TIVERTON — People playing and running in the Tiverton Middle School gym can do so with less fear of slamming into the hard walls, thanks to a gift from the Tiverton Junior Basketball …
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TIVERTON — People playing and running in the Tiverton Middle School gym can do so with less fear of slamming into the hard walls, thanks to a gift from the Tiverton Junior Basketball League
The league recently donated the purchase and installation of new gymnasium mats valued at $6,000 for the middle school gym.
TJBL President Joseph Perry Jr. said, “Tiverton public schools provides the space for our league to practice and play games. We could not operate this league without the support and partnership of the custodial staff, principals, and superintendent of Tiverton Public Schools. TJBL is pleased to support improvements to the TMS gym to ensure the children of Tiverton have a safe and aesthetically pleasing place to play.”
The safety mats are affixed to the gym walls for safety reasons and serve as padding, said the league’s Kris Monahan. The previous wall mats were very old, worn and tattered, she said, “a real eyesore.”
Along with the mats, the league purchased safety edging for the gym’s basketball backboards.
The league was established in 1952 by a group of volunteers and provides recreational and travel programs for boys and girls ages 6-14 in the Tiverton community. There are no paid staff for the organization which is run entirely by volunteers committed to providing safe, healthy, and positive experiences for youth of Tiverton.
The league raised funds through various fundraisers throughout the last few years to make this donation possible.
Among these events were a silent auction and raffle basket auction at last year’s annual banquet last year along with a cash raffle last season. The league also hosted RI Youth Basketball League tournaments this year and last and all proceeds benefited the league (including the mats). There was a girls’ holiday tournament December 2018 and a girls’ holiday tournament December 21-23 of 2019 drawing over 20 teams from across the state. In early November of 2019, the league hosted a boys tournament with 32 teams from across the region.