Block Ritual | Dartmouth Folklore Archive

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Alexandra “Alie” Hunter is a swimmer on the Swim and Dive Team at Dartmouth College, and is a member of the Class of 2021. Alie Hunter was born in Toronto, Canada on September 8, 1999. Alie is the first swimmer in her family. She began swimming at the age of five, and decided to swim and go to college in America her junior year of high school.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: The cultural context of this folklore reflects the stress and pressure that many swimmers feel before they race. The swimmers will help do rituals to calm down and relax before their races because of the environment that swimmers face.
Social Context: The data was collected during a one on one interview in the RWIT studio/room, right after she finished her IVY League Championship meet. Alie described a ritual that she does before every race. Alie noted that every person, boys and girls, on the team would also do during their swim meets. Their coach recommended it to the team as a way to help them build confidence and stay calm before their races. This folklore ritual was created when Alie turned 12 years old.

Item:

Alie will stand on the blocks and look at her teammates at the other end of her lane before her races. Her friends and teammates all make sure to be behind the lanes to cheer for the swimmer and give them something to look at before the race.

Transcript:

“Before my races, I will always stand up on the block and look at my teammates who are at the other end. Until the starter say’s ‘Take your Mark,’ I will continue to look at my teammates as they cheer for me on the other end. My Coach told us to do this when we were twelve to help us relieve stress and know that our team was there to help cheer for us. My teammates and I started to do this before every race since then, and we make sure we are always at the other end of the pool for whoever is starting so they can see us. The first time I tried this, it helped me go fast and stay calm, so I have and will continue to do it forever.”

Collector’s Comments:

Collector’s Name: Matthew Luciano

Tags/Keywords: Poly-modal Folklore, Ritual, Magic Superstition, Swimming

Dartmouth Folklore Archive