Genre: Customary, Tradition

Language: English

Country where Item is from: USA

Informant Data: Regina Yan ’19 is currently enrolled at Dartmouth College. She was born in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and moved to Overland Park, Kansas when she was seven. In addition to being on the Dartmouth Figure Skating Team, Regina is also an active member of the Dartmouth Outing Club and a leader in the Dartmouth Mountainering Club. Regina began to skate when she was 10 years old after watching the 2006 Torino Olympics. She skated for five years with the Silver Blades Skating Club but due to health problems, stopped skating in high school. She began again her freshman year at Dartmouth College.

Social/Contextual Data: Informant was interviewed alone at Dartmouth College. The informant was asked to talk about figure skating folklore in relation to the Dartmouth Figure Skating Club.

Regina encountered this piece of folklore in the spring term of her freshman year at Dartmouth College. An email outlining Secret Psych was sent out to the skating team. An upperclassman then explained it to her in depth later.

Item:

A week leading up to any major competition, each skater is secretly assigned another skater to anonymously give small gifts, posters, and encouraging notes to. Your “secret psycher” – the one giving you gifts – is revealed on the push ride up to competition.

Transcription of Interview:

“A week before competition, everyone is assigned a skater to give encouraging messages, gift baskets, posters, and general support to anonymously. On the bus to competition, it is revealed who your secret skater is.”

Informant’s Comments: 

Gifts typically include candy, flaire, posters on doors, and stuffed animals. Small notes of encouragement are often secretly slipped to the recipient.

Collector’s Comments:

This practice is very similar to the popular tradition of “Secret Santa.” The point of this practice is to psych the other skater up so that they become excited and ready competition.

After the interview, Regina remembered the proper name of the folklore item, “Secret Psych” not “Secret Skater”

Collectors: Samuel Lee

Tags/Keywords:

• Dartmouth Figure Skating Club, DFSC, Tradition, Secret Psych, Secret Santa