Squash Match

Title: Squash Match

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

The informant is from Princeton, New Jersey he is a Dartmouth sophomore currently studying government. Sean is an avid member of both the Dartmouth Varsity Squash Team and Psi Upsilon fraternity. The informant has one older brother.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: The informant went to school in Princeton, New Jersey where he learned how to play squash. Sean played squash throughout high school while simultaneously focusing on academics. Squash has been a big part of Sean’s life and has allowed him to pursue his academics at a high quality school such as Dartmouth.
Cultural Context: Like many other athletes Sean also believes that school always comes before squash. Being involved in squash is not just about being a good player, it’s about being a good teammate. To foster growth within the team, many of the members share traditions that they pass on to other members of the team.

Item:

Before every test, the informant will play a match of squash with one of his teammate in order to get into the proper mindset of performance on the test. The informant even follows this strict tradition during finals. This is a common tradition among other member of Sean’s squash team.

Informant’s Comments:

This is something that my team has done since I arrived at Dartmouth. I am proud to continue on with this superstition.

Collector’s Comments:

Many teams hold certain superstitions on their teams that they believe will lead to success in their sport and in their academics.

Collector’s Name: Matt Moniz

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive