The Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport has still not been completely reopened after a burst pipe caused major flooding damage in May. Beth Ali, Executive Director of Co-Curricular Athletics and Physical Activity Programs, estimated that the last remaining damaged area, the Kimel Family Field House, will be fully operational in mid-November, almost half a year after the flooding.
“When the initial damage was assessed for the Field House floor, we were told between September 15 and 30, so up until two weeks ago we thought we were still on that,” said Ali.
The extended delay is due to the amount of moisture that is still in the concrete beneath the field house, as the severe flood resulted in both the floor and subfloor being removed.
The warm summer temperatures have only increased the estimated time needed to complete the repairs. Humidity has made it difficult to get the moisture out of the concrete, a necessary step needed in order to lay down the new floor.
The new subfloor has already been assembled, so the final step will be laying down the floor and acclimatizing the new floor to the humidity in the building.
“The installation isn’t as easy as when you had an original building with no bleachers,” said Ali. “They have to work around the bleachers and keep moving the bleachers as they continue to install the new floor.”
Despite the severe initial damage the flooding caused in May, repairs to the lobby, team rooms, and Stollery Atrium were completed by August.
With the decrease of students on campus over the summer, the repair process hasn’t had a severe impact on students and Varsity Blues athletes.
For Blues field hockey defender Julia Costanzo, the repairs didn’t impact her team’s training schedule over the summer.
“Our team sessions continued as scheduled and I was able to use the gym facilities whenever I needed them. The only difference was entering through the back door,” said Costanzo.
The start of the intramural season means that staff are under more pressure to finish repairs. Without the field house floor, Goldring doesn’t have the two-court setup that students are accustomed to. To minimize the impact on students, the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education administration has extended opening hours at Goldring Centre and the Athletic Centre.
Over the past two weeks, senior administration have developed a contingency plan, a practice they utilize for every construction event or repair.
“The option is not to cancel, the option is to find a way to still deliver the programs and services that we do to our students and just do it in a different way and think out of the box,” said Ali.
“We can not be down and waiting until January, because we have responsibilities to our students in terms of programming,” added Ali. “What we do is important to their success here: mentally, socially, and physically.”
