Wynn Gym back in play

The repaired and resurfaced wooden floor at Wynn Gymnasium is now adorned by this tiger head at midcourt and also has the building's name facing both the north and south bleachers.

By Joe Warren

Nevada Daily Mail

NEVADA, Mo. -- More than a month since problems surfaced on the wooden playing floor at Wynn Gymnasium, Nevada High School is set to re-open the court for high school activities Saturday.

The Nevada High School junior varsity volleyball team is scheduled to host a tournament Saturday, and principal Bryan Thomsen said that will be the first event allowed on the court after nearly six weeks of inactivity.

"We're ready to get back on it," Thomsen said.

The floor started warping as the result of a roof leak in early August, and the school had to eventually tear out the damaged areas, and have a hardwood floor company replace a large section of the floor on the north side of the gym.

Once the floor was put back together, the whole playing surface had to be sanded, repainted and refinished.

The new paint job now has a slightly different look, with only one tiger head at midcourt instead of two on either sides of the floor. The floor also has the title of the building, Wynn Gymnasium, stenciled along the north and south sidelines.

The floor was also refinished with a special sealant, to help prevent any potential future leaks from causing similar damage.

"It's done. The final coat's on there and it's curing," Thomsen said.

Nevada R-5 Schools Superintendent Craig Noah said the repairs cost the district nearly $17,000.

Noah said the money will come from a fund in the budget that will not take away from any planned activities or projects.

"We have a line item that is labeled, 'High School Improvements,'" Noah said. "It's for stuff like this."

Noah said that while the floor problems have been an inconvenience for the high school volleyball team, it could have been worse.

"I like to look at things in a positive way," he said. "If it had been during basketball and wrestling season, it could have created some real big scheduling problems."

As it was the Lady Tiger volleyball team has had to practice at Nevada Middle School, and they had to move four varsity matches.

Three of the varsity matches stayed in town, with two at the middle school, and the other at Cottey College.

"We were really fortunate Cottey was able to work with us," Noah said. "And the middle school worked out well."

Nevada did have to move the match Sept. 28 against El Dorado Springs to El Dorado Springs, losing the home court advantage.

The Lady Tigers did manage to win each of the four "home" matches away from Wynn Gymnasium.

The varsity will be back home Tuesday, when they host Webb City in a key Southwest Conference match.

The winner will have the inside track on the conference championship.