Tag Archives: Dartmouth XC

Shirt and Shorts

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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

Without a Watch

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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