GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ITEM:

• Customary Folklore – Tradition 
• Language: English 
• Country of origin: United States
• Informant: Cathleen Li
•  
• Date Collected: 11/10/19

INFORMANT DATA:

• Cathleen Li is an active swimmer on the Dartmouth Women’s Swim Team at Dartmouth College. She is part of the Class of 2021, and she has been swimming since her freshman fall. Born on May 13, 1999, she is from Boston, Massachusetts. She started swimming recreationally at three or four years old, but she notes that she began swimming competitively at the age of seven. Her favorite stroke is Butterfly. 

CONTEXTUAL DATA:

• Cultural Context: This folklore is a customary tradition that the entire Dartmouth Swim Team engages in, every single Fall term. Including the Women’s and Men’s team, this bonding experience is a fun event held by both teams to foster and encourage inter-gender team mingling and bonding, since the activity of Dartmouth pong involves team coordination and team communication. This pong tournament held near the end of the fall term every year has been a favorite tradition of many swimmers, since the game is a fun way to bring swimmers closer together, despite gender. Again, this tradition highlights how collective the sport is, but also how individualistic the swimmers are in their respective sport. Therefore, the team pong tournament encourages a collective team spirit, since swimming is very specifically tailored to a single teammate during meets and competitions. 
• Social Context: This folklore data was collected on the third floor of the Baker-Berry Library at Dartmouth College. This tradition of a pong tournament is held every single Fall term, yearly. Usually, upperclassmen will be paired with underclassmen, as a way to foster team bonding. The pong tournament includes the game of Dartmouth pong, a game that involves a ping-pong style of activity in which individuals must play ping pong with ping pong paddles, in an attempt to hit a ping pong ball over to the opposing side and into (or hit onto) the cups shaped like a “tree.” 

ITEM: 

• Every Fall term at Dartmouth, the Dartmouth Women’s and Men’s Swim and Dive team will participate in a pong tournament. 

TRANSCRIPT:

INFORMANT’S COMMENTS:

• “Every year, the pong tournament is something I look forward to. It’s so fun, and the partners get to dress up in a team costume. It’s a fun way to just hang out as a team.”

COLLECTOR’S COMMENTS: 

• This yearly tradition does not specifically categorically fall into any focused rites of passage, as this event is a fun, relaxing way for swimmers to bond and connect outside of routine practices and stressful swim competitions and meets. However, it can be stated that this pong tournament tradition is still a rite of incorporation, since many underclassmen swimmers are still not closely acquainted with the older members of the team at the end of the Fall term. Therefore, this event is an effective but fun way for the intermingling of all team members, regardless of age or gender. The team can socialize outside of the sport, and it is a fun way for the members to feel like permanent teammates on the Dartmouth Swim and Dive team. 

COLLECTOR’S NAME: Sarah Sim 

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ITEM:

• Poly-modal folklore: Customary Folklore- Tradition 
• Tradition
• Language: English 
• Country of origin: United States
• Informant: Connie Beimeng Zhang

• Date Collected: 11/10/19

INFORMANT DATA:

• Connie Zhang is a swimmer on the Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive Team at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Part of the Class of 2022, she has been swimming on the team since her freshman year. Born on February 29, 2000, she is from Naperville, Illinois. She started swimming when she was eight years old, and her favorite stroke is backstroke.

CONTEXTUAL DATA:

• Cultural Context: This folklore is a customary tradition that the team engages in, every single year. Specifically, this tradition is a manifestation of the bonding and team connections that are formed at the beginning of every year, especially with the incoming freshman part of this new, close-knit team. This dinner represents the connections that links these swimmers together, since their collective sport is also highly individualistic. This tradition has existed for many years prior to Connie’s own participation in the tradition dinner. 
• Social Context: This folklore data was collected on the third floor of the Baker-Berry Library in Hanover, New Hampshire. This tradition dinner is held every single fall, with the incoming freshmen, and with all the other classes on the Swim and Dive team. The Fort is a truck-style diner, and its small, inclusive space has fostered the close connections on the Dartmouth Swim Team. Additionally, it is a Woman’s Team dinner, in which all the swimmers dress up in “flair,” which is a colloquial term applied to fun, costume-like clothing. 

ITEM: 

• Every Fall term at Dartmouth, the Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive team will attend a dinner at The Fort, as a yearly tradition. 

