“Skate Low, Score High”

Title: “Skate Low, Score High”

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Sarah Harris was born in 1996 in Chicago, Illinois. When she was 3 years old, her parents signed her up for skating lessons. Skating was an integral part of her childhood, as she skated 6 days a week. She competed in many skating competitions during middle school and high school. Currently, Sarah is pursuing a History and Government major at Dartmouth. She is also on the Dartmouth Figure Skating Club.

Social Context/Cultural Context:

The phrase “Skate low, score high” is a reference to one of the team-based events during a specific skating competition that the Dartmouth Figure Skating Club had participated in in the past. In every competition, there are three team-based events (low, middle, and high), based on skating ability. For each event, up to five skaters from the team perform up to 6 elements in total. At the specific competition that took place in the past, Dartmouth’s “Low” team, consisting of 4 skaters, scored first place, thus giving birth to the slogan “Skate low, score high,” referring to the “low” team “scoring first place.” Since that competition, the saying “skate low, score high” has been adopted by the team and is said by skaters to to fellow team members who are about to get onto ice for an event at a competition as a way of saying good luck.
This piece of folklore was collected during an interview about DFSC with Sarah at Dartmouth College’s King Arthur Cafe inside Baker Library.

Item: “Skate Low, Score High!”

DFSC’s “Low Team” which won 1st place multiple times at competitions, coining the phrase “Skate Low, Score High”

Audio Clip:

Transcript of audio:

“People also said, uhm, ‘skate low, score high,’ which is a reference to the low team event and them winning that often.”

Informant’s Comments:

When asked on her interpretation of the phrase, she responded that the phrase is another way of saying good luck and motivate the team.

Collector’s Comments:

Sarah mentioned how the phrase “skate low, score high” is comparable to a good luck wish. In a way, it is similar to magic spell in the sense that skaters evoke and remember the past success they’ve had during a certain competition and subsequently try to channel that success that success into the present performance.

Collectors: Yun Yue Chen and John Gilmore

Tags/Keywords:

“Skate low, score high,” Dartmouth Figure Skating

Dartmouth Folklore Archive