The Best Seats
In The House

With the growing number of multi-use facilities in schools, community centres, colleges and other organizations, owners and operators are always looking for ways to maximize their available space.

Many gymnasiums today are used for a variety of athletic activities such as volleyball, basketball, gymnastics and badminton as well as other activities such as assemblies, pep rallies and theatrical performances. In light of the growing need to do more with an allotted space, manufacturers and suppliers of athletic equipment and infrastructure are required to constantly innovate and create customized products to meet the need of the fast-paced athletic industry.

Here are five products that do a fantastic job of adding a great deal of versatility to any gymnasium.

With February 8, 2016 marking the Chinese New Year, one of our most recent projects landed us at the largest Chinese New Year Festivals in Canada. Showcasing a diversity of Asian culture and community, the Lunar Chinese New Year Festival kicked off on February 5, 2016 and ran for a total of three days.

Delighting guests with an in-depth cultural tour, the festival displays an amazing series of decorations and demonstrations spread over 36,000 square feet of space. The festival was held at the Markham Pan Am Centre location in Markham, Ontario and was home to four Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am competitions including badminton, water polo, table tennis and para table tennis.

Narrated by Almonte’s Jeff Mills of Mills Community support, the NBA’s Canadian division released a special video depicting life in the hometown of basketball’s inventor and the redevelopment of a local park.

In October 2015, our team was extremely proud to have been a part of the revitalization of Augusta St. Park in our hometown of Almonte, Ontario. Following the wishes of a special young lady named Sarah, NBA Canada, Bell Canada and local organizations such as Mills Community Support and the Almonte Civitan pitched in to grant the young lady’s wish of a safe outdoor basketball court she could enjoy with her friends.

The contribution came on the heels of the game of basketball’s 125^th anniversary and we were happy to have supplied and installed the outdoor basketball systems now utilized in the park. The upgrades to the park also included a freshly-paved, raised playing surface complete with professionally painted centre-court, free throw lines and circles.

We proudly support our troops and often work closely with the Canadian Military on a variety of projects in locations across the country. From supplying the Royal Canadian Air Force with two banks of retractable bleachers to creating a completely customized training system for the Canadian Armed Forces newly implemented training program, we work closely with military contacts, ensuring they are equipped with the very best in athletic equipment and infrastructure.

One of our more recent projects brought us to Meaford, Ontario, the home of the 4^th Canadian Division Training Centre (4 CDTC) operated by the Department of National Defence. This facility serves as a training centre for both regular and reserve soldiers in the province of Ontario. On any given week, this training facility trains over 600 soldiers in basic qualification skills such as offensive and defensive operations, weapons handling, combat, field craft and other military-focused disciplines.

Given the fast-paced nature of 4 CDTC, the facility was interested in a streamlined process to acquire a number of outdoor bleacher seating structures to accommodate up to 300 spectators. After working closely with the key stakeholders in the operation, our team recommended a popular option among many facilities today: factory-assembled bleachers.

With spring just around the corner, municipalities and athletic complexes are beginning to evaluate the conditions of their outdoor fields. As the snow melts, organizers and operators will promptly begin running through their checklists in preparation for the busy spring/summer athletic season.

With many fields, particularly those operated by municipalities across Canada and the United States being utilized as multi-purpose athletic fields, the need for effective and safe netting is a top priority. While some fields may be in need of securing new netting backstops or perimeters for their fields, others might simply need to assess the condition of their current netting on site. Harsh winters and continued exposure to the elements can cause the netting to wear over time, so a quick evaluation of the condition of all netting each spring is a vital exercise in safety.

For those looking for partial protection or boundary netting requirements, we proudly carry a number of solutions, each that can be tailored to the unique needs of any athletic field. For sports such as soccer, a secure and reliable netting backstop is often necessary for keeping balls in play and reducing the amount of time wasted by players, coaches and organizers chasing stray balls.

