Skater Dates

 Title: Skater Dates

Genre: Customary Folklore: Tradition

Language: English

Country of  Origin: 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 fall term of her freshman year at Dartmouth College.Upperclassmen actively engaged her in this folklore. She received an team wide email that had skater date assingments. Her date contacted her to set up the date.

Item:

A skater dates are weekly meals between two skaters on the Dartmouth Figure Skating Club team. Pairs are emailed out to the club and sometime during the upcoming week, the pair is supposed to eat a meal together.

Informant’s Comments: Regina contacted me after the interview and told me specifics on how skater dates or formed.

Collector’s Comments: During the first term of the year, Skater Dates are meant to help incorporate freshmen into the team culture and have them get to know the upperclassmen better. As the year goes on, it is meant to maintain a sense of team unity throughout the term. Skater dates are organized by the team social chairs.

Collectors: Samuel Lee

Tags/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth Figure Skating Club, DFSC, Tradition, Skater Dates, Sk8ter D8tes

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