Women’s Hockey (Caroline Shaunessy)

Title: Pre-Competition Rituals of the Hungarian National Women’s Hockey Team

General Information about Item:

• Type of Lore: Customary Lore, Verbal Lore, Ritual
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: Hungary
• Informant: Lotti Odnoga
• Date Collected: May 20th, 2019

Informant Data: Lotti Odnoga is a freshman on the Dartmouth women’s ice hockey team and the Hungarian national hockey team. She is a defenseman and one the leading scorers on the team. She has not decided her major yet but plans to study sociology. Lotti was born and raised in Gyor, Hungary. She learned hockey from her older brother who plays. In high school she moved to the states to play hockey and go to boarding school at Vermont Academy. She also rides horses and won nationals in Equestrian.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Hockey is a team sport that relies heavily on athleticism, but also has a large mental aspect. Games are the main form of competition. Players skate on ice and have to work together to maneuver a puck into the opposing team’s net. The game is extremely physical and requires a level of grit and intensity many other sports do not. This context is meaningful because many of the player often have to calm themselves down before games rather than pump themselves up. There is a fine line player have to fine in order to perform with peak results.
• Social Context: Lotti first learned about the pre-competition rituals of the hockey team playing soccer when she first joined the team. She was invited to join into the ritual by other girls on the team and says the game brings her a lot of joy. Lotti says that a lot of other teams especially in Europe play a variation of soccer before games. She noted that the Japanese team plays a strange version of the game. She feels that her team would never let this tradition or ritual stop because even her coaches join in playing.

Item: The specific game the Hungarian national hockey team involves all the members of the team joining in a circle and trying to keep a soccer ball in the air. If the ball hits the ground on your turn to keep it up, the player who let it hit the ground is out. At the end of the game, the last three people left get a turn to take the ball and kick it at one of the first three players out.

Athlete’s Photo:

Men’s Hockey (Caroline Shaunessy)

Title: Pre-Competition Rituals of the Dartmouth Men’s Hockey Team

General Information about Item:

• Type of Lore: Customary Lore, Verbal Lore, Ritual
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Alex Jasiek
• Date Collected: May 20th, 2019

Informant Data: Alex Jasiek is a senior on the men’s varsity hockey team. He is a forward and one of the team leaders. He is an Econ major and was born in raised in St. Louis, Missouri. His dad worked for the St. Blues allowing him to grow up around hockey. Many of his friends had NHL players for dads, who ended up coaching his teams. He can’t remember when he started playing hockey, but he imagines around 4 or 5 years old. Alex was recruited his junior year to play hockey at Dartmouth and feels the team and sport has played a huge part in his life and Dartmouth career. He has been a part of the team for four years, but does not plan on continuing to play after college.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Hockey is a team sport that relies heavily on athleticism, but also has a large mental aspect. Games are the main form of competition. Players skate on ice and have to work together to maneuver a puck into the opposing team’s net. The game is extremely physical and requires a level of grit and intensity many other sports do not. This context is meaningful because many of the player often have to calm themselves down before games rather than pump themselves up. There is a fine line player have to fine in order to perform with peak results.
• Social Context: Alex first learned about the pre-competition ritual of the hockey team playing soccer his freshman year. He learned many of the handshakes, games, and timelines from older member of the team, most usually seniors. He also mentioned that many of the players have team have handshakes with other players that they do before they take the ice before competition. While Alex says he has played similar games on other teams, this specific iteration of the game he has only played at Dartmouth. He feels there are different games the team could play in order to get the same effect, but he thinks if players would not decide to just not play it because it keeps people loose and creates good energy for the team.

Item: The specific game the men’s hockey team plays is called “Sewer Ball.” The game involves all the members of the team joining in a circle and trying to keep a soccer ball or football in the air. If the ball hits the ground on your turn to keep it up, the player who let it hit the ground must run a lap around the rink before joining the circle again

Athlete’s Photo:

Men’s Swimming (Henry Goodwyn)

Title: Men’s Swimming Pre-Game Rituals

General Information about Item:

• Type of Lore: Customary Lore, Ritual, Verbal Lore
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: John Hall
• Date Collected: May 22nd, 2019

