St. Francis Xavier High School students have gotten a leg up this year as a brand new $18-million sports facility attached to the school is now open for shared use by the school and the public.
St. Francis Xavier is hosting its annual volleyball tournament from Sept. 23 to 25, something that was previously impossible with the school’s single gymnasium.
Similar in size to the Butterdome, the high school has access during the day to two main gyms while the city has access to one.
“We have three full-size gyms, a 200-metre running track above and four storage rooms,” said Don Darwish, the senior girls’ volleyball coach.
“We’ve been given 14 weekends to use all three (gyms), so this is why we’re able to do this tournament.”
Students were also excited about the facility, now that there’s no longer a need for tight programming to ensure equal access to a gymnasium.
“It’s great. We’re used to having just one gym so having three big sports centres is just fantastic,” said Elise Darwish, a senior girls’ team member. “The track up top for running is lots of fun.”
