The gymnasium is an irreplaceable area within school buildings because students need physical education to develop healthy lifestyles. It’s also a place where sports training and competitions, as well as other school activities, can take place. Although many schools are operating remotely at present, now may be the right time to think about redesigning or building such structures so the facilities will be ready when students do return to in-person learning. To that end, here are some design components every school gym needs.
Sufficient Seating
A gym needs seating for sports spectators to sit in. If you plan on making the gym into a multifunctional space, this need becomes even greater. For example, seats can allow students to gather for large assemblies, but you must have a sufficient amount of space for this to be possible. Reflect on the number of students that attend your school and how you plan to use the gym to determine what type of seating to include. Generally, retractable bleachers are a good choice since they have large capacities and don’t take up much space when not in use.
Convenient Storage
Balls and other exercise equipment that students may need during physical education classes or while training for sports requires a storage space of some sort. Sometimes, schools may create or designate a closet for this equipment that is disconnected or far from the gym itself. This can make setup and cleanup for activities inconvenient. Instead, it is better to design a storage space that is not only spacious but also directly contiguous with the gym. For heavier equipment, making this consideration will benefit teachers and students alike, as access to the equipment will become simpler.
Reliable Time Displays
People may not directly use them to exercise, but accurate time displays are a fundamental design component that every school gym needs. Large, visible clocks let teachers and students know when a class is over and can also function as a way to keep track of the duration of sports games and physically demanding drills. If the time displays are not precise, coordination of PE class times and training exercises can become harder. Sports, such as basketball, also rely on clocks to quantify and standardize games. To ensure the gym’s time display are always accurate, you could invest in PoE clocks for the walls. These connect to the school’s time server or external time servers through the internet via ethernet cables. With this link, the clocks will remain in sync with the servers at all times.