Informant Data: John Hall is in the class of 2019 at Dartmouth where he competes on the Men’s Swimming and Diving Team. His event consist of mid-distance freestyle races, which he has competed in for almost his entire life. This gives him a unique perspective in terms of the lore and rituals that he has seen and participated in both here at Dartmouth and on his high school/travel swim teams. He is currently in his junior year and has spent his entire time at this school on the Men’s Swimming and Diving Team.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Dartmouth Men’s Swimming and Diving is unique because it is a team sport that consists of multiple individual events. The team has a had a shaky record since John has been a student at this school. This team has a very unique presence on Dartmouth’s campus and are all very close with one another.
• Social Context: Men’s Swimming and Diving is unique because of the nature of their competitions. The sport has different distances which require different mindsets in order for athletes to perform to the best of their individual abilities. A spectator might think that because the events are individually oriented that the team doesn’t have much unity, but there are both individual and team aspects to the Pre-Game rituals that John performs.

Item: John described his own individual Pre-Game rituals as well as the team component of his pre-game ritual. He explained that he has had the same individual warm-up since his early high school career and that because it is so ingrained in his routine, he would not feel comfortable competing without doing every stretch/practice start the same way. He then explained that right before the race starts, the team sings a chant together. This brings the team together in a sense of unity before they split up and compete in their respective races.

Athlete’s Photo:

Transcript: “Initially its started for me as my club and high school coaches telling me and my team, ‘This is how you should warm up’, but as you get older you tinker with that because it’s not a one-size-fits-all. For the team rituals it’s important because its always the exact same thing so when I first got here they taught it to us and now it’s my job as a member to help pass that along to new members of the team when they join”

Informant’s Comments: John said that the team chant component of his warm up was very important to him because of the history of the chant. He said that he was never handed a written version of the chant but was expected to learn it as he progressed with the team which took him some time. He explains that now that he knows the chant he is proud of the history behind the chant and enjoys passing down the tradition and history that the chant has to new members.

Collector’s Comments: John was very adamant in the fact that he do the same warm-up routine every time he competes or else he would not feel mentally prepared. The rituals that he described made sense in terms of practicality seeing as he swims in different events than other members of the team. It was also interesting to note that he was insistent that the team performs their group chant right before the competition started (after the team members did their individual routines).

Collector’s Name: Henry Goodwyn

Tags/Keywords:

• Dartmouth Swimming
• Pre-Game Rituals
• Ritual
• Verbal Lore

Women’s Sailing (Alexa Limb)

Title: Pre-Competition Rituals of the Dartmouth Sailing Team

General Information about Item:

• Type of Lore: Customary Lore, Verbal Lore, Ritual
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: South Korea
• Informant: Kasey Rhee
• Date Collected: May 21st, 2019

Informant Data: Kasey Rhee is currently a sophomore on the varsity sailing team. Her position on the team is a crew. She is a Quantitative Social Sciences (QSS) major and was born in Seoul, South Korea. Her first time sailing was at the age of 7 with her father and at 10 years old, she began sailing on her own. Kasey decided to join the Dartmouth sailing team because her father sailed throughout college, which was very inspiring to her and gave her a more personal connection with the sport. She has been on the team since her freshman year.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Sailing, while a team sport, also is highly individualized. The regatta, which is the sporting competition where the sailing team participates in boat races, usually involves less time with the team as a whole. Some of the Dartmouth sailing athletes will travel to one regatta, while others will go to a different competition. Moreover, during the race, the sailor is only with one other person in the boat, not the entire team. With this context of the sport’s culture in mind, the pre-game rituals are highly important and meaningful because they are an opportunity for the team to come together and be united before their individual races. It instills team bonding and spirit that is more difficult to sustain in a very individualized sport. 
• Social Context: Kasey first learned about the pre-competition ritual of the sailing team when she first joined the sailing team her freshman year at Dartmouth. The “clap out” and reciting of the acronym “TMB’s” is performed during the fall and spring athletic seasons. While Kasey doesn’t know the origin, it is an ongoing tradition that alumni know as well. Every friday, the team will perform this ritual in preparation for the Saturday regatta. It is typically performed at the boathouse or the erg room, which is where sailors can use various rowing or exercise machines. While there is no set time for the ritual, it is usually done right after team practice every friday of competition weekends, when everyone is together. According to Kasey, this is a ritual that you “learn by doing” when you first join as a freshman, since no one really explains it to the new team members. Eventually, it comes naturally. It is performed with the entire team and is led by the captains. The shouting of the phrase “TMB’s” is an acronym that stands for different words that only the sailing team understands. At first, no one is allowed to tell the freshmen athletes what it means. Kasey only learned what “TMB’s” meant after she won her first three sailing races during freshman year. Each time she won a race, she would get to choose one letter of the acronym to learn about.

