On a blustery late October afternoon a group of young people walked down the hill from Shipman Youth Center. They had one basketball between them and a lot of afterschool energy.

This new basketball court was recently moved to Dow Street Park, also known as Rotary Park. The move was a collaborative effort born from a community need and funded by an anonymous donor. Lake Placid New York Rotary Foundation (www.LPNYRF.org) provided the fiscal conduit for the anonymous donation. The Foundation was pleased to be able to facilitate this generous donor’s donation to move the basketball court and provide them with a tax-deductible donation. The organization was created to encourage and support local community improvement projects and provide a mechanism for charitable donations to these important initiatives which enhance the quality life for all.

Student Opinion

Dax Farley, who is new to the area, commented, “It’s nice to have a basketball court near school where kids can come and hang out.”

Mavericks Sheller took a break from playing to say, “It’s very great! I like the painting of the lines, the 3-point line, the free throw line, and I like the basket!”

Photos by Nancie Battaglia Standing are Emerson Sweet, Jason Hooker, Blaze Staves and Hayden Hooker. Lower row students are Mavericks Scheller, Lawson Cifferi and Dax Farley.

Margaret “Maggie” Thatcher observed, “Other courts in town are not as big so they don’t have the 3-point line. This is bigger for more kids to play on. It’ll help kids to hang out more.”

Jason Hooker, director of Shipman Youth Center said, “Brand new court is awesome, it’s a great transition to go from the school basketball court, which was loved by the students, and to come out here and be able to play. Our community needs more activities for the youth.”

Community Leaders Speak

The new building dedicated to the thrift shop and food pantry now occupies the site that was until recently the old basketball court near Shipman Youth Center.

Lake Placid Central School District Superintendent Tim Seymour said, “The school district’s former basketball courts had reached the end of their lifecycle and they were not readily accessible for students to use. The optimal location for the new Thrive and Thrift building ended up being in this exact space, which led to their removal. Throughout the planning process, our hope was to work with community partners to install a new basketball court that was easy for students to access, safe and modern. Increasing access to healthy activities

Lake Placid area kids gathered and/or play basketball.

and walkability to green spaces is so important for the health of our students. Thanks to municipal and community partners like the Town of North Elba, Village of Lake Placid, and Rotary Club of Lake Placid this dream came to fruition.”

Lake Placid Village Mayor Art Devlin said, “Until we started removing the basketball courts to make room for the food pantry, we had no idea that there were that many people who used the courts. It was our understanding that all that was needed was a half court but once we got started, we heard from many people that they would love to have two nets even if it wasn’t regulation size. As we were unable to have two courts put in before summer 2024 arrived, we put the temporary courts in. What you have now is just temporary. In the spring of 2025, there will be a scaled down version with a net on either end.”

“It’s just great that everything came together. It’s a providential ‘God wink'” said Jackie Kelly, Deputy Mayor of Lake Placid.