TRANSCRIPT:

INFORMANT’S COMMENTS:

• “It’s a nice way for the upperclassmen to get to know the freshmen, and it’s been a tradition for a very long time!”

COLLECTOR’S COMMENTS: 

• This yearly tradition can be considered a rite of passage, since this dinner has been a tradition mostly to incorporate the new freshmen to the close-knit community of the Dartmouth Women’s Team. Therefore, this team tradition can be considered to be part of the rite of incorporation, since this dinner allows the intermingling and forming of one unit that comprises the Women’s Team. Prior to this dinner tradition, the freshmen are usually not too close to the other members of the swim team, especially the upperclassmen, and more senior members. Therefore, this rite of incorporation is essential for bringing members together. It has been a tradition for as long as Connie remembers, and she is aware that this dinner holds influence in creating tight bonds amongst the teammates. 

COLLECTOR’S NAME: Sarah Sim 

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ITEM:

• Poly-modal folklore: ritual
• Magic Superstition 
• Language: English 
• Country of origin: United States
• Informant: Max Jones

• Date Collected: 11/10/19

INFORMANT DATA:

• Max Jones is an active swimmer on the Dartmouth Men’s Swim and Dive Team at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. He is a sophomore of the Class of 2022, and has been swimming since his Freshman Fall in 2018. From Austin, Texas, he began swimming at the age of five years old. He was born on September 9, 2000. His favorite stroke in swimming is breaststroke. 

CONTEXTUAL DATA:

• Cultural Context: Similar to other rituals collected in this folklore project, this specific folklore ritual is part of the range of rituals that swimmers typically perform before major competitions and swim meets. This superstitious ritual is performed in order to mentally encourage the swimmers before swimming and competing. Since swim competitions can quickly become a source of anxiety and stress for many individuals, some swimmers have been guided to form their own mini rituals as a way to relieve stress. For this ritual, competing after listening to a specific song is related to the notion of magic superstition, since it is a specific behavior that he can do himself that will help him perform better. 
• Social Context: This folklore data was collected during a car ride from a restaurant in Hanover, New Hampshire. This specific ritual was a piece of advice originally administered by his sports psychologist, who recognized the common stressors that are frequently involved in swimming meets and swim competitions. Therefore, he adopted this specific advice and began listening to one of his favorite musical artists, Nicki Minaj. This version of the folklore, of listening to specific songs before swimming, has been commonly adopted by other teammates on the team. 

ITEM: 

• Before the beginning of every swim meet, during warm-ups, Max Jones will listen to “Beez in the Trap” by Nicki Minaj. 

TRANSCRIPT:

INFORMANT’S COMMENTS:

• “It’s my favorite song by Nicki Minaj. It’s upbeat, encouraging, and gets me ready to race and perform my best before the competitions.”

COLLECTOR’S COMMENTS: 

• Similar to other pre-meet warm-up rituals, this is a common ritual to perform. However, listening to a specific song can very well vary from person to person, since Max’s favorite encouraging song may be different than another teammate’s encouraging song. This variance and deviance from just one version of this ritual emphasizes the fact that Dartmouth Swim is highly individualistic, and swimmers must be able to tailor their own rituals to their own individual needs. Swimmers perform specifically different rituals to encourage and bolster confidence, as a team. This ritual was a focused tip given by his sports psychologist, and he has used this advice ever since. Similar to Summer’s ritual, and Paul’s, this ritual is a variance on the magic superstition, escalating Max’s confidence levels to perform well. 

COLLECTOR’S NAME: Sarah Sim 

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ITEM:

• Poly-modal folklore: ritual
• Magic Superstition 
• Language: English 
• Country of origin: United States
• Informant: Summer Martin

• Date Collected: 11/1/19

INFORMANT DATA:

• Summer Martin is a swimmer on the Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive Team at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. She is a junior, part of the Class of 2021. From Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, she was born on February 10, 1999. She began swimming at eight years old, and has been swimming ever since. Her favorite stroke in swimming is freestyle. 

CONTEXTUAL DATA:

• Cultural Context: This specific folklore ritual is part of the large range of rituals that many swimmers on the Swim team perform before their competitions and meets. These superstitious rituals are helped to calm the swimmers down before competing, as meets can become very intense. For this particular ritual, swimming and warming up in the same swim lane that they will then compete in refers back to the notion of magic superstition, since it is something that Summer believes will help her perform better during the actual race. 
• Social Context: This folklore data was collected on the first floor of the Baker-Berry Library at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. This data was also collected after Summer had completed her daily swim practice. This particular ritual is reflective of the rite of incorporation, since she is preparing to perform well in the same lane as a premonition to the actual race/competition. Summer performs this ritual before every single meet, and she has performed this ritual ever since her coach gave her this tip in high school. 

