Sports teams complain when they have games scheduled at Huron Park Secondary School in Woodstock, but soon teams may be clamouring to play there.
Some say Huron Park’s gymnasium is the worst among Thames Valley School Board schools. Others say it is one of the worst in the province.
“When you do a spike in volleyball or you take a charge in basketball (or) when you fall on the ground it's basically the same as falling on the pavement outside,” says student Lauren Chesny.
Physical education head Jeremy Yates says the old flooring of ceramic tile can cause joint pain.
“As coaches we have to take that into consideration with our practice plans to try to reduce the intensity.”
But students and staff at the school want to change that. They’re shaping up their gym.
The school is embarking on a campaign to turn it into an athlete-friendly facility and want to upgrade the playing surface to hardwood. They need to raise $200,000 for the renovations.
The plan also includes upgrades to change rooms - built in an era when boys and girls were segregated for gym class.
The school is staging a walkathon next Tuesday to kick off the fundraising campaign.
HuronPark hopes alumni will make contributions and the school board will also provide some funding.
“When you leave it's like, ‘What did I do?’ You can say, ‘I helped build this gym' when you look back on it.”
