operates much like a seatbelt in your vehicle.

The patented inertia plate in all systems can automatically sense a centrifugal force of fall. When sensed, the Aut-O-Loc instantly stops the backstop from falling with help of its steel paws and locking teeth located in the housing. This system prevents both damage to the basketball system, as well as any inherent danger to participants and spectators below.

For the second year straight, we are honored to be named as one of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies once again in this year’s PROFIT 500. The PROFIT 500 is an annual celebration of entrepreneurial achievement which ranks Canada’s fastest growing companies using their 5-year revenue growth figures.

Now in its 26^th installment, the PROFIT 500 recognizes and rewards businesses that have proven themselves over a number of years, established a stable and growing stable of customers and clientele and have sustained an impressive amount of growth.

Over the past 5 years the average PROFIT 500 Company has increased their revenue by an average of 536%, or 59 times the rate of inflation over that time period. Impressive stuff!

Every company on this prestigious list is accompanied by an amazingly inspiring tale of dedication, innovation and growth. Another astounding fact about this year’s list in particular demonstrates that over 80% of the firms on the list sell to other companies, proof that the B2B market is sizzling here in Canada.

By now, most of us know and realize the true value a gymnasium floor cover can bring to your athletic facility. We’ve heard countless time as to how these floor covers can save and even make your facility additional revenue due to their extreme durability and versatility.

At this point, it comes down to simply choosing the specific type of floor cover you think will suit your facility best. While not seemingly a terribly difficult question to answer, there are a few factors to consider, mainly being what exactly it is you plan on doing with your cover, and how many times a year you plan to have it in use.

Let’s look at the two products offered by Sport Systems, and go over the differences between the two to help you make the informed decision prior to your next purchase. We carry both a heavy duty and an ultra heavy duty protective cover product which we find serves most facilities we service quite well.