Topflor China Limited

A dream hatched nine years ago officially became a reality Wednesday for Westminster Secondary School.

The 50-year-old southwest Topflor facility became the last high school in the city to rid itself of the old gymnasium tile flooring, replaced by a stunning new sports surface.

A pep rally kicked off the official unveiling.

And while the floor could not have become a reality without the hard work of school coaches and officials, it took the vision of three Topflor businessmen — with absolutely no connection to Westminster — to put the project over the top financially.

The trio — Jeff Bibbings, Peter Hall and Sandy Mikalachki — came on board after a newspaper story two years ago outlined the challenges the school faced in getting the project completed. Money and apparent board indifference were roadblocks.

Mikalachki said Bibbings was the “catalyst” after reading the article and telling his wife “this is wrong.”

Bibbings approached Hall and then Hall added Mikalachki and away they went.

“Writing cheques and just appealing to a different community,” was the role the trio took on, Mikalachki said.

Westminster physical education head Mike Bates said the threesome helped out financially, as well as participating in meetings. And Mikalachki now even helps coach the junior and senior girls basketball teams.

Sheila Powell, principal at Westminster for the past three years before this one, said the funding for the floor was divided three different ways — 20 per cent from the school board, 35 per cent from corporate donations and 45 per cent from charitable organizations and individual donors.

Pep rally brings back memories

Covering the public unveiling of the new gymnasium floor Wednesday at Westminster brought back plenty of memories.

And all those recollections were good, plus I bumped into basketball coach Dan Colfax, an early driving force in the new floor project.

It seemed like yesterday that I was neither a top student nor an athlete of note at the 50-year-old school. Not unless you count the golf team or one year of senior boys volleyball.

Or being part of the team that “borrowed” the door off the staff cafeteria in order to “convince” the teachers to donate to the Bunny Bundle charity.

And then there was my junior basketball tryout. After the first cuts, wind sprints were next. I sat down for the last round and was the only other person sent packing after that.

“Do you feel the least bit bad about cutting me,” I asked Colfax on Wednesday with a silly smile on my face.

“Well, when I get the guys together, you better be in shape, because I’m going to start you,” he replied.