Title: Game Day Handshakes

General Information about Item:

• Ritual folklore and Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informants: Christina Rombaut, Sydney Hill, Bailee Brekke, Jess Forcey, Georgia Kraus, Gabby Billing, Emily McLaughlin, Catherine Trevors, Katerina Dajia, Jennifer Costa
• Date Collected:11/19/19

Informants’ Data:

• Christina Rombaut: born and raised in Rothesay, New Brunswick Canada. Captain of the Women’s Ice Hockey Team.
• Sydney Hill: born and raised in Redvers, Saskatchewan Canada. Assistant captain of the Women’s Ice Hockey Team.
• Bailee Brekke: born in Chicago, IL. Raised in Ohio and Waddington, N.Y. Assistant captain of the Women’s Ice Hockey Team.
• Jess Forcey: born and raised in London, Ontario Canada.
• Georgia Kraus: born and raised in West Hartford, Connecticut.
• Gabby Billing: born and raised in Corcoran, Minnesota.
• Celine Pietraszek: born and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• CC Bowlby: born and raised in Edina, Minnesota.
• Emily McLaughlin: born and raised in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
• Catherine Trevors: born and raised in Oakville, Ontario Canada.
• Katerina Dajia: born and raised in Aurora, Ontario Canada.
• Jennifer Costa: born and raised in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Handshakes are a crucial tradition of Dartmouth Women’s Ice Hockey. As a collective, everyone on the team has several handshakes they perform on game day with other teammates. The handshakes are established among players from all classes and positions. The handshakes vary in complexity, making each one special among the participants in the handshake.
• Social Context: This ritual is performed many times throughout game day in the locker room. First, the handshakes are performed before on ice warm-ups, and again, before heading onto the ice for the start of the game. Additionally, handshakes are performed between each period when the players convene in the locker room while the ice is being cleaned for the next period.

Shown Below: Captain, Christina Rombaut, and Assistant Captains, Bailee Brekke and Sydney Hill, performing their game day “handshake” centered around the Dartmouth D logo.

Videos of Handshakes can be viewed in the links below:

Handshake 1 Bailee Brekke and Sydney Hill

Handshake 2 Jess Forcey and Georgia Kraus

Handshake 3 Gabby Billing and Bailee Brekke

Handshake 4 CC Bowlby and Celine Pietraszek

Handshake 5 Emily McLaughlin and Christina Rombaut

Handshake 6 Catherine Trevors and Jennifer Costa

Handshake 7 Katerina Dajia and Bailee Brekke

Informants’ Comments:

• This ritual allows teammates to feel connected to one another and further helps to foster team chemistry before players take the ice.

Collector’s Comments:

• This tradition is very important to the team, because it allows the team to feel connected to one another as teammates and as a family. Each handshake is different from one another and allows the individuality of both players to be expressed through the handshake. By performing the handshake, players feel ready for the game and have a sense of security/protection from their teammates.

Collector’s name: Jennifer Costa

Tags/Keywords:

• Handshakes
• Superstition
• Ritual