Greenwich High School Gymnasium Leak Limits Use; Disappoints Athletes

During public comment at Thursday’s Board of Education meeting a captain of the Greenwich High School basketball team and his father, who is a team coach, explained that a leak in the gymnasium occurred on December 1, resulting in its limited use.

They asked if there was any way the team could continue to use the gym given the floor appeared usable.

Matthew Maloney, a GHS senior and varsity basketball team captain, told the BOE that the upcoming construction of the basketball court meant the team would not be able to host home games.

“Since we started tryouts on December 5, we have been practicing on the floor which shows no damage. I would like to ask if construction of the gym be moved until the season is over, so the winter sports athletes can enjoy their season on their home floor,” Matthew said.

“If we are able to safely play on the floor now, I don’t see why we can’t continue throughout the season,” he added.

Matthew said that with construction set to start on December 18, six basketball teams, as well as the wrestling team, fencing, cheerleading, and unified sports would all have to vie for practice times after school on only two courts.

He said currently the varsity basketball team practices at 4:30pm, and he and his teammates study at the GHS homework club before practice.

With so many teams sharing limited court space, there was a chance the basketball team might be able to practice on the Central Middle School courts during construction.

However, he said that might not be available until “late at night,” and transportation would be a challenge for the athletes. He said the younger players don’t drive and  working parents can’t commit to that driving.

Further, he said night time practices would result in players getting home late, in turn finishing school work later, losing sleep and impacting academic achievement.

Jim Maloney, a GHS boys basketball coach, who is Matthew’s father, said he was concerned about athletes being displaced.

“We’ve seen water issues at the high school before. I’m not casting any blame,” coach Maloney said. “The plan to deal with the next month or so will be more complicated than we think… I’m a little frustrated as a parent, but I’m frustrated for these kids as a coach.”

Coach Maloney said winter basketball season had a “narrow window,” with the season just 2-1/2 months long.

“I’d like other options, maybe seeing if the floor can be usable until maybe the end of the year,” he said. “I’m not just advocating for the basketball program. One other point of frustration is that every evening when we leave, or sometimes if it’s raining as it has been, there can be buckets placed on the floor that we have to either work around… We’re managing a water situation on a daily basis already.”

Coach Maloney said he didn’t think other parents of athletes were aware of the situation yet.

“I’m advocating for other parents who might not know about this meeting,” he said, adding that the athletic director, Peter Georgiou had been trying to create a plan. “I’m just doubtful about the timeline.”

During her superintendent’s comments. Dr. Toni Jones said earlier in the day she’d been updated by facilities director Dan Watson that demolition is set to begin on Dec 18.

“The material will be delivered on the 19th.  They’ll get the sub-floor down. It takes about three or four business days. By the time the floor is back together it’s around the second week in January – around the 15th, we think. It should be a fairly fast process.”

“Just as a reminder it’s something that was beyond our control – a coil in the unit didn’t drain completely and then it froze and burst. There is damage – we brought in the expert flooring people who looked under the floor and in that subsurface there is damage. You can’t have kids on a floor, even for insurance purposes, if there is just one little hump. If somebody breaks a leg, that would be on us.”

The coil referred to was a chilled water coil and pre-heat coil in the roof top unit.

“We’re going to get it fixed, and get kids back on the floor,” she added.

While the Greenwich Public Schools positions of facilities director as well as superintendent, GHS athletic director and principal have all turned over in recent years, the flood damage and frustration on the part of athletes and coaches the experience is a flash of déjà vu.

In 2017, when students arrived in the fall, they were surprised to see there was no gym floor. No bleachers either. Over the summer, after demolition was done and and the floor removed, the company selected to replace the floor had walked away from the job. A new company was selected to finish the work and new gym floor in was installed in September.

Then, with a donation from the GAF for new state-of-the-art bleachers, all the work was completed in November 2017.

In 2018, a leak near the new GHS Performing Arts Center lobby caused damage to ceilings and drywall, as well as a portion of the new gym floor, curtailing use of the gym and PAC for several weeks.

In January 2020, an expansion joint burst in the hallway of the school’s Performing Arts Center, flooding the adjacent gymnasium and limiting its use. Again.  The school had to reschedule or postpone all competitive athletic events that were to be held in gymnasium following the flood.

That year the winning girls basketball team captains, talked to GFP about the silver lining of an otherwise disappointing situation.

That winter, adding insult to injury, spectators noticed the town’s name had been painted on the new gym floor with a misspelling: “Greennwich.”

Note: This article was updated to reflect the coil Dr. Jones referred to in her updates at the Dec 12th BOE meeting was a chilled water coil and pre-heat coil in the roof top unit.