April 8, 2020
Junto asked this year's Athletics candidate, Madeline Smith (11), about her upcoming plans for next year and her ideas on expanding the audience for lesser-watched sports.
Tell us about your biggest potential policy initiative.
I want to expand the role of Senator of Athletics. This past year, I focused a lot on promoting and recognizing not just our athletes- but our incredible artists and performers. We had our strings, choir, and dance programs showcased as apart of a promotional event for the events they had coming up. This is something no senator of athletics has ever done; I want to continue expanding this role to support as many students on their endeavors of visual arts, dramatic arts, performing arts, and athletics as I can. Our school has so much more to offer than just athletics.
HKIS struggles to generate fan support and attendance for all of its sports. Despite this, it’s no secret that some sports at HKIS are more popular and well-enjoyed by the student body. In order to increase school spirit, how would you focus on increasing attendance at games for sports that are typically less-watched?
Ah. The age-old question. I think the question we ought to be asking when considering fan support and attendance is how each program can support each other. Of course, the athletic department, the athletic council, and the current senator have a crucial role in making people’s seasons the best they can be, and providing fun incentives for people to come to games. What I’ve learned this year is that getting people to show up not as simple as just asking the Booster Club to come with popcorn (shoutout booster club, though! hehe!) One of the things Dr. Lovelin taught me this past year was to create a culture where students support students (sounds simple, right?!) If the swim team collectively decides one day to go out and support the volleyball team, or the basketball team gets together to go support the musical, that is students coming together and rallying around each other. I want to see more of this. Next year, if re-elected, I will make this notion a priority when communicating with captains and leaders of teams and programs.
As a returning candidate, please describe your biggest accomplishments this year.
I know I am not alone in feeling that this year seems wholly incomplete. I am proud of my adaptability in all situations, but most of all, I am proud of all of our athletes that put in countless hours regardless of the situations we faced throughout the year.