Athletic centre update nearly done
Ridley College’s $40M project will be ready to welcome students and public in September
When Ridley College officials told their students that after two years of construction the school's refurbished Griffith Gym, new fitness centre and expansive squash courts would open in February, excitement was such that people were already in the facility the evening before.
Ridley officials expect the rest of the community will be just as eager to take advantage of the renovated athletic facility, with its state-ofthe-art equipment, the first of a three-phase rehabilitation of the school’s athletic and classroom facilities, when the entire project is completed in September.
“The idea is to bring more of our community here,” said Courtney Smith, Ridley College’s director of athletics. “I know we are often seen as the closed-gated community, but we really do want to partner with youth groups. We want the community to use our facilities.”
Ridley already has CYO basketball teams, Junior NBA participants and Niagara North players using the gym, but the new and refreshed facilities will allow the school to welcome more community organizations onto campus.
The glass-enclosed Griffith Gym recently played host to the Canadian senior men’s national basketball team, as it held a training camp prior to defeating Nicaragua in a FIBA AmeriCup 2025 qualifying game in St. Catharines.
And the gym will get another workout when Ridley hosts the National Preparatory Association’s basketball championship March 21-24.
During a recent tour of the facility, a volleyball class was in progress, while in another glass-enclosed area a couple of students were taking advantage of what the new Suzanne Court Family Fitness Centre has to offer.
Across from Griffith Gym, the former fieldhouse — the college’s former hockey rink before a new one was built in 2009 — was closed off in preparation for a refurbishment that will include one feature court and three other courts offering basketball, volleyball and badminton.
Smith said the bleachers will remain, but the track will be eliminated because running on the cement floor proved too onerous for athletes, and it wasn’t used.
The goal is to open up the new gym by July so Ridley can hold its summer camp programs, said Smith.
“Once it is completed, you will be able to look through the field house, the Griffith Gym and fitness centre all the way into the Iggulden Building,” said Smith.
“The whole idea was to create more light and the ability to see all the activities in our space. One of the biggest things I’ve noticed (in the Griffth Gym) is the acoustic panels. It makes (the gym) sharper from the dirty grey you had before.”
Clean, white light dominates the Griffith Gym, highlighted by the black noise-dampening panels. Smith said the burnt-orange floor was sanded down, refurbished, varnished and painted.
A new scoreboard has been ordered and there are plans to reinstall banners on the walls, documenting the athletic achievements of Ridley students over its 134-year history.
Where the former hockey change rooms were located — a dark and sullen area — has been replaced with the Chaplin Family Athletic Therapy Clinic, a large athletic therapy area with four treatment beds and an office.
“We are able to treat more students and we are working to bring other practitioners into the area,” said Smith. “They can come in here and treat our students, staff and faculty.”
The hallway continues to a single, large, glass-enclosed court with a blue background. The Jack Aylott Squash Centre contains five squash courts, including the feature glasswalled court with a blue background — to easily identify the squash ball — that was built to international standards.
Smith said Ridley has had several conversations with Squash Ontario and Squash Canada representatives about using the facility. And there is a continuing partnership Ridley College has with White Oaks as both venues seek to hold events.
“It is state-of-the-art,” said Smith. “It is the nicest squash centre in southern Ontario.”
Ridley’s previous squash courts were housed in the Iggulden Building and were unable to host competitions. Those courts, along with the old-fashioned gym with hardwood floor, will be transformed into a music conservatory, with teaching and performing space.
Smith said the large space in the squash centre will allow for circuit training, physical education classes and other activities.
Down the hall brightened with Ridley’s distinctive orange colour, where student locker rooms and various change rooms are located, is the family fitness centre, with a spin room, ellipticals, free weights and other equipment waiting to be used.
"Personally, this is my favourite spot,” said Smith. “There are still a few pieces of equipment coming.”
Off to the side is a medium-sized room that will contain the JLL Foundation Yoga Studio, where Ridley will be offering yoga for the first time.
“Sport looks different to everybody,” said Smith. “The whole concept is about movement, and if yoga is what sticks, that’s great.”
A large picture window in the studio overlooks a patch of dried, cracked dirt and grass churned up by the ongoing construction. But in September, when all the phases are scheduled to be completed, it will be a “nice garden walkway,” said Smith.
It will be part of an improved exterior landscaping, with stone paths, a pedestrian quadrangle, new courtyard and terrace.
There are 797 students, representing 59 countries, attending Ridley College, from kindergarten to Grade 12, and Smith said every one of them is required to participate in some sporting activity during every term.
“Who we are at Ridley is different than any other independent school in Canada,” said Smith. “We encourage them to try new things. Everyone is part of a team, everyone gets to participate in competition.”
Smith said every student has to choose a different sport in an effort to encourage them to “find their passion” within a competitive environment.
“It’s great fun being the athletic director at a school that cares about that,” she said.
Ridley’s swimming pool, which was in the basement of Iggulden Building, and had markings measured in yards rather than metres, has been dismantled.
In its place will be a creative commons with art classrooms for design technology, a ceramics studio and wood shop. Other amenities planned for the building include a modern library with a large open space, multiple work areas and a café.
Melissa Stephens, director of strategic communications and marketing, said the school’s master plan is still to build a new pool, but it requires fundraising, new partners and a new location.
Stephens said the $50-million project, with $40 million for the capital work and more than $10 million for student endowments, was all funded by donors.
“Swimming is a key component of physical learning,” said Smith, adding the college continues to have a swim team based out of Brock University.
“It is a big goal to incorporate that back into the curriculum.”
High above the Griffith Gym, where once parents, fans and students watched hockey and other varsity sports, is a reorganized multi-purpose room, identified now as the Neil Campbell ’51 Rowing Room.
Filled with rowing machines, it can be used for gatherings and other events. Smith said one of the key design improvements made was to “drop” the windows down so parents and students can watch Ridley rowers train.
“The community doesn’t get to see how hard these students have to prepare,” she said.
For the next few months, the Griffth Gym will be working overtime with a variety of activities. But once the fieldhouse is open, scheduling, said Smith, will become much easier.
“We will be OK,” she said. “When we have everything back in September, it will be great.”