Author Archives: Grace Herron

Post-Meet High-Five Line

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  1. Title: Post-Meet Hand-Shaking Line
  2. Informant: Anna Kingsbury, Female, 19.Anna grew up in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and was a member of the Eastview High School swim team.  She swam on the varsity high school team for four years and was a captain her senior year.  When interviewed, Anna discussed her experiences being a swimmer at a high school level.
  3. Customary, Ritual
  4. Language: English
  5. Country of Origin: United States
  6. Social / Cultural Context: This ritual is done at the conclusion of a meet, when both teams line up to shake each other’s hands
  7. No audio, transcribed Skype interview.
  8. Transcript: “At the end of the meet, the teams line up on opposite sides of the pool.  Then they walk toward each other, and everyone puts their hands up, and everyone kinda high-fives each other saying ‘good meet’ or something like that.”
  9. Informant’s comments: Anna described how this ritual is most commonly done at dual meets, when there are only two teams, versus in an invitational meet setting when there are multiple teams.
  10. Collector’s comments: This ritual is found among many levels of swimming, and was even reported at the collegiate level in a tri-meet setting when there were three teams.
  11. Tags/Keywords: Ritual, High-Five

Pre-Meet Pasta

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1. Title: Pre-Meet Pasta Superstition
2.Informant info: Catherine (Katie) Harmon (19) has just completed her freshman year while swimming for the club team at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.  UMD does not have a varsity collegiate team so they receive some preferential treatment as far as facilities useage when compared to other club teams.  Katie has swum competitively in MD for most of her life starting on a local neighborhood summer team, then a small local club team, eventually a high school team, and now the UMD club team.
3. Customary: Superstition
4.Language: English
5.Country of Origin: MD, USA
6.Social / Cultural Context: When something works well, swimmers have a tendancy to do it everytime to preserve their chance of success (going a best time).  In this case, the UMD club team beleives that if they don’t eat the same dinner the night before every meet, and the same breakfast before every meet, then they will not perform well.
7.No Audio, transcribed Skype interview
8.Transcript: team dinner the night before every meal, always pasta either home cooked or restaurant.  They then have bagels in the morning of before every meet.
9.Informant’s comments: It is Katie’s beleif that if they don’t have this meal before a meet then they will not perform well
10.Collector’s comments: This is similar to my own club experience and from what I know about other informants as well.
11. Tags/Keywords: superstition, meal

Club Team “Fight Song”

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1. Title: Maryland Club Team “Fight Song”
2. Informant: Catherine (Katie) Harmon (19) has just completed her freshman year while swimming for the club team at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.  UMD does not have a varsity collegiate team so they receive some preferential treatment as far as facilities useage when compared to other club teams.  Katie has swum competitively in MD for most of her life starting on a local neighborhood summer team, then a small local club team, eventually a high school team, and now the UMD club team.
3. Customary: Ritual
4. Language: English
5. Country of Origin: United States
6. Social / Cultural Context: Katie stated that every team at UMD does the same fight song to emphasize unity among the athletic teams at UMD.  Usually club teams do not have to participate in this tradition but since there is no varsity swim team, their team is encouraged to do so.
7. No audio, transcribed Skype interview.
8. Transcript:
“Maryland, we’re all behind you
Raise high the black and gold
for there is nothing half so glorious
as to see our team victorious
we’ve got the team boys
we’ve got the steam boys
so keep on fighting don’t give in
M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D maryland will win!
(and then three rounds of GO MARYLAND! with fake drum noises)”
9. Informant’s comments: Every varsity team and Katie’s club team perform this distinctive fight song
10. Collector’s comments: I have seen the Maryland football team perform this fight song when watching games on TV.
11. Tags/Keywords: Pre-Meet, Ritual, Fight Song

