Gig Harbor High unveils lighter, brighter court

With the help of the Gig Harbor High School boosters and the Peninsula School District, Gig Harbor High has a new-look basketball and volleyball court. The new floor’s biggest features are an emphasis on Columbia blue, to lighten up the floor and incorporate the school’s Columbia blue “GH” logo at center court.

Additionally, the volleyball court has finally been centered, allowing the school to bring down the full stands for games.

“It wasn’t fair to our volleyball teams,” said Gig Harbor athletic director Bob Werner. “We couldn’t host a major event. Our major stands, where we seat about 1,000 — we couldn’t use them. Now, it lays out beautifully.”

The GH logo is centered for both the volleyball and basketball courts. Werner hand-drew the initial design based on different ideas he pulled from the Internet from different collegiate gyms.

“I took that to the contractors and gave them the layout,” Werner said. “They did a great job.”

The response has been positive from student-athletes.

“I didn’t know what I’d hear,” Werner said. “Maybe people would think there’s too much Columbia blue. We did some different things — we painted the (3-point) arc instead of the keys. But the kids gave a big cheer for getting that thing done. (The response has) been fantastic.”

Up next on the to-do list is likely an upgrade for the water sports, although Werner isn’t sure what it will be. Funds aren’t available to build an entirely new pool, which would be ideal. But Werner wants to give the pool some kind of boost.

“Maybe some kind of makeover — better paint or a better setup — just something to help swim and water polo would be needed,” Werner said. “I don’t know what that is right now. The water sports are barely getting by. I don’t know where we’re going to get the funding. We have a first-class program but don’t have a first-class facility. So, whatever we can do to start improving it.”

This story was originally published September 23, 2015 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Gig Harbor High unveils lighter, brighter court."