The “clap out” and chanting of “TMB’s” is meaningful to Kasey because of the exclusivity of this ritual and its ability to effectively rally team spirit. It is something that only the sailing team and its alumni know about and participate in, and not even the coach understands its meaning. The team as a whole is impacted by this ritual because it makes everyone feel good and excited for their race. It also reminds them that they are part of a greater team that supports them.

Item: One of the sailing team’s pre-competition rituals includes a “clap out,” in which the team stands in a circle and starts clapping together, first slowly and then gradually speed up. As they clap, the team will come close together in a huddle and the captains will crouch at the center of the huddle. They will make a “little fire” motion with their fingers, say something to the team to rally spirit, and then everyone on the team will collectively say the phrase “TMB’s.” After saying this acronym, the huddle will break.

Athlete’s Photo:

Transcript: “Before we leave on that Friday, we do a clap out where we start clapping slow and speed up and come together in a huddle. The captains will crouch in the center of the huddle, make a little fire with their fingers, say something to the team, and we all say “TMB’s.”

Informant’s Comments: “Its something that has been around forever, it’s just a little thing. It’s kind of like a habit, it makes you feel good. People are sad if they have to leave practice early, since it is this habit they have.”

Collector’s Comments: I think that this is a particularly meaningful ritual because of its exclusivity and secrecy. No one knows what the phrase “TMB’s” means except for the sailing team, which gives them a very special and unique bond. It also is such a simple act to say this phrase, yet it carries a deeper significance for the team and functions to rally emotional response in a way that is really fascinating.

Collector’s Name: Alexa Limb

Tags/Keywords:

• Dartmouth Sailing Team
• Customary Lore
• Verbal Lore
• Pre-Competition Ritual

Men’s Lacrosse (Sumner Erbe)

Title: Men’s Lacrosse Pre-Game

General Information about Item:

• Type of Lore: Video Interview
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Austin Meacham
• Date Collected: May 20th, 2019

Informant Data: Austin Meacham is the class of 2019 at Dartmouth College. He is the current Varsity Men’s Lacrosse captain. Hailing from Connecticut, Austin has played lacrosse for his entire life and was a top recruit after high school. In this way, he is a veteran of the sport and has played on the Varsity team for four years.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: The Dartmouth Men’s lacrosse team is a Varsity team at the College. They play about fifteen games this year and have struggled of late to find success on the field. With these struggles, the team has had to look inward for motivation as external success has been very limited.
• Social Context: In Lacrosse, the team dynamic is important. Many players run on and off the field in “shifts” throughout the game, which delivers and interesting dynamic between the overall team and the players on each shift. The team must be cohesive and have strong communication as the field is quite large and everyone on it must be on the same page and executing the same game plan to find success.

Item: Austin describes a ritual in which the captain gathers the other players in a huddle. The captain is in charge of getting the rest of the team mentally prepared for the game.  The captain tends to focus on talking about the other team’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the Dartmouth team’s game plan.

Photo of Athlete:

Transcript: Austin described the ritual as being essential for getting the team to be cohesive and together. While players are getting ready, a reminder about who the other team is, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as Dartmouth’s gameplan can serve pivotal in executing well as a team.

Informant’s Comments: Austin mentioned that because of this, the ritual does impact the team’s performance on the field. While the impact is “minimal,” Austin did assure that it provides an important time for the team to come together and get on the same page before the game. The ritual does change over time, though, which each captain using the timing of the ritual as a way to leverage its impacts. Some captains may perform the ritual closer to the game, while some may perform it in the middle of warm ups, for example.

Collector’s Comments: The ritual described by Austin seemed to be quite practical at first. The team needs to meet before games in order to discuss their game plan and the other team’s weaknesses. But, upon further analysis, i think the underlying sense of togetherness that this rituals allows is even more important than the logistics of the meeting itself. If the players, led by the captain, can come together as one unit, the team’s performance will likely be enhanced. It brings the team together in a way that would not occur organically. I think the flexibility of the ritual speaks to this, as well. Because captains can change the timing of this ritual, each captain can adjust the timing based on what he thinks will be most impactful for the team at that time. In this way, the ritual’s customization is an important part of its effectiveness.

Collector’s Name: Sumner Erbe

Tags/Keywords:

• Dartmouth Pre game Rituals
• Men’s Lacrosse
• Performance