Leaving 5 Seconds

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  1. Title: Leaving 5 Seconds Behind
  2. Informant: Sierra Levene, 19, Female.Sierra grew up in Wyoming and currently attends Dartmouth College where she is a freshman.  She just began swimming competitively on the Dartmouth College Club swim team this year.  When interviewed, Sierra discussed various aspects of swimming that were difficult to understand when she first joined the swim team.  This included etiquette and proper behavior at swim meets, as well as phrases and expressions that make up a unique “language of swimming.”
  3. Customary: Etiquette
  4. Language: English
  5. Country of Origin: United States
  6. Social / Cultural Context: In practice, swimmers will leave 5 seconds behind the swimmer in front of them.  This is not an estimation- since training in swimming is interval based, it is important to leave 5 seconds to maintain your own set of intervals.

  7. (Audio Only)

  8. Transcript: Definitely leaving 5 seconds”
  9. Informant’s comments: Sierra emphasized the importance of leaving 5 seconds behind a person so that you do not swim right behind them “on their feet” and annoy them
  10. Collector’s comments: 5 seconds seemed to be the universal magic number for how long you should wait before going after the person in front of you.
  11. Tags/Keywords: Etiquette, 5 Seconds

“On My Feet”

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  1. Title: “On My Feet”
  2. Informant: Anna Kingsbury, Female, 19.Anna grew up in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and was a member of the Eastview High School swim team.  She swam on the varsity high school team for four years and was a captain her senior year.  When interviewed, Anna discussed her experiences being a swimmer at a high school level.
  3. Verbal, Phrase
  4. Language: English
  5. Country of Origin: United States
  6. Social / Cultural Context:The term is used by swimmers in practice, at swim meets, and in discussions about swimming
  7. No audio, transcribed Skype interview.
  8. Text: “On my feet”
    Transcript:“Its seriously the most annoying thing ever.  Like when someone is on your feet, meaning they’re swimming so closely behind you that they keep touching your feet.  I can’t stand it.”
  9. Informant’s comments: Anna described how this phrase has a negative connotation, since swimming “on someone’s feet” is frowned upon.
  10. Collector’s comments: This phrase was found commonly among all levels of competitive swimming.
  11. Tags/Keywords: Phrase, Verbal

College Team Cheer

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  1. Title: Ritual of Team Cheer, College
  2. Informant #1: AnnClaire MacArt, 20, Female.AnnClaire (AC) was born and raised in Northern California.  She currently lives in Hanover, New Hampshire and is a sophomore at Dartmouth College.  AC is a member of the Dartmouth College Varsity Swimming and Diving Team.  She has swum competitively for over 10 years, including at the age group (club), high school, and now collegiate level. 

    Informant #2: Andrew North

    Andrew North was a four year member of the Dartmouth Men’s Swimming and diving team. In his fourth year on the team he served as one of two captains of the men’s team. He has lived across the US as well as internationally; contributing to his broad knowledge of the national and global swimming communities: his states of residence include Indiana, Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, Nebraska as well as the Philippines. Andrew continued to swim in all of these places, spanning over more than a decade of competitive swimming.

  3. Customary, Ritual
  4. Language: English
  5. Country of Origin: United States
  6. Social / Cultural Context:This ritual involves a brief team meeting followed by a cheer at a swim meet.  These cheers are performed at competitions prior to the start of races.  It is not just one team that participates but many; although the actual cheer itself differs for team to team, the ritual of performing a cheer is found as a commonality among all teams.  It seems that there is even a recognized time that these cheers be performed; after the first team performs a cheer the other teams’ cheers quickly follow.
  7. Video: AC
  8. Transcript: Andrew North:“You know, for me, it was always about the cheer after everyone kindof does their own thing for the pre-meet warm up and their own pre-meet ritual…just feeling the excitement of everyone building up to a big cheer… you do it so that you and your team get pumped up and you literally do, you start screaming and jumping up and down, it would be really hard to walk away from that without getting your heart rate up.”
  9. Informant’s comments: The team cheer is always done, one of the strongest rituals in swimming.
  10. Collector’s comments: As both informants were from the same college team, their description of this ritual put together for this piece of folklore.
  11. Tags/Keywords: Team Cheer

