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Gymnasium use for a multitude of activities is on the rise, leading to a greater demand for proper and safe separation of these athletic spaces to maximize their functionality.

Whether your facility is in need of an upgraded divider for safety reasons or you are shopping for a new divider for an existing gym or new build, there are a number of factors to keep in mind during the planning process.

While relatively simple in design, their nuances can impact not only how the curtains themselves perform but also how they impact the functionality of your gymnasium as a whole. Here’s a few design elements to keep in mind before you purchase your next gym divider curtain.

After working closely with the good people at George Brown College in Toronto back in 2016 and 2017, our paths crossed once again this past summer. Initially, we got paired with the college when their St. James Campus was looking to replace their existing basketball systems but were faced with a huge logistical challenge.

Situated on the sixth floor of the building, the gymnasium at the St. James Campus was thought to be inaccessible to large equipment such as basketball systems. Fortunately, our team was able to come up with an innovative solution that would allow the systems to enter the building normally, without the expense of crane rentals and window removal.

Athletic facilities are popular for a variety of events. Some facilities are designed for multi-purpose use while others are designed specifically for sporting events. Regardless of how your facility is used, safety is always a key concern, especially considering the high volume of people using the equipment.

From spectators using the bleachers to athletes using the basketball backstops again and again, routine inspection and maintenance is a must. Just as wear and tear occurs on a vehicle, any athletic facility also requires attention.

When you consider the frequency, weight and movement that occurs on bleachers during an event, the necessity of routine maintenance quickly becomes apparent. Basketball backstops, which can weigh several hundred pounds, also pose a great concern if neglected. 

Named after the eighth prime minister of Canada, one of our more recent projects led us into Canada’s Capital Region at Sir Robert Borden High School.

Opened in 1969 and neighboured by the head office of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, the school currently serves upwards of 825 students at their west-end Ottawa campus.

As part of a large project, our team was commissioned by the school board to aid in upgrading the existing fixed seating located inside the school’s auditorium. Serving as a meeting place for assemblies and dramatic presentations over the years, key stakeholders from the school board deemed the existing seating as outdated and were looking for a new solution that would serve the school and its students for years to come.

Half-ice hockey has recently been declared as the new standard for youth hockey. In fact, both USA Hockey and Hockey Canada have ruled that novice leagues and players are now required to institute the half-ice playing style. If you’re a parent, or a student yourself, you likely have some questions about this change.

Parental Concerns

By far, one of the most common concerns parents have voiced since these changes have been announced is: “How is this real hockey? 

This is a question best answered by the studies that prove young children (8 and under) need to focus on having fun and developing key skills. They will be learning a range of valuable skills in half-ice hockey on a rink layout that’s better suited to their pace, size, and skill level.

Some game changes will promote more play time as well, fostering interest in the sport of hockey. 

Like any sporting venue, baseball fields hold certain safety standards in order to keep players and spectators safe during games. When it comes to a baseball diamond’s safety standards, certain padding placement is needed to maintain safe gameplay.

The Outfield

Probably one of the most key areas for padding to be placed is along outfield fences. Here, padding on the walls and fences is very much a necessity in order to keep players safe as they chase stray balls.

While the MLB doesn’t yet mandate outfield padding, many agree that they should and most smaller stadiums are already going the extra mile to ensure padding is present. Far too many professionals and amateurs have collided with the outfield fences and been injured as a result of insufficient padding.

As writer Adam Moss wrote, there has been a “history of painful encounters with a non-padded wall in baseball.” When it comes to your stadium, you should see outfield fence padding as an absolute must-have for the sake of your players.

Located just west of Canada’s Capital lies the quaint and quiet village of Carp, Ontario. Anchored for years by historic Diefenbunker Museum, the small rural town has grown significantly after amalgamation with the City of Ottawa. Today the community retains its historic charm while offering residents charming restaurants, and parks along with a brewery and a vineyard.

As part of one of our most recent projects, we were commissioned by the city to design and install a unique set of stairways for use with some existing wooden bleachers inside the local arena.

The safety of a gym is only as good as the condition and configuration of the equipment inside of it. With a rash of unfortunate incidents over the past decade or so, a large cohort of facilities have been busy assessing and repairing or replacing equipment known to be the root cause a variety of safety hazards inside gymnasiums.

While much of these problems are overhead, such as ceiling-suspended basketball systems, light fixtures, and roof trusses, another large area of concern for operators are outdated dividers and partitions.

Many of these products were installed throughout the 1970s and 1980s and as one can imagine, leaps and bounds have been made in the design and development of such products since.

These existing partitions were often constructed using heavy materials and were rarely equipped with safety mechanisms such as two-key operation and sensors to detect obstructions when opening or closing.

As such, a large portion of what we do is assess the safety of these existing structures, which usually require replacement.

Working closely with our partners at Sparks@Play, headquartered in Maryland, our team was brought in to help assess the condition of some outdated retractable bleachers. Lying just outside of Washington, DC is the suburb of Annandale, Virginia and the Audrey Moore RECenter, the location where our efforts would be focused.

The community facility, managed by Fairfax County, features a number of amenities including an Olympic sized swimming pool, fitness room, pottery lab, racquetball courts, an indoor gymnasium, an outdoor skate park and outdoor tennis courts.

Inside the gymnasium was a set of outdated wooden retractable bleachers that were in need of replacement and it was our partners at Sparks@Play that were contacted by the county to get the job done.

Don’t let the words “synthetic turf” scare you away. Long gone are the days of the bright green fake grass. The synthetic turf options available today are made of high-quality products that actually look like grass.

Artificial turf is generally more economical due to a reduction in the maintenance required. This will vary depending on the frequency in which the turf is used however, synthetic turf offers many advantages in both indoor and outdoor sports facilities as outlined below.