The first basketball game in the new facility officially in the books, there was Armstrong Pleasant Valley Secondary School English teacher Shawna Ternent out on the shiny floor's west end removing scuff marks from shoes on the sparkly new hardwood.
It's a valid reaction, wanting to keep the $15 million facility looking new. After all, the Grade 9-12 school hasn't had a gymnasium for nearly four years.
Students were able to use the gym for the first time Thursday, Jan. 9, and that was followed by the first-ever basketball game in the new facility, a Junior Boys tilt between the hometown Hawks and the visitors from Salmon Arm, the J.L. Jackson Jays. The game drew more than 100 people to the gym's new bleachers.
"It's been a lot of excitement in the last couple weeks," said principal Steven Drapala. "In particular, like heading up into Christmas, just seeing the completion coming in, and then as we're coming back from Christmas, seeing the construction be completed, the clean-up happening, being able to see the gym and just being able to have some home games for the first time in four years.
"There's been lots of excitement from the students."
The new gym became necessary when, in 2021, at the end of the year, a renovation to the facility discovered damage from a 1970s fire at the school had not been properly fixed.
Gym classes were held at other schools or local Armstrong facilities as the new gym was constructed.
The North Okanagan Shuswap School District hoped to have the gymnasium opened in 2024, but it took nearly one more full year. And there's still some minor details that need to be completed.
Rosa Stefaniuk was among a handful of students in the PVSS hallway watching the Junior Boys basketball teams warm up through the glass installed on the west end. A former basketball player herself, Stefaniuk lamented about having to bus to the old Hassen Arena for gym class, or to the city's three elementary-middle school gyms for basketball practices.
"This is a big improvement," said Stefaniuk, Grade 11, of the new gym. "It's really good. We can have some school spirit. It's good for leadership, and it gives us more opportunity to do school-wide things. It's exciting."
She was joined outside the gym by Grade 10 student Olivia Bavle.
"I never saw the old gym but I think this one is pretty cool," said Bavle, who started at PVSS in September 2023 as a Grade 9 student. "I think it's nice. Especially the speakers."
The Jays spoiled the party by beating the Hawks 56-20 in the game. Brodie Maclean of Jackson scored the official first basket in the new gym.
Danny Cowden looked to have scored the first basket for the Hawks, but Cowden's bucket was waived off due to a violation. The official first PVSS home basket went to Jacob Baird.
Colter Luttmerding and Owen Nichols are the co-captains of the Hawks.
"It was a different experience out there tonight," said Luttmerding. "Last time we had a home game, I was in Grade 8 at Len Wood. Last year we played some home games at Kal (Kalamalka Secondary in Coldstream), that was the closest we had."
Asked about the loss, Luttmerding just shrugged and said, "We'll get the next one."
Nichols, who moved to Armstrong from Sardis, in the Fraser Valley, two years ago, was thrilled with the new facility.
"It's such a nice gym, the best gym we could ask for," said Nichols. "We had our first practice here yesterday. We'd been practising at the elementary schools (Armstrong and Highland Park).