Waivers (Jonah Kahl)
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Author Archives: Jonah Kahl
Shirt and Shorts
General Information about Item
- Tradition / Superstition
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: USA
- Informant: JN
- Date Collected: 11/8
Informant Data:
- JN is a ‘24 on the Dartmouth Cross Country Team from Massachusetts. COVID has definitely impacted his time on the team, but he says he is very excited to learn more about the team’s traditions and culture.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: A lot of individuals carry good luck charms throughout their lives, and athletes are no different. However, because it is hard/impossible to carry specific items during a competition, a lot of athletes take to wearing specific clothes to bring them good luck.
- Social Context: Packing for an event can be a stressful thing. Forgetting something during the day of a meet is a pretty worrying, and there are a lot of factors that make it easy to forget things (nerves, tiredness, etc.). Therefore, having the same outfit can make it easier on an athlete, because they know exactly what they need to grab.
Item:
- JN wears the same shirt and same shorts to each race. He picked this up from his highschool team and has continued it into college.
Associated Audio Recording:
Informant’s Comments:
- JN says he gets a little panicky and feels off if he wears any other outfit, and he mentioned that this specific shirt and shorts combination is the first thing he packs when traveling for a competition.
Collector’s Comments:
- Clothing is a very controllable thing, so it makes sense that athletes would want to control over as much as possible before heading into a competition. This especially applies to XC. While I have never personally competed in this sport, it seems that there are a large amount of uncontrollable things (weather, terrain, etc.), so trying to take control of as much as possible makes sense.
Collector’s Name:
- Jonah Kahl
Don’t Cross the Finish Line
General Information about Item
- Tradition / Superstition
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: USA
- Informant: JN
- Date Collected: 11/8
Informant Data:
- JN is a ‘24 on the Dartmouth Cross Country Team from Massachusetts. COVID has definitely impacted his time on the team, but he says he is very excited to learn more about the team’s traditions and culture.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: Much like in other sports, XC teams can arrive to the place of competition early and get some reps in. For XC, it is important to get a lay of the land as to avoid any surprises during the actual competition.
- Social Context: This superstition is passed down from the older runners to the younger generation as they are warned about the bad luck that could befell them if they were to not abide by the rules of the superstition.
Item:
- On the day before a race, while the team is running through it, they do not cross the finish line.
Associated Audio Recording:
Informant’s Comments:
- You only want to cross the finish line once, because that makes it “count.” If you cross it any other time, it would lead to bad luck during the race.
Collector’s Comments:
- I had a very similar superstition when I was in High School. I played football, and would avoid going onto the field the day before a game because I felt that I might “leave it on the field” too early and play bad the next day.
Collector’s Name:
- Jonah Kahl
Something Embarrassing
General Information about Item:
- Traditions
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: USA
- Informant: MS
- Date Collected: 11/6
Informant Data:
- MS is a ‘22 from Florida on the Track & Field team. He has been on the team all 4 years and participates in the hammer and weight throw events.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: Sports teams are known to have events where the coaches aren’t present to increase team bonding. Without the coaches present, it can lead to the team feeling more connected as students and athletes.
- Social Context: Speaking in front of a crowd is, for some people, one of the most difficult tasks one can be asked to do. This situation could be amplified by the story being an embarrassing one.
Item:
- The night before the Ivy League Championship, the Track & Field team gathers together and have the first-time HEPs athletes tell an embarrassing story in front of the entire team. The coaches aren’t present, and everyone tells something pretty personal.
Associated Audio File:
Informant’s Comments:
- This tradition can be difficult for people who are afraid of public speaking, but towards the end everyone is laughing and having a great time. This event truly helped make me feel a part of the team.
Collector’s Comments:
- I have never been afraid of public speaking, but I think having to tell one of my most embarrassing stories in front of a group of people I respect and admire would be difficult. However, it seems that this tradition does incredible things for team spirit, and I’d be curious to see if it works for groups other than sports teams.
Collector’s Name:
- Jonah Kahl
Same Song
General Information about Item:
- Ritual / Superstition
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: USA
- Informant: MS
- Date Collected: 11/6
Informant Data:
- MS is a ‘22 from Florida on the Track & Field team. He has been on the team all 4 years and participates in the hammer and weight throw events.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: Music has been used throughout the ages to prepare people for all sorts of events. Whether it is used before a calm event or an intense event, there is a song for the occasion. Athletes constantly use music to get read for the game/event they are about to participate in.
- Social Context: Before a meet/event, there are people who like to listen to music with the team and others who like to listen to their own music. Listening to music as a team can start to get people in the right mindset and act as bonding time. However, some people prefer to be with their own thoughts and listen to their own music before an event.
Item:
- MS always listens to the same two songs immediately before his competition. These two songs are “Pretender” by the Foo Fighters and “Do I Wanna Know” by the Arctic Monkeys.
Associated Audio Recording:
Informant’s Comments:
- MS has continued to listen to these same two songs throughout the years because they were his favorite songs around the time his track career started to take off. While he still enjoys these songs, he will avoid/skip them if they come up at any other time besides right before he competes. He also added that, if one were to check his top 100 songs every year, these two would definitely be there solely because of this pre-meet ritual.
Collector’s Comments:
- While I don’t have specific songs, I do have a fairly similar ritual with big events such as tests, interviews, etc. While getting ready or walking over to the event I always listen to the punk rock genre. For some reason, I always feel like I do better on whatever it is if I listen to this kind of music.
Collector’s Name:
- Jonah Kahl
Without a Watch
General Information about Item:
- Superstition
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: USA
- Informant: JL
- Date Collected: 11/6
Informant Data:
- JL is a Dartmouth class of 2025 from Connecticut who is currently in their freshman year of college. While he is new to the team, he is learning their customs and traditions rather quickly.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: Many runners on the cross country/track team have their own personal rituals they do before a meet. There is a lot of variety in these personal rituals, with different runners doing different things to get them in the right mindset to compete. Some of this variety may arise from age, as freshman will continue to do rituals from high school while upperclassmen may develop new rituals throughout their time at Dartmouth.
Item:
- This athlete, before every race, takes off his watch. The watch he wears is a smart watch that has a lot of features built into it Many other runners keep their watches on during a race.
Associated Audio Recording:
Informant’s Comments:
- JL has continued this ritual from high school into his collegiate career. He believes that each race is a personal challeng, and as a competitive person he wants to mitigate the number of distractions that could occur.
Collector’s Comments:
- While I am no longer an athlete, I used to play several sports in high school. I completely understand the informant’s desire to minimize distractions as much as possible. Before any of my games I would usually try and find a quiet place to mentally prepare myself for the competition ahead of me.
Collector’s Name:
- Jonah Kahl