Field Notes

Nathan TorresProfessor Teri HumphrysAnthropology 100

Field Notes

Monday, October 27, 2014

Golden West College PoolGoldenwest StreetHuntington Beach, CA

Setting: The pool is located on the northern end of the Golden West College campus. The pool hosts many swim and water polo teams. While walking down the path from the parking lot to the pool, volleyball teams practicing in the sand, and baseball players practicing in the field can be seen. The entrance to the pool is a big green gate that is rather heavy. The pool deck consists of concrete and there are two pools within the complex. One of the pools is an Olympic-sized swimming pool that can either be swum 50 meters or 25 yards. The shallowest end is only 4 feet and the deepest end is 9 feet. There is a smaller pool that can only be swum 25 yards. There are bleachers surrounding the pool deck for spectators and there is a giant score board used during swim meet and water polo games. There is also a bulkhead in the middle of the Olympic-sized swimming pool that can be moved in order to create either a 50 meter swimming pool or a 25 yard swimming pool.

3:15 p.m.Upon entering I noticed little kids swimming in the 25 yard swimming pool. They all had smiles on their faces and two boys were splashing each other. I pass by a young woman who appears to be the coach and I hear "okay, we are going to do one lap freestyle kick with our head in the water."

A group of about 20 swimmers were stretching in a circle and a man who appeared to be in his 50s was leading them in the stretches. This man, possibly the coach, was wearing blue jeans and a sweater and cap that said "USA Swimming" on it. He had a very serious face and appeared to be in his 50s

3:17 p.m.I sat down with the group and participated in the stretches. The coach says "right arm forward." I look around and notice everyone was swinging their right arm forward so I did the same.

While stretching, I overhear a group of girls, appearing to be freshman in high school, talking about what they ate for lunch. One of them says "I ate Chipotle and I am so full." Another one of the girls exclaims "I had that yesterday! Did you get their chips and avocado?" The girl then replies "Yes! I love their avocado, it is to die for!"

The coach says "left arm forward," and everyone proceeds to swing their left arm forward

I hear a boy say "I'm still sore from dry land on Saturday." Another boy shouts out "Me too!"

3:18 p.m. Two more girls walk in, appearing to be in high school.


The coach says "cross your right arm in front."

3:19 p.m.A boy walks in appearing to be in 8th grade or a freshman in high school.

The coach says "cross your left arm in front"

3:20 p.m.A group of three boys with backpacks on walk onto the pool deck joking with each other. One of them has a Chick-Fil-A cup in their hand and proceeds to throw it in the trash can. The three boys join in stretching as the coach says "hurdler stretch." Everyone sits down and proceeds to stick one leg out and attempt to touch their right toe. One of the girls is able to touch her head to her knee and one of the boys asks "How are you so flexible?" The girl simply shrugs her shoulders.

3:21 p.m.A group of three boys appearing to be in college ride onto the pool deck with their bikes. They are speaking Spanish to each other. They have thick accents and one of them is wearing a shirt that says "Bogotá" on it. They appear to be foreigners from another country.

The three foreigners join in stretching and they are sweating from the bike ride.

The coach says "switch," and everyone proceeds to try and touch their left toe.

3:23 p.m.Stretching ends and the coach tells the swimmers to put on their suits. The boys go into the men's locker room and the girl's go into the women's locker room.

3:25 p.m.The swimmers emerge from their locker rooms and the coach asks them to pull the lane lines across.

Some swimmers jump in the pool, grab the lane lines and swim them across. While they are swimming them across, other swimmers are hooking them into the wall. They are working as a team to get things done and they do it very quick and efficient. It is easy to see that they have to do this very often.

3:26 p.m.Some swimmers are talking to their friends and not helping with the lane lines.

The coach yells at them saying "Go help! So we can get in at 3:30!" The coach is very strict on time.

Nathan TorresProfessor Teri HumphrysAnthropology 100The swimmers who were yelled at quickly tie their suits, put their goggles on, and jump in the water to assist their fellow teammates.

