Wake up, SJV, the new gym is here! After a long wait, the new gym is finally finished and ready for all the great things to come. Construction began in June of 2026, and after a lot of work throughout the summer, the gym officially opened to the school and the public on Thursday, September 24, 2026. Before this, SJV has had the same gym floor since the school opened in 1969. This means that for 57 years, the gym has had the same floorboards, so the need for a new floor has been apparent for a long time. The new gym is a major upgrade not only to the athletic facilities but also to the school as a whole. 

On Thursday night, the gym’s first official day began, and the girls’ volleyball team played its first game of the season. They played the first game in the new gym and honored that with a win! All the teams that will be playing in this new gym are Girls Volleyball, Boys Volleyball, Cheerleading, Wrestling, Girls Basketball, and Boys Basketball. Girls’ basketball head coach Dawn Karpell is very excited for the new gym and has both played and coached high school basketball in the old gym. Karpell says, “The old gym holds a lot of memories, but I’m very excited for the new gym and for all the future success that will happen in it.” The new gym will be filled with many memories and victories, and the best is yet to come. 

The new gym looks very different from the old, and major adjustments have been made. A new digital scoreboard has been installed that not only displays the score but also shows graphics and videos. The bleachers are now black and grey instead of the beige color that they were before. The floor itself looks completely different, with the new SJV logo in the middle replacing the old one. Also, the floor is much brighter than the old one because it is white instead of beige. In addition, new banners will be placed throughout the gym, displaying the state title and Shore Conference victories of all past and present teams. The gym looks absolutely stunning, and everyone in the SJV community is very excited for what it has to offer in the future.