The effects of Snowstorm Jonas are still being felt around Wilson, as the main gym now has a water bubble under the wood. This caused Wilson to relocate all three of the home basketball games scheduled for Friday, January 29, to the gym at McKinley Tech High School.
If you’ve been in the gym since the snowstorm, you’ve probably seen a couple of huge fans blowing at the bubble. According to athletic director Mitch Gore, the fans are there to help push out the water from underneath the bubble.
This is not the only thing Wilson is doing. They have also gotten an estimate of how much it would cost to replace that portion of the floor. Gore states, “We hope to have the problem fixed by senior night (Friday February 2) for the basketball team.” Because DC Public Schools are self insured, meaning they have no insurance and pay for any difficulties out of pocket, it may cost a lot of money to get the floor fixed swiftly.
Gore believes that the snow on top of the gym was blown into a vent on the roof over the gym where it melted and water then fell onto the gym floor causing the bubble. Gore also indicated that there might be a smaller bubble in the auxiliary gym.This is not an unheard of event. The Minnesota Vikings stadium roof collapsed in 2010 because there was too much snow on top. The Vikings are moving into a new stadium in the 2016.
Wilson, although only temporarily, doesn’t have a fully functional gym, just like School Without Walls. SWW has had to host its “home” basketball games at the George Washington College gym, and although it’s technically a home game, without a gym on campus the atmosphere at games are not as exciting as they could be. According to Gore, the Walls volleyball team was allowed to hold a banquet at Wilson to honor their seniors this year.
The bubble in the floor has also limited PE classes. As of right now classes have not ventured far from the bleachers since the long weekend.
Hopefully the bubble will come to a swift and eagerly awaited demise so that Wilson athletic programs and classes can get back to normal.
PHOTO BY CARL STEWART