Petition urges UCDSB to replace metal basketball nets
SMITHS FALLS — A Smiths Falls parent has launched an online petition calling for metal basketball nets to be replaced with nylon alternatives at Upper Canada District School Board schools after her son suffered a finger injury on a school basketball net.
Bryanna Normandeau said Riley’s finger became caught in a metal basketball net about three weeks ago while he was trying to dunk the ball.
Riley said he hopes sharing his experience will help prevent another child from being hurt.
“I have nerve damage and I can’t feel part of my finger now,” Riley said in a video posted online. “The most important thing is that no other child should be hurt like me.”
Normandeau said she is proud of how Riley handled the situation after he was injured, and of the friends who stayed with him.
Riley knew to apply pressure to the wound and get help right away, she said, while three friends stayed with him until help arrived.
The goal of the petition is not to place blame on schools or the board, but to raise awareness about the issue.
“Unfortunately the accident happened, but we can move forward and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she said.
In two emails to Hometown News, Chris Boulay, executive superintendent responsible for school operations with the Upper Canada District School Board, said the board does not track basketball nets centrally and could not confirm how many schools currently have metal nets installed.
“This is not something we take inventory of at the central level — just as we would not keep an inventory of baseball bats, soccer balls and other sporting equipment used at our schools,” Boulay said.
He confirmed that at least one net was removed.
“At the school where the incident happened, the outdoor mesh was removed on at least one net as an immediate response to the incident,” he said.
Boulay added that another school removed a net for regular maintenance and plans to replace it in the spring.
The board has previously said it is not aware of any restrictions in place regarding the type of netting used on a basketball hoop.
“We have investigated this and we are not aware of any regulations or guidelines that would restrict a school from installing metal netting on outdoor basketball nets,” Boulay said.
He also noted that many commercial outdoor basketball hoops come equipped with metal nets because they are durable and weather resistant.
“Basketball nets are generally out of reach to our students,” Boulay said, “and when used as intended they pose limited risks.”
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