3:27 p.m.The lanes are being pulled across and one of the boy swimmers says "Jonny, come help me get this lane in."

Jonny, a boy who appears to be a sophomore in high school, walks over to the other swimmer and helps him hook the lane line onto a hook in the wall. Jonny says "What do you need help with Zach?" Zach, the boy who needs help, says "I can't get this lane in, help me push it." They work together and give a countdown on when to push the lane. After they successfully get the lane in they say "good job" to one another and high-five each other. They appear to be friends.

3:28 p.m.All the lane lines are in and the pool is set up to swim 25 yards opposed to 50 meters.

All the swimmers are carrying a mesh bag of sorts, and inside it is a bunch of equipment.

3:30 p.m.The coach shouts "okay, for warm up, we are going to do a 600 freestyle followed by 3x100s freestyle! Let's go on the next top."

Each swimmer goes into different lanes. The fast swimmers swim with the other fast swimmers and the slower swimmers swim with the other slower swimmers. There are about 3-5 swimmers per lane and about 10 lanes.

The swimmers set down their mesh bag and take out all the equipment. They take out what appears to be a kicking board, a pull buoy, a snorkel, hand paddles, a band, and fins.

All the swimmers have their goggles on and are ready to jump in.

The swimmers are looking at the pace clocks as they count up to sixty. Once the pace clocks reads sixty they all jump in and begin practice.

3:41 p.m.The swimmers finish warm up and are waiting for the next set.

The coach shouts "Okay, get your kickboards!” One of the swimmers shouts do we use a snorkel Mark? Coach Mark replies "No, not for this set. Okay we are going to do 3x200s, 6x100s, and 12x50s kick. The 200s will be on three minutes, the hundreds will be on 1:30 and the fifties will be on the minute. Let's go on the next top."

The swimmers once again wait for the pace clock to read sixty and then push off.

Nathan TorresProfessor Teri HumphrysAnthropology 100It appears as if the swimmers use the kickboard to strengthen their kick. They hold the board out in front of them and just kick.

After the first person pushes off, it seems as if every other swimmer in the lane waits five seconds. The first person that leaves in each lane seems to be the fastest.

3:50 p.m.Many of the swimmers are racing each other because they are often looking at one another when kicking.

They race to the wall and look at each other to see who's hand touches first.

4:12 p.m.The swimmers are done with the set.

The coach shouts "Good job!"

The swimmers are resting on the wall and a sneeze and a cough can be heard.

4:14 p.m.Coach Mark shouts "Okay! Get your pulling stuff out. Bands and snorkels included."

The swimmers pull out a yellow band that they wrap around their ankles to prevent them from kicking. They put a pull buoy in between their thighs to provide flotation. They put on paddles to increase their pulling strength. Lastly, they put on a snorkel in order for them to breath in the water without them turning their heads.

4:15 p.m.End ethnography just as swimmers push off.

It appears that in order to successfully complete these sets, the swimmer has to rotate their body in order to propel themselves through the water.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Golden West College PoolGoldenwest StreetHuntington Beach, CA

5:15 a.m.Walking from the parking lot to the pool and all the swimmers look very tired and are walking very slowly. They are wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts and are trying to keep warm.

It is very cold and dark.


5:19 a.m.Stretching begins and Coach Mark is leading the stretches once again, he says "right arm forward."

The smell of chlorine is very strong. There is steam coming from the swimming pool.

There are about 8 swimmers. There are far less people at practice in the morning than in the afternoons.

More swimmers continue to walk onto the pool deck. Their faces look very tired and sleepy.

It appears as if the faster ones in the group show up to both morning and afternoon practice. This could explain their dedication to the sport and why they are as good as they are.

5:20 a.m.Continuing to stretch, now doing hurdler stretch.

All the swimmers seem to be still half-asleep.

5:22 a.m.Still stretching, a girl walks in and she exchanges a good morning with the coach.

