Title: Spike ball

General Information About Item:

• Ritual folklore, material folklore, and Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Emily McLaughlin
• Date Collected:11/15/19

Informant Data:

• Emily McLaughlin was born in Eden Prairie, Minnesota on March 31, 1999, and plays forward for Dartmouth Women’s Ice Hockey. Emily is a junior at Dartmouth College and it’s her fourth year playing for the team.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Playing spike ball before off ice warm-ups on game day has been a long-time ritual of Dartmouth Women’s Ice Hockey. The material item, the spike ball net, and the ball has been passed down in the team, but the participants before the game consists of the same group of four players: one per class.
• Social Context: This item is performed outside of the locker room, prior to off-ice warm-ups.

Item:

• The same spike ball game, as shown below, is passed from the previous graduating class to the current team members. The following video below shows some of the Dartmouth Women’s Ice Hockey players playing the game before warm-ups.

spike ball Currie Putrah, CC Bowlby, Georgia Kraus, Hannah Humphreys

Transcript:

• “Before every off ice warm-up, I play spike ball. It’s my favorite pre-game tradition and makes me feel included in the team. I enjoy laughing and breaking a sweat with my buddies before the game starts. Playing spike ball helps to get my heart rate up and get some stress out if I am nervous about the game.”

Informant’s Comments:

• This ritual allows the team to have some fun before the game, where everyone must be dialed in and focus for all three periods. The game serves as a way to ease the pressure of game day and to have an opportunity to have fun and foster team chemistry.

Collector’s Comments:

• This tradition is very important to the team, because it not only helps the members of the spike ball crew to warm-up their muscles and loosen up, it also allows team chemistry to be cultured. By having fun with teammates before the game, players can get even more pumped for the game and remember that it is just another one of hundreds of hockey games that they’ve played before.

Collector’s name: Jennifer Costa

Tags/Keywords:

• Superstition
• Material Folklore
• Ritual
• Spike ball

Title: Soccer Ball Juggling

General Information about Item:

• Ritual folklore, material folklore, and Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Jennifer Costa
• Date Collected:11/15/19

Informant Data:

• Jennifer Costa was born in Smithfield, Rhode Island on August 31, 1998. Recruited to Milton Academy, Costa was a tri-varsity athlete in soccer, hockey, and track and field. While at prep school, Costa played club hockey for Massachusetts Spitfires. She is currently a junior and a member of the leadership group of Dartmouth Women’s Ice Hockey.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: soccer ball juggling has been a part of Dartmouth Women’s Ice Hockey culture for many years. It is a ritual that is always performed on game day and helps to foster team chemistry. The freshman in the group is in charge of carrying the ball for the group. 
• Social context: Soccer ball juggling occurs after right off ice warm-ups in the ice rink. The spots of the four players in the circle is always the same. This tradition allows us to all work together to achieve a common goal. Everyone in the group is of equal importance, regardless of class.

Item:

• The same soccer ball has been used since the start of the tradition. Even though the ball is nearly flat, since it is material folklore, this specific ball must be used. By juggling with this soccer ball, the group is reminded to honor and appreciate former women who were a part of Dartmouth Women’s Ice Hockey.

Soccer Ball Juggling Christina Rombaut (’20), Jennifer Costa (’21), Lotti Odnoga (’22), Celine Piestrazek (’23)

Transcript:

• “Soccer ball juggling is an important ritual that has been in the team’s culture for many years. After off ice warm-ups, a selective group of four teammates (one per class) juggle a soccer ball. At the start of the season, a freshman is drafted to join the squad and has to try out in front of the current members to see if they have good enough footskills. The freshman is responsible for carrying the ball to all games. The group must complete at least the number of juggles of the player with the highest jersey number in the group. To finish, each player must head ball at least once. Before the senior in the group graduates, she writes her jersey number on the ball; by signing the ball, the legacy of the player is manifested. The same soccer ball has been used since the start of the tradition.”

Informant’s Comments:

• This tradition allows us to all work together to achieve a common goal. Everyone in the group is of equal importance, regardless of class. By signing the ball, the legacy of the player is manifested.

Collector’s Comments:

• This tradition allows players to face a challenge before the game starts and requires that the players all work together and communicate with one another to achieve their goal.

Collector’s name: Jennifer Costa

Tags/Keywords:

• Superstition
• Material Folklore
• Ritual
• Soccer Ball Juggling

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