Men’s Swim Team Initiation Ritual #2

Initiation Ritual

 

Paul Cane
Dartmouth College
October 6th, 2018

 

Informant Data:

Paul Cane is a member of the class of 2019 here at Dartmouth and is a member of the Men’s Swim Team. He is from San Francisco, CA. He started swimming at age 7 because his mother wanted him to be safe in the water. Fourteen years later he now swims at the collegiate level and has begun his final season for Dartmouth.

 

Contextual Data:

Social Context: This initiation ritual is performed by new members of the Dartmouth Men’s Swim Team with upperclassmen taking part as well. It occurs on the first day of the season when practices begin. This ritual impacts these new members by encouraging them to engage the upperclassmen and have fun while learning a little bit about the team’s history and culture. The freshmen get to know the upperclassmen and each other while moving into their new lockers.

 

Cultural Context: The Men’s Swim team has their own locker room at the pool and each person gets a locker to use for storing towels, swimsuits, goggles, workout clothes/shoes, and anything else they might want to have close by for practice. The freshmen get to pick which locker they would like to use and then put all of their stuff in it. It is exciting to have your own locker in the team locker room because it makes you feel like you’re officially part of the team and are now able to use it freely. Knowing the history and culture of the team also makes you feel more incorporated and closer to the other people who have those shared experiences.

 

 

 

Item:

On the first day of the official season, the freshmen are all given lockers in the locker room to use. During this process, the upperclassmen on the team run trivia on the team culture  and history. They ask questions and the freshmen try to guess the answers. As they move through the trivia, the freshmen choose the lockers they would like to use and begin to move their stuff in. It is a light hearted affair full of jokes and laughs.

 

 

Analysis:

This ritual serves as a way of educating the new members on team history and culture. The freshmen learn about the team and get to know the upperclassmen. Prior to this the freshmen experienced separation in not having a locker. They then transition as the trivia goes on and they learn more about the team and pick their locker. Finally, they are incorporated by having their own locker and having being more knowledgable about the team’s history and culture. The emphasis in this ritual is primarily to have fun and learn about the team that they will be apart of for the next four years.

Comparison:

This is very similar to the water polo ritual of telling truths and lies and guessing which are true. Both placing an emphasis on getting to know the team and learning its history in a fun way. Unlike the other swim team ritual, this one is more about having fun where the other was a test of physical and mental fortitude.

 

 

James Patrick; 22 years old
4400 Montreux Rd
Warrenton, VA
16 W Wheelock St
Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
Russian 13 Fall

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