The upper gym floors are to be resurfaced November 5 – 9, affecting basketball tryouts and cheerleading practice. Originally supposed to be done this Thursday to Sunday, the resurfacing was changed to allow for the women’s varsity volleyball semifinals game to be played in the upper gym.
Athletic Director Larry Dukes said that Principal Paul Barker made the decision because “the girls and parents were passionate about the upper gym being a better venue.” He said, “If they feel more comfortable there, then that’s the best decision.”
Outreach Director and varsity basketball coach Tony Martin said about the change, “We utilize any type of adverse situation as a teaching point. We want to show the team how to handle things that aren’t ideal off the court.”
Resurfacing is done because “the floor becomes too slippery and dangerous to play sports on.”
It will cost $4,500 to do what is called the “topical layers.” The goal is for the floor to be “dry and done” by Sunday night, said Dukes.
One gym had the floor refurbished in the summer, and the other will now be done during the break between winter and fall. Both floors were unable to be finished over the summer because “of the need for revenue that the camps generated.” Summer camps over the summer took place in the gyms.
Dukes said, “We’re up against the calendar. We’re trying to do the resurfacing before events happen that bring people to our campus. We’re doing everything with the resources we have at the moment to make it all work.”
Dukes mentioned a potential plan in the lower gym to fix the boundary lines, which are incorrect for sports like badminton, as well as establishing boundary lines for the volleyball courts that will lay parallel to each other. The floor would need to be sanded and the lines redrawn, which would cost $20,000. “We would need the time frame and budget money,” said Dukes, to allow this to occur.
In 2004 and 2005, $60,000 was invested in fixing up the lower gym for new backboards, drop curtains, and relining the floor to facilitate sideways volleyball courts instead of just lengthwise. A cross was also added to the upper gym.
Moreover, the lower gym scoreboard needs to be replaced because it was broken by vandalism, but there hasn’t been room in the budget for the changes. The scoreboard in the upper gym also needs to be replaced because, “it is old technology and it is hard to find replacement parts now.”
However, there is a more “pressing need” in the shape of equipment and uniforms, which “are going to get attention before spending more money on a gym,” said Dukes.
Many of the needs will be addressed in the master plan by “revamping the gym and outside.” Dukes added, “Making small investments now doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
Kate Froehlich can be reached for comment at [email protected].