Hold the Rope

General Information:

Genre: Material, Tradition/Ritual

Language: English

Country of Origin: Hanover, NH, USA

Informant Data:

Sara Harris was born in 1996 in Chicago, Illinois, and is 20 years old. She started skating when she was three years old. Her parents put her into lessons as a toddler. She competed mostly at the end of middle school and early days of high school. In terms of family history, Sara followed in her sisters footsteps and skated with her in high school.  She is currently a junior at Dartmouth College. Sara is a member of the Dartmouth Figure Skating Club, and practices 3-4 times a week.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context/ Cultural Context: At the beginning of every competition season, the DFSC
  • This piece was collected during an interview about DFSC with Sara on Dartmouth College’s Baker Lobby

Item:

Team Hold the Rope

Associated Video:

Collector’s Comments:

The video above discusses some of the elements of the “Hold the Rope” ceremony, where the action of burning a rope around your wrist symbolizes the unification of the team on a deeper level. Sara explained in detail how the rope symbolically held up each skater as they struggled on the ice during rough times, and pushed them further when success was in sight. The tradition serves as a very powerful reminder of how the team takes care of its members on both a physical and a mental level, providing a space where they can succeed and establish a sense of unity.

Tags/Keywords:

Sara, Harris, hold the rope, tradition, team building,

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