One of our more recent, multi-facility projects brought us to the picturesque Ottawa Valley, just west of Canada’s capital region. Encompassing two school boards in the region, a number of schools have been operating with padding that no longer is deemed safe for use under current guidelines.

This project had us working at five different schools in both the Renfrew County District School Board and within the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board. The schools range in locations scattered throughout the Ottawa Valley starting in Arnprior and working up the line in schools in the Petawawa area.

Sport Systems was commissioned to remove the out-dated existing padding from each of the five schools as the pads no longer met the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (OPHEA) guidelines. In addition to the removal of the existing padding, the school boards also ordered a number of replacement pads for multiple locations within the schools. The padding installation locations varied from school to school, but the bulk of the padding ordered was for use as protective wall padding in the gymnasiums of the school. The remainder of the padding was designed for use on stages and bleacher seating sections for additional safety for both spectators and participants.

As teams and brands typically emblaze their logos and team colours on each individual seat, what many do not realize is that the customization and available accessories for courtside seating goes much further than that.

The flexibility and durability of our courtside seating solutions cannot be beat. Manufactured using 18-gauge steel, every aspect of the seat design has taken into account supporting a variety of weight classes. While these seats are among the best in the industry as far as design is concerned, they are also available with a variety of accessories and add-ons that only cement their value further in the minds of athletic directors and facility owners and operators.

Tablet Arm Chairs

With the student in mind, these versatile additions allow these durable chairs to be used in halls and gymnasiums that are being utilized for testing, seminars and other events. These arm chairs allow spectators and students to effectively take notes while sitting in the comfort of one the best portable seats on the market today.

It’s that time of year again when professionals and organizations gather for Parks and Recreation Ontario’s annual educational forum and trade show. The 2016 edition will be held in picturesque Collingwood, Ontario at the Blue Mountain Conference Centre.

This event is slated to once again be the province’s premier event, bringing together park, recreation, culture, community development, health promotion, education and community agency professionals, elected officials, volunteers and students.

The PRO Forum is a great mix of trade show booths and educational speakers, programs and sessions to further the professional development of all those in attendance.

The trade show focuses on bringing innovative products and services to the attention of over 600 industry professionals. Vendors range from sporting equipment and infrastructure businesses, such as ours, as well as school-focused and workplace safety products, e-learning technologies and aquatic products, to name a few.

Keynote speakers Jeff Tobe, customer experience expert and Stephen Carter, founder/CEO of QED marketing are only the beginning of the educational opportunities found at this year’s show. The 4-day forum kicks off with the Parks and Recreation Annual General Meeting, updating members and delegates about the activities, projects and public affairs across the province. The Annual General Meeting is also the time when PRO Member Awards and HIGH FIVE Trainer Awards are presented.

With the advancements in technology and architectural design over the last few decades, today we are witnessing the construction of some truly amazing sports facilities and structures. What were once traditionally designed in square or rectangle-type shapes, gymnasiums, practice facilities and other athletic buildings are taking on a variety of shapes and sizes.

With these advancements come additional products tailor-made to properly address the various structures currently in use and those that will come in the future. While the majority of our gym divider curtains satisfy the needs of a bulk of the facilities in operation today, we do carry a specialized line of divider curtains that can be completely customized to fit unique ceiling contours.

In tandem with low oil prices, the U.S. dollar has strengthened as of late. While there are many speculative theories on the connection between the two, most believe the connection lies in the fact that when crude prices increase, more U.S. dollars head out of the country, while the opposite typically exists when crude prices are low.

No matter which way you slice it, or which theory you subscribe to, there is no denying the strength of the greenback, especially when compared to the Canadian dollar. The chart below illustrates the growth of the U.S. dollar over the past three years in comparison with the Canadian dollar.

As you can see, the American dollar has experienced a 43% increase since 2013, as compared to the Canadian ‘loonie’. Our American customers have not been in this powerful a position from a buyer’s standpoint since May 1, 2003; the last time the American dollar was at this level.