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The roots of basketball history go all the way back to 1891, when Dr. James Naismith, a native of our hometown of Almonte, Ontario, first invented the game. This is not to say that there has not been a fair amount of innovation in both the way the game is played as well as with the equipment that is used in today’s game.

One of those innovations is the invention of the breakaway rim, which today is the most common configuration of basketball goals in the world. While in the early days of the sport, the act of dunking the basketball on the goal was considered to be “ungentlemanly”, the game has evolved to not only accept dunking as a common form of scoring, but it has morphed into somewhat of an art form, as players participate in slam dunk competitions regularly.

Founded nearly 50 years ago, Sheridan College has transformed into one of Ontario’s leading postsecondary institutions and shows no signs of slowing down. The college’s 110,000+ alumni power workforces across North America and around the world with specialties in the fields of arts, business, community service, health, technology and the skilled trades.

Today, the institution is spread across unique campuses spanning the Greater Toronto Area with locations in Brampton, Mississauga and two campuses in Oakville, Ontario. Much the same as the academic side of the college, Sheridan’s athletics have blossomed over the years as well. With the goal of enhancing student life by striving to provide gender-balanced varsity representation, the Sheridan Athletics programs have every student athlete accounted for. The Sheridan Bruins are represented proudly in the sports of basketball, soccer, volleyball, rugby, and cross country with each sport having both women’s and men’s teams.

Riding on the wish of a local young woman with developmental disabilities, Augusta Street Park in our hometown of Almonte, Ontario, received a much need facelift. Sarah Spinks’ request was a simple one: to play basketball with her friends at the local outdoor basketball court closely situated to her home.

Earlier this month her wish was not only granted but exceeded. NBA Canada and Bell Canada stepped up and provided funding in the form of a US$19,780 grant, through a program spearheaded by Jeff Mills and his community-focused organization, Mills Community Support. In addition to the grant mentioned above, local organizations, The Hub and the Almonte Civitan, pitched in approximately $9,000 collectively to make this local wish a reality.

Michele heights is a social housing community located in Ottawa’s west end and comprises of 130 housing units that serve about 500 residents. . Built in the 1970s, this housing community is rich in cultural diversity and provides affordable housing for those who are new to Canada.

At the heart of this community is the Michele Heights Community Centre, which contains amenities such as a divisible gymnasium, a kitchen, and a meeting room for community-focused events. Recently the community centre went through a number of renovations to upgrade the gymnasium, equipment and facility, enabling it to continue to host a variety of programs aimed at improving the health of the community.

Whether renovating an existing gymnasium or designing and building a brand new one, selecting the right basketball backstops for your facility can be a complicated undertaking. While ceiling-suspended and portable systems both have their pros and cons, for most situations, not much can beat the versatility and strength that a solid ceiling-suspended basketball system can provide for your gym.

In addition to their ability to easily fold up or down and out of the way, ceiling-suspended basketball systems come equipped with a number of safety accessories such as safety straps, winches and solid braces.

Below we have compiled a few of the most common factors facility owners and operators take into consideration before ultimately selecting new basketball equipment for their gymnasium.

With basketball season quickly approaching here in North America and a new school year just beginning, it is never too late to upgrade existing or out-of-date basketball systems. Portable basketball backstops are the perfect solution for facilities that cannot accommodate a wall-mounted basketball system or a ceiling-suspended basketball system. These portable units also work perfectly for various and/or temporary locations such as outdoor or indoor tournaments or community events, etc.

Below you will find our line-up of industry-leading recreational portable backstops to help you navigate and purchase the right piece of basketball equipment for your facility or organization.

Many gymnasiums today are designed and constructed to be used as multi-sport and multi-event facilities. While time is blocked off for sports such as badminton, basketball, volleyball and training exercises, these facilities are also used for pep rallies, assemblies and other events.

These facilities have to be able to quickly transform and allow operators to schedule a variety of events and activities in a relatively tight block of time.

Ceiling-suspended basketball nets can pose a problem for some gymnasiums, either blocking sightlines during events or obstructing play for other sports. To remedy this problem, we offer a couple of winch options that aid in raising these basketball systems up and out of the way quickly and safely.

As we work our way into the month of July, our installation team remains busy with on-site visits and unique installations of athletic infrastructure across the country. Given the busy sport seasons that begin in the spring and start or extend through the summer months and into the fall, our team is firing on all cylinders.

We were commissioned recently by Life Time Athletic to complete a large project that was to span across two phases of work for their gymnasium. The first phase involved the design, supply and installation of basketball backstops, followed by the second phase that consisted of fire-resistant wall padding to be custom fit to the unique design of the gymnasium.

With the cold winter months behind us, municipal parks and recreation planners are getting busy designing new city parks and revamping existing parks which might be in need of a facelift. Parks and pathways play a big role in enhancing the quality of life for residents, giving them additional motivation to get themselves and their families outdoors and active in their own community.

Recently, the City of Ottawa announced the development of two city parks situated in the west-end of the city. In the Kanata suburb of Ottawa, parks planners began with Arcadia Park, providing local residents with playgrounds, a soccer field, winter ice rink and beautifully landscaped seating areas.

At little further west, the quaint village of Carp spent much of 2014 planning the development of Green Meadows Park. The park now includes junior and senior playgrounds, seating areas, pathways, a winter puddle rink, and a standard-sized basketball court. The development of this park was focused on the youth in the community, and planners hope the addition of the basketball court will satisfy that need.

The Woodstock Collegiate Institute (WCI) was erected in 1881 before moving to its present location in 1939, where it resides today in Woodstock, Ontario. Home of the Red Devils, WCI prides itself on developing contributing members of society upon graduating from their school and proudly supports numerous community initiatives such as the United Way, Oxford CAS and many others.

WCI approached us with the idea of upgrading their wall-mounted basketball backstops. The existing backstops had been serving their students well for a number of years, but it was time to explore the possibility of enhancing their existing wooden backboards with professionally-sized glass backboards for their basketball program.

Most installations are either ceiling-suspended or directly mounted to the walls in a variety of available configurations, depending on the architectural layout and specific needs of each facility. After assessing the existing installation however, our team discovered that these basketball backboards were not traditionally mounted.