Tag Archives: Etiquette

Leaving 5 Seconds

  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

Climbing Etiquette

Informant Info
Mallory Bird, an 18 year old freshman undergraduate at Dartmouth College, grew up in Durango, CO with a family of climbers. She’s been climbing with her family for as long as she can remember. She loves the puzzle-aspect of the sport and simply finds it enjoyable. Her biggest fear while climbing is being high during windy conditions. Mallory learned the etiquette when she was young while learning how to climb with her family.

Type: Customary

Language: English

Country of Origin: US

Date Collected: May 12, 2016

Location Collected: Jonathan Belden Daniels Climbing Gym, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Social Context
An important aspect of trad climbing is the gear (pictured below) that is placed in the wall and is needed to keep the climber safe. The pieces of protection can often get stuck in the wall– certain etiquette surrounds these situations.

Associated File:

200933_29553_XL   137745_17533_XL

Lore: If you lose someone else’s gear while climbing at the end of the day you’re supposed to buy them a beer. Similarly, if you come up after someone and free their stuck gear and return it to them then they should buy you a beer.

Informant Comments: An important part of climbing is what you do at the end of the day. There’s usually a lot of down time, especially if you’re camping near the wall, so there’s a well-defined after-climbing culture. It usually involves alcohol.

Collector’s Comments: Trad climbing etiquette is a good example of how climbers are not a groups of adrenaline-high thrill-seekers looking for danger. Although the group has many traditions which might suggest delinquency, there is a strong sense of trust and community shared by all climbers. It’s necessary when your life is in the hands of your belayer.

College Warm-Up Etiquette

  1. Title: Collegiate Warm-Up Swimming Etiquette
  2. Informant: 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.
  3. Customary, Etiquette/ Ritual
  4. Language: English
  5. Country of Origin: United States
  6. Social / Cultural Context: AC described the basic etiquette shared among all swimmers when warming up or cooling down at a meet.  She described basic behaviors that most swimmers adhere to although there is no one specifically telling them they have to.  This includes accommodating other swimmers while trying to avoid annoyances, such as touching another swimmer’s feet.
  7. Transcript:“In a warm-up, warm-down pool, we know to swim circle.  Everybody knows you swim circle.  And if someone is kicking, it kind of gives you the ‘OK’ to pass them.  When you’re in the warmup pool and you see somebody and you kind of like know that they’re going to go, you let them go instead of trying to push off at the same time”“We subconsciously try to figure out what (other swimmers) are doing and how to get around that or how do we slow down what we’re doing or speed up, or if someone touches your feet, that’s another term—‘get off my feet!’”
  8. Informant’s comments: AC commented that she has practiced this etiquette in all levels of swimming, not only at the collegiate level.
  9. Collector’s comments: The types of behaviors she described were pretty standard among many informants.
  10. Tags/Keywords: Etiquette, Warm-Up