ITEM: 

• Before the beginning of every swim meet, during warm-ups, Summer will swim and warm up in the same lane that she is set to compete in. 

TRANSCRIPT:

INFORMANT’S COMMENTS:

• “It makes me feel more confident, and I feel more comfortable warming up in the same lane where I’m swimming”

COLLECTOR’S COMMENTS: 

• This particular ritual is not an uncommon ritual to perform, pre-meets. However, warm up superstitions and rituals vary and differ, from person to person, highlighting the fact that Dartmouth Swim is predominantly an individual sport, though part of a larger team. Swimmers all have their separate rituals to ensure their confidence during their meets, and this particular ritual is important for Summer to perform, since she has done so for years. Her coach gave her this tip while swimming in high school, as a way to calm nerves and build up confidence. As part of magic superstition, Summer feels more confident having performed this specific superstition. 

COLLECTOR’S NAME: Sarah Sim 

General Information about Item:

• Text/Music Folklore – Chant
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Megan Tao

• Date Collected: 11-19-19

Informant Data:

• Megan Tao was born in Los Gatos, California on November 16, 2001. Megan lived in Los Gatos for her whole life, until she moved to Hanover this September. She is in the Class of 2023 at Dartmouth. Megan started swimming when she was four years old because everyone in her neighborhood did. Her favorite stroke is breaststroke. 

Contextual Data: 

• Cultural Context: The cultural context of this folklore describes a team cheer — something nearly every team does before a race. The chant performed not only heightens the energy of every individual teammate, but fosters a collective team culture, especially during a high-stress event. 
• Social Context: The data was collected during a one-on-one interview in the Class of 1953 Commons at Dartmouth. Megan described a ritual that was passed down to her when she joined the Dartmouth Women’s Swim Team. The ritual gets Megan very excited to compete and race the other team. 

Item:

• Megan discussed the women’s team cheer, Go Green, which the women perform before every meet. This chant has been passed down for many years.
• Go Green Cheer: “Give me a G. G! Give me an R. R! Give me an E. E! Give me an E. E! Give me an N. N! What team? Big Green! What team? Big Green! (1, 2, 3). GO GREEN!”

Video of the Women’s Swim Team Performing Go Green:

IMG_0728

Transcript:

• “College swim meets can be really intimidating as a freshman. However, our team cheer is something that always makes me feel included. It’s a way for the team to come together and gets all of us excited to race!”
  

Collector’s Comments: 

• This ritual is very similar to the Frisbee Team’s cheer before their games as it includes the whole team. The difference between the cheers, though, it that the new members are immediately taught the cheer on the swim team, and the cheer is not a secret within the team. 
• This is a rite of incorporation, as it welcomes the freshmen onto the team. 

Collector’s Name: Katherine Cane

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ITEM:

• Poly-Modal Folklore- Ritual 
• Magic Superstition 
• Language: English 
• Country of origin: United States
• Informant: Margaret (Maggie) Deppe-Walker

• Date Collected: 11/01/19

INFORMANT DATA:

• Margaret (Maggie) Deppe-Walker is a swimmer on the Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive Team at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. As a junior, she has been part of the team since her freshman year. Maggie is from Fairfax, Virginia and was born on August 10, 1998. She began swimming at the age of six years old, and has swam ever since. Her favorite stroke is breaststroke. 

CONTEXTUAL DATA:

• Cultural Context: The cultural context of this particular folklore is a physical manifestation of the hard work and training that the swimmers experience before an important swim meet. In this case, transferring a jar of the Dartmouth swim pool’s water into the competition’s pool water reflects a ritual that is understood to be the coach’s hope that the team’s hard work will be transferred over to the competition’s pool, especially for the intense and competitive Ivy League Championships. This pre-Ivy ritual ensures the swimmers’ and the coaches’ confidence that the team will perform well, after having rigorously trained. 
• Social Context: This folklore was collected through an interview on the first floor of the Baker-Berry Library at Dartmouth College, right after swim practice had been completed. Maggie explains that this particular ritual is performed before every Ivy League Championship meet. Most times, the Ivy League Championships are not hosted at Dartmouth, and thus requires swimmers to relocate. Although this is not her own personal ritual, she understands that this has been a pre-championship ritual for the coach ever since she’s been a student at Dartmouth. 

