Title: End of Year Dinner
Informant: Julie Lim
Date: 5/22/20
Country of Origin: United States
Informant Data: Julie Lim was born on April 22nd and is from Georgia. She grew up playing lacrosse as with her town youth and high school programs, but according to her, she is from an area where lacrosse is not necessarily as popular so coming to Dartmouth, the club team was more competitive than the lacrosse teams she is used to playing on. Julie considers herself one of the less active members of the lacrosse team but values her experience with the team and the friendships she has made through the team. Julie is currently a senior at Dartmouth College, studying neuroscience and also completed the pre Med curriculum.
Contextual Data: Julie also describes the Dartmouth Women’s club lacrosse experience as a very relaxed team experience where competition is valued less than the social experience of being on a team. While she initially did not consider playing, she was drawn in by friends also considering the team, and she chose to remain a member because of the social bonds she formed through the team. Again, Julie related how the team had a large number of members and that, members are allowed to show up when they chose and have time in their busy Dartmouth schedules. The team competitive season occurs only during the spring term but the team is sure to have social events and “low key” practices throughout the year.
Item: This custom consists of a prepared team social event, in the form of pasta dinner at one of the upper-class leaders off campus houses. The event is rooted in surprise however, as it is disguised in the form of a normal practice. Practices occur at a field about 15 minutes walking distance away from main Dartmouth campus, so because of this team members with cars typically drive the younger students to the field for practice. Group-me messages are sent out about practice and picking team members up for practice, however instead of driving the team to the lacrosse field for practice, they are driven to an off campus house or apartment of a senior on the team where the seniors have prepared a team dinner for the younger members of the team. The night is used for team bonding and socializing instead of athletic practice and it is part of what helps build team community and spirit.
Collector: Matt Armstrong
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General Information
Folklore: Chipotle After Games
Informant: Erin Fitzgerald
Date: 5/22/20
Country of Origin: United States
Informant Data: Erin Fitzgerald was born in Easton Massachusetts on August 26th. She began playing lacrosse in middle school and played for 8 years where her high school career culminated in her play as a prominent midfielder on one of the best teams in the state. In college she joined the club lacrosse team, where she once again plays midfield and has been one of the team leaders her senior year. Erin is currently a senior at Dartmouth College looking to graduate in spring 2020 with degrees in Economics and Anthropology.
Contextual Data: As far as club sports teams go, Erin describes the club lacrosse experience as one of the more relaxed sports teams. They maintain a large number of members on the team, but only a few of the most dedicated members consistently show up to team practices, games, and events. They are not coached and rely more on student leadership, particularly from the team captains. However, in competitions against other schools they often fare incredibly well. Their season lasts only the spring term, and they typically play 2 to 3 weekend tournaments, which almost always take place at other schools.
Item: When the team travels for away games, often to schools in Boston or other locations in Massachusetts or Connecticut, they often have multiple games in one day. The nature of women’s club lacrosse at a collegiate level involves meetups of multiple schools at one school, where they will all play each other. For Dartmouth students, travel for athletics is often one of the few ways to spend significant time off campus, and one of the few available travel outlets for those who do not have their own form of transportation. After travelling and playing multiple games in a day, the team always congregates at a Chipotle restaurant on the trip back to campus for a team meal. Chipotle is one of the favorite restaurants of team members and as there are no Chipotle’s in Hanover or the neighboring towns, it is an experience that many Dartmouth students miss. Because of this, all of the individual rental cars driving back from the lacrosse games stop at the same Chipotle and the team members all eat a meal together as a symbol of a job well done and an opportunity to experience a taste of life outside of the Dartmouth bubble.
Collector: Matt Armstrong