The Best Seats
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The NBA Finals may have just recently come to a close, but the spotlight on player and spectator safety with regards to basketball is something that never truly goes away. As one of the fastest-paced indoor sports and one of the most popular here in North America, safety is always of chief concern for coaches, planners, facility managers and operators alike.

While there are a number of safety precautions and products that already likely exist inside your gymnasium such as strategically placed wall padding, we wanted to touch on some of the basketball-specific items than can go above and beyond protecting both players and spectators.

With the action centred on the court, as operators we must not forget how much is above the floor level. With a variety of moving parts, adding additional layers of safety overhead is something we all should think about.

Celebrating over 30 years of gymnasium safety, the revolutionary Aut-O-Loc safety system  has undergone a massive transformation. Since releasing the third generation of their patented technology in 2017, facility owners and operators across Canada and the United States have been taking a second look at their existing Aut-O-Locs and assessing whether or not they are in need of an update.

Taking the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) by storm, the team at Next Supply has revolutionized how hydronics and plumbing supplies would be made available across this fast-paced region. By dividing the GTA into succinct zones based on neighborhoods and traffic zones, they have created a number of full-service locations across the region and have filled those locations with the very best industry talent in Toronto.

The result has seen the decentralized business model embraced by those who have come to love the company, the people and what makes them different from the rest.

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. 

Operating across three campuses in eastern Ontario, St. Lawrence College (SLC) is one of the province’s leading institutions when it comes to applied arts and technology. Home to roughly 7,000 full-time students, SLC specializes in programs such as applied science and computing, baccalaureate nursing, business, community services, justice studies, applied arts, health sciences as well as skilled trades and tourism.

As the institution continues to experience exponential growth, 2018 was the year that saw exciting projects come to fruition at the school’s flagship campus in Kingston. As part of the Hello Future Capital Project, renovations and a new build to the Student Life and Innovation Centre got underway after over 80 percent voted in favour of supporting the project in a student referendum.

Gymnasiums, once used solely for basketball games or gym class in public schools during the 1960s and 1970s are now becoming popular venues for social and community events. Over the decades, the large open space design of gymnasiums has been used as a makeshift setting for a large capacity banquet or an occasional awards assembly for the small local community. Fortunately, in the designs of today’s gyms, this multi-purpose concept has been embraced and modernized to accommodate an array of activities from sports and athletics to community events.

Making Your Facility a Winner

Whether you are interested in renovating and upgrading an existing gymnasium or creating a brand new one, solutions are available. With sports equipment, seating and lighting options available come in an array of designs ranging from stationary to foldable and even retractable, to allow space for other purposes. Gym divider curtains are also available to section off spaces for various events. Additionally, there is a wide selection of flooring options as well, all of which will help in making your facility a winner. 

While we do indeed spend the bulk of our time working primarily with commercial and industrial clientele such as municipalities, colleges, universities and school boards, we do dabble from time to time in the residential space.

Outside of smaller padding or gym mat orders we often receive from private customers, we do get other large projects suited for homes, home gyms and backyards across Canada and the United States. We have supplied custom “Tar Heel blue” wall padding for a UNC fan, some bleachers and benches for a California resident, residential quiet room padding in the province of Quebec, among many others.

Athletic programming is a crowded space. With more participants perhaps than ever before, facility owners and operators are always scrambling to not only offer cutting-edge equipment but to also ensure every inch of space is properly utilized.

When it comes to gymnasium equipment, the list is long and highly customized. With expansions in program offerings in educational and community-based facilities, the need for additional equipment is seemingly never ending.

For operators of busy facilities, the need for speed and automation is growing with each day that passes. When it comes to educational facilities such as schools, colleges and universities, the gymnasium is typically a heavily scheduled location, catering to a variety of programming and athletic competition.

Celebrating over ten years since opening in the Greater Toronto Area, the South Asian Autism Awareness Centre (SAAAC) is where one of our most recent projects landed us.

The centre was created as a direct response to the growing need for awareness and support for South Asian families impacted by ASD and other developmental disorders.

The centre has experienced exponential growth over the past decade, now servicing over 150 families. In the fall of 2017, they reached out to our team for help with a new facility.

As part of their expansion, the SAAAC had plans in place to take over a building that had been donated to them by one of Toronto’s school boards.