Here's a Howard County sports trivia question: Name the gymnasium that never experienced a bouncing ball before becoming the sanctuary of a church that three decades later has spawned a new, much better gymnasium.

It is Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City.

The thriving Roman Catholic parish's focus of worship on Paulskirk Drive was originally intended to be the gymnasium for the new school of the much older St. Paul's Catholic Church on one of the Ellicott City hillsides overlooking the Patapsco River.

But after construction had begun on that gym in 1966, the archbishop of Baltimore changed priorities. The north side of pre-Columbia Howard County, it was decided, was growing so fast that it warranted a new parish. And voila, that gym became the sanctuary for a growing congregation.

In the early 1990s, a push by parishioners to expand the parish's elementary and middle school program turned into active fund raising -- totaling $4.3 million in pledges and continuing -- for expanded classroom space, other rooms and facilities and a new gym, the school's first. Ground was broken in the spring.

"I'll tell you, it's a shock. We had nothing for so long, and now we've been delivered the ultimate gym," said Frank Curley, an obviously enthusiastic parish dad -- and commissioner of Resurrection's growing youth basketball program.

"They have created a beautiful thing here, much better than what we're used to, playing in even some of the county's newer middle schools," said Curley, who has three sons and a daughter, all basketball players. And he has experienced enough to make the comparison. As a youth basketball coach for 15 years, Curley splits time between the parish program and the secular Howard County Youth Program.

"It's comfortable," he continued, sounding again like the Resurrection chamber of commerce. "It has wooden floors, and they're cushioned to make things easier on the feet.

"You can really sense it. And unlike some of those middle schools, where they cut so many corners to save money, it has lots of space on the sidelines to store bags and coats and to walk without being on the playing surface."

Resurrection's school, which has classes through eighth grade, now has a high school-size gym -- a regulation-size playing surface with two elementary school courts running from side to side.

All baskets are raised and lowered electrically -- and those on the sides for the smaller courts can be lowered from the regulation 10 feet to 6 feet to accommodate and encourage young children. An electronic scoreboard has been installed, as well.

Children from the school and a men's league from the parish have been using the new gym for a few weeks now, but this weekend marks the beginning of organized play, if you will, in youth basketball -- a sport so intertwined in many places in this country with Catholic churches.

During school hours, the gym can be used by the school, of course. And school intramural leagues have been set up.

Resurrection's youth teams, most from the parish but some not, can practice and play there. A girls league within metro Baltimore's Catholic Youth Organization, one of the nation's oldest and most productive basketball programs, will compete there this winter.

Next winter, a boys CYO league will play at the gym, as well. Schedules for this winter's boys league had to be firmed up before Resurrection was sure of an opening date.

Resurrection will have 17 youth teams competing in CYO play this winter, four for girls and 13 for boys -- the most the school has ever had, Curley said.

Interest picked up as this winter's seasons approached, and Curley said, "The new gym is definitely a factor in that."

The gym will be host of its first tournament Dec. 29 and 30, with an emerging tradition -- the Howard County CYO basketball tournament. Teams from Resurrection, St. Louis in Clarksville and Trinity Preparatory and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, both in Ilchester, will compete.

The school expansion and gym were formally dedicated this month.

The gym will not be limited to basketball -- far from it, said David Destino, a parishioner who has overseen the expansion project. He is an architect and vice president for development for a company that builds and manages large-scale senior-citizen complexes.

"It was important that we made sure this was to be a parish facility, not just something for the school alone," he said. "There are so many activities going on in this parish, among them a very active youth program, and we needed space that could be used by a lot of groups.

"We did a lot of interviewing of people in the parish, trying to define needs, going all the way back to 1993 or so."

The playing surface also has been lined for volleyball, said Destino, and the gym's sound system and lighting are suitable for quick conversion into meeting, as well as auxiliary worship, space -- as likely will be needed for Christmas Masses.

And on one side, there is space enough for retractable seating to be added as money and need dictate, he said.