Corsair Gym Reopens Amid Ongoing Construction
Blake Harris | Opinion Editor
Construction disrupts season start for SMC’s sports teams.
After being closed for over two weeks, the Corsair Gym at Santa Monica College’s (SMC) main campus has reopened with a fresh coat of paint while construction on the facility progresses. Along its walls, the Gym’s colors have been changed to a deeper, more vibrant blue to go with the Corsairs’ updated jersey color scheme rolling out this semester. The paint job is the newest initiative from SMC to update the gym this year. While roofing continues above, the gym has reopened for teams to practice and compete.
The reopening of the gym and its facilities follows a disruptive start for SMC’s sports teams. According to Maya Stokes, a freshman on the women’s basketball team, the Corsair gym was closed for almost three weeks, leaving them unable to practice. Fortunately, the team is currently in its off-season, so the lack of regular practice “doesn’t really matter,” said Stokes.
Not all of SMC’s teams are so lucky, however. “It was very problematic,” said Christian Cammayo, head coach of the women's volleyball team. Without a stable location to organize or hold their gear, the team was forced to find alternative locations, leading to scheduling conflicts and shorter practices at the start of the season. “Still, we were very lucky to find a good nearby location,” said Cammayo.
Lack of access to the gym was only the beginning of problems for the women's volleyball team. Following their return, construction continued on the gym roof. Upon regaining access to their storage room, Cammayo noticed the absence of ventilation grids on the vents, which caused dust to come in unfiltered from the work being done above. The result was equipment, such as balls and nets, being coated in a thick layer of grime every time they retrieved it. “It felt a little unsafe, to be honest. It doesn’t feel good to come home to find it all dirty,” Cammayo said.
During one of their first matches back, dust began sprinkling down from the roof, and the gym’s lights began flickering, delaying the day’s game. According to Theresa Tang, Administrative Assistant for the SMC Athletics Department, the administration has since coordinated with the construction crew to ensure that roofing work is stopped during games in order to avoid further disruptions.
“We’re extremely grateful to be back,” said Cammayo. “We’re always just trying to get better, with adversity we can get over anything.”
Although construction on the roof continues, athletes will not have to worry for much longer. According to Greg Williams, member of the National Roofing Contractors Association and worker on the project, construction is in full swing and should wrap up soon. “We’ll be outta here in two weeks,” he said. Following completion, SMC’s teams are expected to return to their regular practices and scheduled home games for the rest of the semester.
