Hoquiam Square Garden gets a new look for the coming school year

Hoquiam High School unveils striking gym floor improvements

It’s safe to say that Hoquiam High School athletics fans will have their heads held high at this game.

As part of continued improvements to the school’s athletic facilities in the post-COVID-19 era, school officials recently unveiled a new and improved gym floor at Hoquiam Square Garden, packed with numerous wow-factor features.

The work, which was completed in late July and took about three weeks, included completely removing the 20-plus-year-old polyurethane coating and sanding the three-quarter-inch-thick, second-grade maple tongue-and-groove boards that make up the floor surface.

Removing the polyurethane, which tends to yellow over time, revealed a lighter, white wood surface that serves as a backdrop for the floor’s bold new design.

After the floor was sanded, a new coat of polyurethane was applied and the painting and design team set about hand-painting all of the logos and lines, providing a stark contrast to the gym’s previous design.

The simple, single-color “H” design at center court is gone, replaced by a bright “H” in Hoquiam’s crimson and gray color scheme, with the correct font to match the school’s branding.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Improvements to the new surface at Hoquiam Square Garden include colored 2-point areas, painted end lines and matching graphic fonts.

The same goes for the end lines, which are painted crimson and have lettering that matches the padded walls at either end of the field. On one side it says “Hoquiam Grizzlies,” on the other “Hoquiam Square Garden.”

Two very noticeable features that are sure to catch the eye of anyone entering the gym are the painted 2-point areas and the grizzly graphic along the north sideline.

The 2-point areas at either end of the floor are painted gray with the wood grain showing through. The painted floor creates a contrast between the white wood look of the majority of the court and the key areas and is a feature more commonly seen in college and professional leagues.

The stenciled grizzly design on the sideline is sure to get everyone talking, as the stained wood grizzly flanked by trees in all its glory is as unique a feature as you could find in a high school gym.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD A grizzly design is one of the new features on the renovated gym floor at Hoquiam Square Garden.

The gym has lines for eight pickleball and badminton courts, two volleyball and basketball side courts, and the featured basketball and volleyball main courts, as well as “ladders and dots” on the sides used for the school’s physical education classes.

In the 55-year history of the gymnasium, the floor has only been sanded twice – five times was the maximum due to the decreasing strength of the wood – and the last time this happened was in 2003.

About two years ago, school officials discussed sanding the floor down to bare wood, which presented an opportunity to give the beloved facility a fresh coat of paint.

Hoquiam athletic director Shane Krohn had hoped to complete the project last summer, but had to postpone it because the contractors hired to do the work were “all booked up.”

The long wait is now over and Krohn is excited to show the finished product to the public when the school hosts its first official event – ​​the Hoquiam Volleyball Jamboree – on Thursday, September 5 at 4 p.m.

“I hope everyone is overwhelmed,” Krohn said.

SUBMITTED PHOTO: The former Hoquiam gym floor, seen in this photo, was sanded and refinished for the first time since 2003.