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As the countdown to Sochi continues, the next sport in SSCI’s Olympic event spotlight is Speed skating!

World record holder and three-time world champion speed skater Christine Nesbitt is a top contender this year for Canadian gold in Sochi.  After she ascended the podium at the 2010 games in Vancouver, it is hard not to speculate whether Nesbitt will bring home the gold for Canada again in 2014.  

Christine Nesbitt is a long track speed skater from Calgary with two Olympic medals under her belt.  As a youngster, Nesbitt was a natural distance runner who also enjoyed hockey.  It wasn’t long after combining her skills from those two sports that she was nationally ranked as a speed skater.

A common question as most of us can recall a time or situation where we have seen both the diamond hung design as well as the square hung design with regards to netting. Here are a couple of ways to tell the difference, and the advantages to each:

Diamond Mesh

Because of the way this mesh is hung, it drastically reduces the amount of netting needed to cover a certain area, and hence, can often be the less-expensive option between the two. This being said, there are also problems that arise from hanging your net in this fashion.

Diamond hung meshed nets do not typically hang as straight, and it’s pattern will often cause the netting to be pulled in from the sides. This design often is equipped with poorer seams as well. The main reason for this being, the rope border has to be sewn diagonally across the meshes, which leaves an irregular net border to sew to.

Below is a list of commonly used terms related to bleacher seating specifications:

Non-Elevated Bleachers - a term used to describe a type of bleacher that when seated on the first row, your feet are at ground level...Read More

During soccer season, diehard teams will rarely miss a game, rain or shine.  Weather doesn’t keep players from taking to the field - in fact, playing in the rain and mud add another dynamic to gameplay that some players even prefer.  

While it might be fun to play soccer in the rain, it’s not always as enjoyable to be on the sidelines in a monsoon.  It is certainly easier to be a good sport about the rain from on the field than it is on from the bench. 

Soccer players keep warm and focused by keeping in motion.  But once a player is subbed out, he needs a place to take shelter from the storm and recuperate before returning to the game. Without the chance to dry off and warm up, your players could catch cold and risk missing future games.  

When we think gymnasium flooring, we immediately think basketball, volleyball, badminton and other sports played in indoor gymnasiums. The fact of the matter is, the gym floor in your institution is often used for so much more.

Today, gymnasiums have transformed into multi-use rooms, hosting sporting events, pep rallies, assemblies, dances, drama productions and more. The unfortunate reality is these non-sporting events are much harder on your gymnasium flooring than the day-to-day sporting activities typically housed in gymnasiums.

While traditional traffic from sports like basketball and volleyball indeed adds wear and tear to your gym floor surface, additional damage is done when the gymnasium is used for other events. The dragging of chairs, tables and other furniture combined with increased traffic of patrons without clean footwear, lead to unnecessary deterioration of your gymnasium floor surface.

There is nothing better than seeing your sports system serving the community, whether it’s a professional facility or a local recreation center. On a day-to-day basis, all year long, your facility sees a lot of action, and that can take its toll over time. A new year has begun - start your year off on the right foot with a full facility inspection.

You’ve invested in a state of the art sports system, and repeated use means that your investments will face a natural amount of wear and tear. In order to guarantee safety and performance, regular inspection and maintenance are required.

To ensure that the sports equipment at your facility, both indoor and outdoor, are up to working standards, Sport Systems conducts the necessary systems checkups. You can’t put a price on safety and performance. If your facility lacks the in-house expertise or resources, or if there just isn’t the time in your busy schedule to conduct the required equipment maintenance, Request A Quote or give us a call.

Sport Systems provides essential services and products for a wide range of sports venues and athletes. From the moment your order is placed until it is delivered, (even returning for annual inspections and check-ups), Sport Systems is proud to serve the facilities that make people happy by keeping them active. But our mission doesn’t stop there; our goal is to serve the community as a whole, including those in the stands as well as on the field.

While it is readily apparent how our sports equipment systems serve athletes of all sorts, from peewee to pro, it might be easier to forget how much their biggest fans appreciate having Sport Systems behind the scenes of their favorite sporting event.

When spectators roll up to to see their favorite team play, they are relieved to find a secure, galvanized steel rack to secure their bike outside the facility. With a wide variety of design options and an array of customizable features, bike racks from Sport Systems satisfy the need for form and function.

One of the most magical things about basketball is how despite the set of standard rules, no two games are alike, and each player can express him or herself on the court with a sense of style and flare unique to the sport. Streetball, or street basketball, refers to pickup games of hoops on outdoor courts by amateur players. It doesn’t feel quite right calling any of these athletes amateurs exactly - theirs is the kind of raw skill and talent that can’t be taught. The individual nature of streetballers’ spirit and enthusiasm on the court is what gives street basketball its very character.

By its very nature, streetball is light on rule-enforcement and heavy on the expression individual skill. There are no referees on the street basketball court, so the game tends to move at a fast, uninterrupted pace. In order for a player to hold his own in these types of games, he must be quick and nimble, with killer ball-handling skills. It is no wonder so many young NBA stars got their start on the streetball court.

It might be hard to imagine as we brave the cold of winter, but before long it will be spring again. When the snow melts, athletes - amateurs and professionals alike - will be coming out of hibernation ready to play outside again. Among one of the most popular warm-weather activities these days is beach volleyball. But the sport has expanded far beyond its coastal roots, now a staple at just about any outdoor facility!

Inspired by its indoor equivalent, beach volleyball was born as a summer leisure activity in California in the1920s.

With the appeal of its fun and simple nature, the game quickly grew in popularity. It wasn’t long before California club teams formed, staging friendly competitions across town lines. This growing interest in beach volleyball soon stretched across the globe, with the first professional tournament held in France in 1960.

The world-wide love of outdoor volleyball was contagious, and from there it continued to gain immense popularity as a professional sport. By 1976, the first professional beach volleyball tournament was held in California. The winners won the World Championship title, qualifying for the Olympic games to follow.

The 2014 Winter Olympics are fast approaching! Opening day is February 7th, and athletes and sports fans alike are counting down the days to the Sochi games. For hockey fans, the winter games bring fond memories of the the US victory over the Soviet Union during the 1980 games. A true underdog story: the game that will be forever known as the Miracle on Ice led the US national hockey team to win legendary Olympic gold that year.

The Soviet Union national hockey team had a reputation. They were the biggest and the best team of players in the world, winning nearly every Olympic gold and world championship since 1954. Everyone expected the same at the 1980 games.

The ragtag assemblage of amateur and collegiate players that comprised the United States national team supplemented their lack of experience with an abundance of spirit. But still, by the time they reached Lake Placid in 1980, it had been 20 years since team USA had last won hockey gold.