ITEM: 

• Before the Ivy League Championship Swim meet, the Dartmouth Swim Coach will collect a jar/container of the Dartmouth pool water and bring it to the competition’s pool, emptying the Dartmouth swim water into the competition’s pool. 

TRANSCRIPT:

INFORMANT’S COMMENTS:

• “It’s our hard work being physically put into the competition’ water.”

COLLECTOR’S COMMENTS: 

• This particular ritual, though a bit strange, makes sense; after spending months and years of hard work in the Dartmouth Swim pool, it makes sense that in a way, it gives the swimmers a sense of good luck when they see that the competition pool has a bit of their own “hard work” placed into it. Usually, for Ivy League Championships, the competition is held not at Dartmouth, and therefore, the coaches will bring a bit of “home” to wherever they go, ensuring that their hard work has not been forgotten in the new pool where they compete. 

COLLECTOR’S NAME: Sarah Sim

General Information about Item:

• Poly-modal Folklore – Ritual
• Magic Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: Canada
• Informant: Melanya Zaraska

• Date Collected: 11-04-2019

Informant Data:

• Melanya Zaraska was born in Toronto, Canada on November 29, 1997. Melanya lived there until she came to Dartmouth College in 2015. After graduating from Dartmouth in June, Melanya moved to New York City. Melanya started to swim when she was six years old. When she swam on Dartmouth’s Varsity Team, she specialized in butterfly and the Individual Medley. 

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Swim meets can be stressful because after so many hours of training, competitors want to see results. Many swimmers have pre-race rituals to get hyped up to swim fast, and they believe that they won’t do well without these rituals. 
• Social Context: The ritual was documented during a phone conversation. Melanya described a special drink she always made thirty minutes before her race. Melanya started this in high school and continued it throughout her college swimming career. 

Item:

• Melanya drinks a special juice before every swim race.

Transcript:

• “When I was in high school, my muscles would cramp up during my races. I wanted to be the fastest on my team, and all the fast girls drank a special electrolyte-filled juice with Nuuns. It was effervescent. When I started swimming at Dartmouth, I stopped taking the juice before races, and I didn’t swim fast for a few months. After that, I started drinking the juice again and improved. From then on, I knew I would do badly if I didn’t drink it.”

Informant’s Comments:

• The informant made no other comments about this ritual.

Collector’s Comments:

• This superstition reminds me of Paul Cane licking his goggles. These superstitions give swimmers a sense of power and control. For Melanya, she was emulating the behavior of the fast girls on her team.

Collector’s Name: Katherine Cane

General Information about Item:

• Poly-modal Folklore – Ritual
• Magic Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Paul Cane (pictured below)

• Date Collected: 11-13-2019

Informant Data:

• Paul Cane was born in Los Angeles, California on May 31, 1997. Paul lived there for a few years, then moved to Orinda, California when he was four years old. Paul attended Georgetown University for one year, and then he went to Dartmouth for the next three. After graduating from Dartmouth in June, Paul moved to Boston. Paul started to swim when she was four years old. When he swam for Dartmouth, he specialized in Breaststroke. 

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Many swimmers get very nervous to compete, so many have small rituals that they believe help them perform to the best of their ability. 
• Social Context: The ritual was documented during a Skype interview. Paul described a small ritual he always did before his races. Paul started this ritual when he was in high school because his goggles would always fall off when he dove into the pool.

Item:

• Paul licks his goggles before he gets on the block before his races. 

Transcript:

• “When I was in high school, my goggles would always fall off my head when I dove into the pool. I never swam well in races because I couldn’t see the bottom of the pool. One time, I saw an Olympian lick his goggles before his race. I’m not sure why he did it, but I tried it, and my goggles didn’t fall off. Since then, I’ve licked my goggles before every single race.”

Informant’s Comments:

• The informant made no other relevant comments about licking his goggles.

Collector’s Comments:

• This reminds me of Summer Martin’s ritual of swimming in the lane she is competing in, and Melanya Zaraska’s ritual to drink a powdered mix before her races. Because so much is out of the swimmer’s control in a race, these pre-race rituals give Paul, Summer, and Melanya a sense of control and power. 
• This is a magic superstition because the swimmer feels that if he licks his goggles, he will perform better than if he didn’t.

Collector’s Name: Katherine Cane