I am excited to apply for the position of Sport Captain and Sport-Spirit Prefect. A key attribute of these positions is representation; the act of speaking and acting on behalf of someone. I feel that to adequately represent something, you have to have a good understanding of it. Firstly, a Sport Captain/Prefect represents the school. I have been fortunate to have been a member of the community for close to 11 years and during this course of time, I have been immersed in the school’s sporting opportunities and sporting programs.
Secondly, a Sport Captain/Prefect represents his teammates and peers. Within the community I am deeply involved in a variety of sports. Since grade 8 I have represented the College every year in Swimming, Basketball and Water Polo, culminating in the honor of representing the college in the open teams for each of these sports.
For my efforts in the sporting arena, last year I was awarded a bronze (4 or more sports) and silver (water polo) sport awards.
In 2013 I also received a silver sport award for being a participant of 4 or more A teams. I have also been a member of the Met West 18 years and the Water Polo team for the last 2 years. I have a solid work and training ethic allowing myself to understand the importance of succeeding within the sporting arena and the work involved to achieve good results. Being involved in a diverse amount of sports uniquely positions me to represent the school sporting community. I feel I have the ability to relate to and therefore facilitate a successful sporting functions across the school and form an effective relationship between students, coaches and staff.
Having already created good relationships across many areas of the College allows me to be approachable and increases my opportunity to understand and pre-empt issues that may arise. Good leaders are good communicators and this involves both speaking and listening. Although the roles of Sport Captain/Prefect will involve speaking at assemblies and functions, it is equally important as a leader to be a good listener. Demonstrating this ability will help me better understand requirements of the role while building greater relationships between myself and the staff, coaches and students of the school. The Sport leadership roles are more than just a badge and title to me. These roles would provide me an opportunity to serve my school and peers.
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By employing a servant-leader outlook, I would share power with student leadership body, put others needs first and wherever possible assist students to perform at their highest level. This leadership philosophy leads to more participation and inclusive decision making processes, allowing for an increased student involvement and greater ownership of the outcomes. Acting as a servant-leader I will focus on the growth of students, which compliments my ideas about delegation, responsibility and accountability. By delegating responsibility for certain tasks I can increase the morale, confidence and productivity of students. This will show I have confidence and trust in others and build their innovation and morale.
Although I might delegate responsibility, as a Sport Captain, I would always be there to provide support and never remove my accountability for the overall outcome. Leadership is not ‘set and forget’; delegation is about empowerment of others, not about giving away control. I have no doubt that being a Sport Captain/Prefect will result in a more work on top my grade 12 school work and of course my sporting commitments, so being organised is paramount to my success. I am use to setting goals and achieving them. For me, getting things done is all about taking what might seem overwhelming tasks and breaking them down into manageable bits. When tasks are manageable it makes it easier for me to set priorities and better manage my time and resources.
Finally, all good leaders need a good support network and I am blessed to have great parents, 3 sisters, many friends and teachers within the community that I know I can depend on to help me achieve the expectations of such a role. If I were to be elected into a leadership position these are the 2 goals I would work hard to achieve.
1. I would like to increase school interest and excitement in current sports by offering lunchtime competitions for all students to participate in. I look at ______ and see what excitement it generates and I would like to create the same sort of ‘vibe’ for activity. The events organised would need to be fun, all inclusive (gender/age) and possibly handicapped to create an even playing field.
For example, during the sport’s respective season they have certain competitions that relate to the sport. For instance, there is a beep test challenge during x-country season, a basketball/netball shooting competition or rugby passing accuracy during the winter sport season or a volley competition during the tennis season, the ideas are almost endless. I’m confident that this would create a ‘buzz’ through the school, raising school enthusiasm, interest, participation and spirit. As a result, I believe this idea would raise participation in some sports, increase school spirit about sport and increase attendance at fixtures.
2. I believe that school spirit is an aspect among the College which is lacking. An example of this was at the beginning of the year at the swimming championships.
As a competitor, to look at the stands and see the seven other schools fill their section of seats and then to look at your school section and see half the seats were empty was disheartening and slightly embarrassing. To improve this facet of the College, I would aim to promote upcoming sporting events as much as possible and work with the teachers to encourage students to attend. Specifically I would: Encourage respective sport captains to make announcements in assembly regarding upcoming sporting events and promote certain rounds by displaying posters around the college. Inspire younger teams to watch the open teams.
If resources are available, organise buses to away school fixtures for students. Make attendance at fixtures/ musical recitals / Year 8 Production etc. recorded upon on the school report cards under a “School Spirit” section. I would not want to make attendance to school events compulsory but recognizing school spirt formally would show appreciation for people’s contributions and hopefully increase involvement at school activities. The College, through its approach to co-education has instilled in me the College motto of ‘Plus Ultra’ where I strive to go ‘ever higher’ in all aspects of my life, including leadership and sport. The opportunity to take a Sport leadership position would allow me further opportunities to employ this guiding principle of lifelong learning and self-improvement, while allowing me to give back to the community that has given so much to me. Thank you for considering my application,
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