Emphasizing Student Safety When Remodeling Wrestling Facilities
https://www.nfhs.org/articles/emphasizing-student-safety-when-remodeling-wrestling-facilities/By Mark Beebe, AIA on November 08, 2022
Wrestling is a growing high school athletic program across the country, and many states are also seeing girls wrestling grow in popularity and competitiveness. As districts consider their wrestling spaces and opportunities for improvement, there are several important elements to consider when it comes to student safety.
Many schools’ wrestling rooms are simply “found spaces” with concrete floors and a wrestling mat thrown down. Obviously, school districts have many financial needs, and identifying a dedicated wrestling room is step one. However, as opportunities arise to make improvements to these spaces, the following should be considered for student safety and optimal conditions within a wrestling room.
Space Planning
Proper space planning for a new or renovation of a wrestling room should take into account ample wrestling practice space on the mats, along with appropriate “entry” space, or space for students to collect and drop their bags and equipment, free and clear of the wrestling mat area. This space outside the wrestling practice mats cannot be overemphasized in terms of student safety and keeping the practice mats free of equipment and dirty shoes.
The primary wrestling practice area should be column-free, and at least 38-feet wide – by a length ideally a factor of 38 feet – to facilitate optimal practice circles. If possible, adding a couple feet in either direction beyond this minimal 38-foot width will enable installation of the floor padding, and will create an enhanced safety factor at the perimeter walls.
This primary wrestling practice area space should be a simple rectangular geometry (avoid ‘L’ shapes or spaces with unusual corner), and should be free of “outside corners” or “pilasters” or “bump-outs” within the space. As much as possible, the walls should be completely flat and free of corners, obstructions, doors and with hardware, etc.
LANCER+BEEBE Architects recently completed a wrestling room renovation for Center Grove High School (CGHS), which is a part of the Center Grove Community School Corporation in Greenwood, Indiana. The CGHS Wrestling Room was renovated within a space that was previously a large two-story natatorium, and, therefore, the design team had the flexibility to establish the new length and width without restrictions of existing columns. With this freedom at hand, the room is 42 feet wide by 126 feet in length. All walls surrounding the practice room include 2-inch wall padding up to 6 feet high for safety, and doors and door hardware are recessed from the wall surface.
Other important amenities to consider when planning an optimal wrestling room are dedicated wrestling locker rooms with showers and restroom facilities, as well as coaches offices within sight to provide supervision of the entire room. Given the unique close contact between competitors within this sport, wrestling locker rooms require additional attention and cleaning, hence the need for dedicated wrestling locker rooms.
The CGHS Wrestling Room incorporated both boys and girls locker rooms accessed immediately from the wrestling room practice area. Also included is a wrestling coaches office adjacent to both the wrestling room entry and the wrestling practice mat area, with vision glass included to enable optimal supervision of the entire space. The CGHS Wrestling Coaches Office included an adjacent unisex restroom and locker room with shower to facilitate mixed-company coaches.
Finally, dedicated storage spaces immediately adjacent to the practice mats are essential for keeping various cleaning and training equipment off of the practice mats but within proximity for ease of use and student safety.
Design, Details and Finishes
Wrestling practice area flooring should contain wrestling sports mat from wall-to-wall, and perimeter walls should be faced with a similar wrestling sports mat to around 6 feet high. There are numerous manufacturers that make great products for high school wrestling rooms, and customizing these mats with preferred practice/ competition circles and high school logos, colors and branding is possible.
Given tight school budgets, coaches at many schools roll up their practice mats and transport them from their practice rooms to a gymnasium or other large gathering space for competitions. However, in an ideal situation, the wrestling practice room floor mats should be adhered to the slab and installed within the space in a more permanent/secure manner. If possible, recessing the concrete slab at the wrestling practice areas around 1.5 to 2 inches from adjacent spaces will facilitate a seamless floor transition from the entry area and other adjacent support spaces.
At the CGHS Wrestling Room, a recessed floor slab at the wrestling practice area allowed the design team to spec a plywood suspension system (similar to details at a gym hardwood floor system) on top of the slab, and under the rubber wrestling mats. This plywood suspension system allows the slab to “breath” and adds valuable “resilience” to the rubber mats for increased safety.
Ceilings with wrestling practice rooms can be suspended acoustic products, or an exposed/painted structure. In either case, a clear ceiling height between 9 to 10 feet is ideal. Along with appropriate bright lighting, sound amplification and speaker system throughout the wrestling room is highly recommended. Finally, the HVAC system should be designed for proper air changes and ventilation. COVID-19 has brought many enhanced HVAC filtration systems and technologies mainstream, providing numerous great options for schools to consider when planning a new wrestling room or renovation.
There are many safety considerations when planning a new wrestling room or wrestling room renovation, and the reality is most school districts operate within confined budgets. The various elements noted above can serve as a guide for a district in terms of evaluating what can be accomplished within a set budget, with an emphasis on student safety.