Coach Mark is wearing a parka.

5:23 a.m. Stretching ends and Coach Mark says "Alright, let's pull these lanes across."

5:25 a.m.The swimmers are standing on the side of the pool in their swim suits with goggles and caps on.

They set down their equipment bags, they seem to go into the same lanes as they did on Monday.

5:26 a.m.The swimmers jump in and grab the lane lines. One of the swimmers shouts out "The water is cold!"

5:28 a.m.All the lane lines are in and practice is ready to begin. The swimmers are shivering in the cold and are waiting for Coach Mark to tell them what warm up is.

5:29 a.m.Coach Mark gives the warm up saying "Okay! Let's start out with a 500 freestyle and then 5x100s individual medley. Let's leave on the bottom."


5:30 a.m.The swimmers wait for the pace clock to reach the 30 second mark and then they all jump in.

The swimmers start off with a front crawl stroke that is called freestyle.

5:36 a.m.The swimmers finished the 500 freestyle and proceed to start the 5x100s individual medley.

The swimmer starts off doing a lap of butterfly, then a lap of backstroke, a lap of breastroke, then a lap of freestyle. That is one 100 individual medley.

5:43 a.m.The swimmers finish warm up and are resting on the wall.

The swimmers appear to be more awake now.

Coach Mark shouts "Okay! Next set. Put on your fins. We are going to do 5x100s kicking on your back and then we are going to do 8x25s underwater. Make sure you race those underwaters! The 5x100s will be on 1:30 and the 25s will be on 30"

One of the swimmer asks Coach Mark "Can I go to the bathroom?" Coach Mark replies "Please do."

5:44 a.m.The swimmers have their fins on.

Coach Mark says "Go on the next top. I'll give you guys an extra minute."

5:45 a.m.The swimmers push off the wall with the fins on their feet. They proceed to kick on their back.

5:50 a.m.The swimmer who asked to go to the bathroom returns to the pool. He puts his fins on and Coach Mark says "Pick up with the group." The swimmer pushes off.

5:54 a.m.The swimmers finish the 5x100s and begin the 8x25s underwater.

The swimmers push off and do a whole lap kicking underwater.

They are racing each other and seeing who gets across underwater the fastest

5:56 a.m.They hold their hands in a streamline position while kicking with a dolphin kick. They kick up and down with both legs and it seems to propel them forward through the water.


Coach Mark shouts "Make sure to streamline and tighten your core when you kick!"

5:59 a.m.The swimmers finish the 8x25s underwater. They are breathing heavily. This is due to them holding their breath.

6:02 a.m.Coach Mark gives the next set. He shouts "Okay! We are going to do some pace work. It will be 20x50s and I will be calling out your times with the stopwatch. Race the person next to you. These will be on one minute so you guys will have plenty of rest so go fast! Let's leave on the next top."

6:04 a.m.The swimmers push off sprinting.

6:05 a.m.Coach Mark shouts out "26...27...29...Good."

The swimmers are racing each other and also trying to hold a consistent time.

6:15 a.m.The sky is becoming lighter and it is not as dark.

A sense of competition can be felt in the air as swimmers are pushing off the wall looking at each other.

Coach Mark yells out "26...28...Good. Hold it! Come on now!"

End of ethnography.

Summary of Observations:I noticed that all the swimmers were very friendly, yet competitive with one another. I also noticed that the coach, Mark, had great authority over the swimmers. If Mark said something, they would listen to him and respect him because he is their coach. I also noticed that when swimming in the lanes, there is a hierarchy within the lane. The fastest person goes first and dictates when to leave, while the slowest person goes last. The swimmers are very competitive during the sets and often race the swimmers in the other lanes. The swimmers value winning and try to win on every set. I have been swimming competitively for 8 years and this is why the subculture of swimming appealed to me. Although the pool deck was a familiar place to me, it was easy to take a step back and look at the swim club from an outsider's point of view.






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