Regina students get new basketball court from community

Some elementary school students in Regina have a brand new basketball court to play on as of Tuesday, thanks to some community spirit.

Regina Trades & Skills Centre, Regina Catholic Schools, the Catholic School Community Council and staff and students at St. Timothy Elementary School came together to build the new basketball court for the school, unveiling it Tuesday afternoon.

Melissa Dobrowolski, operations manager at Regina Trades and Skills Centre, said the project was actually built by the centre’s students.

“We look for projects to do in the community … so our carpentry and concrete students came and demoed the existing asphalt that was falling apart — the kids were playing and they would fall and have knees scraped and sprained ankles — so we demolished it and we rebuilt it and got it done,” said Dobrowolski.

Regina’s St. Timothy Elementary School, where they just officially opened their school’s brand new basketball court! 🏀 pic.twitter.com/urcQmcXMTp

— Roman Hayter (@hayter_roman) June 4, 2024

Not only is it a brand new basketball court, but it was built for free.

Dobrowolski said it was made possible thanks to a variety of donations made by community groups like as Ardel Steel, Heidelberg Materials, Loraas Disposal, RBC and Nu-Fab Building Products.

Faron Potts, chair of the Catholic School Community Council for St. Timothy, said their students were excited through the entire project.

“The nights where we were painting the lines or painting the backboards, the kids are just like, ‘can we be on it while you do this? Can we still play on it while you’re here?’” she said.

Dobrowolski said without help from the community, the new basketball court could have cost $20,000 to $30,000.