The Sports Captain

Northern Advocate, 12 January 1939, Page 5

The Sports Captain

(By Marion Mitchell, Apirana Avenue, Whangarei)

A group of girls was standing around the notice board reading the list of nominations for the office of sports captain of St. Brides.

There were only three girls nominated for . this post. They were Joan Richards, Shirley Hart and Sheila Conway. Sheila was worshipped by the juniors and was certain of their support, out the seniors favoured Joan or Shirley. The days before the election passed, and each day more and more of the juniors turned against Sheila. She knew someone had told them something to make them all go against her. What it was she didn’t know, but she made up her mind to find out. As she walked out on to the hockey field a number of junior girls passed her, their heads tossed high in the air. She called out to one of them who came back to see what she wanted. Sheila caught hold of her arm, “Listen, Peggy,” she said, “I want to know what all this is about.”

“You ought to stand for captain, so you should. A fine captain you’d make. All the girls thought you. were fair until Joan Richards showed us those papers.” “What papers? Why, Peggy, what are you talking about?” “The hockey team you drew up, of course. A fine idea to put all the junior girls out of the team and make it a senior team. I can’t see you getting any votes from the juniors.

“Oh, Peggy, that’s all lies. Why, Joan asked me to make a copy of that team for her. I suppose she wanted it in my writing. Oh, Peggy, you must make the juniors believe me.”

“Well, you’ll have to come along with me and explain everything to them, and promise them a fair chance.” “All right, let’s go.”

It was election morning. At 12 o’clock the results would be out. Everyone was anxious to know who would be the new captain. At last Miss Jackson came out of her study, picked up a piece of chalk and walked to the board.

“Here are the results, girls,” said Miss Jackson. The girls read them:

Joan Richards .. 210 votes # Sheila Conway . . 200 votes * Shirley Hart .. 197 votes So Sheila hadn’t won. The juniors must have believed Joan’s tale. They were walking slowly away when Miss Jackson came running out. “Wait,” she said. “There has been a mistake!” She rubbed out Joan’s and Sheila’s totals and put them the other way round, Sheila Conway .. 210 Joan Richards .. 200 Sheila was the captain. Three cheers for Sheila. —Original.