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Long-awaited new gym opened at N.B. Comprehensive High School

Mar 24, 2016 | 6:55 AM

After 20 months and $4.5 million, North Battleford Comprehensive High School (NBCHS) held the official opening of its new gym on Wednesday, March 23.

The project was started in July 2014 because the school needed a facility for more gym classes and extracurricular programs.

The gym features one regulation basketball court, one regulation volleyball court, two additional smaller basketball and two additional volleyball courts running the width of the gym and four badminton courts.

Principal Bruce Friesen said it will be a huge boost for the school.

“We can now have more phys-ed classes going on at one time, we can use the space more efficiently. The extracurricular program that we can run now has two more basketball courts and two more volleyball courts, if we need to for junior programs. We can just expand what we were already doing.”

Friesen and Living Sky School Division director of education Randy Fox, both spoke at the ceremony, signifying the grand opening of the gym, but it was opened for use earlier in the month and the students have already taken to the gym.

“If you’re here at 8 in the morning there’s balls pounding on the floor. If you’re here during noon hour, there’s probably 50-80 in here pounding balls on the floor, whether it’s volleyballs or basketballs,” said Friesen. “There’s a badminton court set up, it’s just a busy, busy place.”

The school has gotten compliments from visiting teams about the state of the gym.

“Whether it is coaches or teachers or even other parents, they’re just amazed at how well it has kept for the age of this facility. It doesn’t look like it was built in 1970.”

However, Friesen added the gym isn’t quite complete as they are looking to install bleachers in the mezzanine overlooking the gym.

mkelly@jpbg.ca