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As Canada’s athletic equipment and infrastructure leader, we're passionate about creating spaces where young athletes can thrive, push their limits, and build lifelong skills. Our latest project at St-Laurent Academy in Ottawa is a perfect example of that mission in action. What started as a historic convent has been reborn as a state-of-the-art facility, complete with cutting-edge basketball systems that will fuel the school's growing athletic ambitions. We're thrilled to share the story behind this renovation and how it helped elevate one of Ottawa's premier private schools.
St-Laurent Academy stands out as a top-ranked bilingual private school in the Nation’s Capital, offering a nurturing environment from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12. With small class sizes and a personalized approach, the academy integrates English and French immersion programs to foster academic excellence, creativity, and global awareness. Its award-winning curriculum emphasizes balanced development, blending rigorous STEM and humanities courses with enriching arts programs like drama, music, and visual arts. Extracurriculars abound, from leadership clubs to community service initiatives, ensuring students grow holistically. Athletically, St-Laurent shines with a comprehensive program that includes daily physical education for all grades, competitive teams in sports such as basketball, badminton, volleyball, hockey, gymnastics, and dance, and enriched fitness activities like field trips and skill-building workshops. Recently relocated to a brand-new, expansive campus equipped with the latest technology, the academy is poised to expand its offerings, making it a leader among private schools in the region for both scholarly and athletic pursuits.
The story of this project begins with a touch of history and a bold vision. St-Laurent Academy acquired the former convent which historically, was a charming building from its longtime caretakers, the Sisters of Charity (also known as the Grey Nuns of the Cross), who had stewarded the property with care for decades. The site boasted one existing gym and a versatile church hall, both ripe for transformation into modern gymnasiums to support the school's expanding sports programs.
As with retrofitting any historical venue, this wasn't your standard install. The roof structure presented a unique challenge which included formed concrete trusses that had been reinforced with rebar, tapering in a design straight out of a mid-20th-century blueprint. Our sales and installation teams rolled up their sleeves for multiple on-site visits, meticulously measuring the spacing and contours to ensure a flawless fit. To tackle the complexities, we teamed up with our trusted Canadian supplier, Forum Athletic, whose design experts engineered custom clamps tailored specifically for these trusses. The result ended up with four front-folding basketball systems equipped with crystal-clear glass backboards, seamlessly ceiling-mounted for maximum playing space and safety.
Today, those once-hallowed halls echo with the squeak of sneakers and the swish of nets, rather than chants or hymns. At the end of the day, this upgrade doesn't just add equipment, it serves to help catapult St-Laurent Academy's athletic programming into elite territory, on par with the finest private schools in Eastern Ontario. Student-athletes now have the tools to hone their skills in basketball and beyond, fostering teamwork, resilience, and that unbeatable competitive edge.
Projects like this remind us why we do what we do: turning challenges into championships, one hoop at a time. If your school or organization is eyeing a facility refresh, reach out to our award-winning team today. We'd love to help bring your vision to life.
