From hearing the cheers of the crowds to finding friendships born out of teamwork and shared goals, there’s nothing quite like being on a school sports team. Athletics programs instill values in students of all ages and introduce an avenue to create meaningful friendships.
When you think of sports, you may think of long practices, exciting moments at the buzzer, booster clubs, and bus rides — but when we think of sports, we think of signage solutions that bring a team roster to life.
The Client
Pace Academy is a large private school in Atlanta, home to 1,150 students in elementary through high school. Their athletics programs are robust, with 90% of middle school students and 80% of high school students participating in one of 21 sports in some capacity.
The Pace Academy motto, “to have the courage to strive for excellence,” helps today’s students become leaders of tomorrow in every way – and that includes their participation in athletics. Many Pace students have gone on to receive athletic scholarships at the collegiate level, but every Pace student who joins a team learns the values of teamwork, discipline, perseverance, and resilience.
Being part of a team is a source of pride for many students, and Pace Academy offers both cut and no-cut teams to allow as many students as possible to enjoy sports as part of their education. The school honors members of their sporting teams by displaying rosters in the school gymnasium and swimming facility.
The Problem
Pace Academy wanted to continue the tradition of updating each team’s roster annually. However, their current display system had become dated, making it difficult to update. Additionally, displaying new names each year incurred rising costs.
The school knew they needed a cleaner and more economical solution for their roster displays that could be changed easily year after year. They called Optima Signs & Graphics to brainstorm a creative solution for their gymnasium that would last through hundreds of student-athletes in the future.
The Solution
Thankfully, the owner of Optima Signs &Graphics had a great solution in mind: a magnetic frame system from Switch It. These systems offer “an easy way to transform spaces,” so Optima presented multiple mock-ups to the athletics department at Pace. After a few design tweaks on their preferred selection, they decided it would be a perfect addition to their gymnasium rosters.
Optima then created custom roster boards for Pace, ranging in size from 66″x96″ to 78″x144″. Each 18″x18″ Switch It frame is made of a magnetic material, so they were tiled together to form large roster boards in custom sizes to fit the designated spaces.
Once the Switch It systems were in place, Optima printed a base grid layer on a premium magnetic receptive material designed to hold each name on a team’s roster. The base grid can be easily removed and replaced to make changes in the overall roster look, and individual name strips are printed on the same material and are applied over the base grid layer. This makes each magnetic display change cost-effective and hassle-free!
Pace Academy liked the look and ease of use of their new boards so much that they called again, asking Optima to craft a similar solution in the swimming facility. Instead of Switch It Frames, this facility was more suited for an adhesive-backed magnetic base attached to 60″x120′ aluminum composite panels.
Optima secured them to the cinder block walls with french cleats, then printed base grid layers and the name strips on the same premium magnetic receptive material used in the gymnasium.
The Results
From initial discussion to final installation, these projects were completed in about six months each. The gym roster boards were updated in the summer of 2023, followed by the swimming facility roster boards in 2024.
Today, Pace Academy can enjoy simple updates to their team rosters year after year. This allows students to see their names on the facilities’ walls where they practice and play, instilling pride and inspiring a sense of camaraderie between teammates.
When students look up to discover their own names displayed so prominently, it gives them “the courage to strive for excellence” that Pace Academy seeks to offer every student.
Creative Sign Solutions in Atlanta
At Optima Signs & Graphics, we pride ourselves on bringing creative sign ideas to life for our clients. We believe that good signage matters. Pace Academy experienced an updated look, an easier process, and a cost-effective solution to its roster needs! If you’re looking for a signage refresh, we’d love to do the same for you.