Same-Lane Warm-Up

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  1. Title: Warming Up in Same Lane as Race
  2. Informant: Anna Kingsbury, 19, Female.  Anna grew up in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and was a member of the Eastview High School swim team.  She swam on the varsity high school team for four years and was a captain her senior year.  When interviewed, Anna discussed her experiences being a swimmer at a high school level.
  3. Customary, Contagious Magic/ Superstition
  4. Language: English
  5. Country of Origin: United States
  6. Social / Cultural Context: During warm up at a swim meet, Anna explained that you have to check what lane you will be racing in and then warm up in that lane.
  7. No Audio, transcribed Skype interview
  8. Transcript:“You alway have to warm up in the lane that you will be racing in.  You need to feel what its like to be in that lane, push off the wall, and finish.”
  9. Informant’s comments: Anna explained how there is something special about being in the water in the exact lane you’re going to race in.
  10. Collector’s comments:The idea that two thing that are in contact will always be in contact comes into play here.  By warming up in the lane you will later race in, you create magic through a connection with the lane that may help you in your race.
  11. Tags/Keywords: Contagious Magic

Saying “Good Luck”

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  1. Title: Saying Good Luck to the Swimmer Next to You
  2. Informant: Anna Kingsbury, 19, Female.  Anna grew up in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and was a member of the Eastview High School swim team.  She swam on the varsity high school team for four years and was a captain her senior year.  When interviewed, Anna discussed her experiences being a swimmer at a high school level.
  3. Customary: Superstition
  4. Language: English
  5. Country of Origin: United States
  6. Social / Cultural Context:Anna explained a superstition she and her teammates have at high school swim meets.  They would shake the hand of their competitor and wish them luck before their race, otherwise it was bad luck for them.
  7. No Audio, transcribed Skype Interview
  8. Transcript:“You have to say good luck to the person next to you before you race, otherwise it’s bad luck.  Especially if you’re in one of the center lanes.  We all do it for every single race”
  9. Informant’s comments: Anna noted that she observed this behavior not only at high school meets, but also at club level meets.
  10. Collector’s comments: Wishing your competitor good luck could be a way of showing grace and gratitude, as well as not jinxing yourself before your race.
  11. Tags/ Keywords: Superstition

Pushing Coach into Pool

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  1. Title: Pushing Coach into Pool after a Win
  2. Informant: Andrew North, 24, Male.  Andrew North was a four year member of the Dartmouth Men’s Swimming and diving team. In his fourth year on the team he served as one of two captains of the men’s team. He has lived across the US as well as internationally; contributing to his broad knowledge of the national and global swimming communities: his states of residence include Indiana, Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, Nebraska as well as the Philippines. Andrew continued to swim in all of these places, spanning over more than a decade of competitive swimming.
  3. Customary: Celebration
  4. Language: English
  5. Country of Origin: United States
  6. Social / Cultural Context: This ritual would be performed after a victory in a competition at a high level.
  7. No audio, transcribed Skype interview.
  8. Transcript/ Text: “Well, there are a lot of pretty standard interactions between a swimmer and coach, whether it is at a meet or during practice.  But those are important all the standard symbols that you might see from a coach during a race. But something that was always really unique to swimming outside of that kind of day to day grind type stuff is that every other sports team dumps a gatorade bucket on their coach or water bucket on their coach when they win a championship, but swimming is different in that we push our Coach in the pool. I’ve always thought that was something really unique that swimmers do when they celebrate.”
  9. Informant’s comments:Andrew had also stated that he was on a very successful team in high school and they had celebrated in this fashion numerous times, however he did not have the opportunity to do so during his Dartmouth career.
  10. Collector’s comments: This ritual was especially unique to swimming as it involves a large body of water.
  11. Tags/ Keywords: Celebration