For many, club traditions operate with the intended functionality of bringing members of the team together. For the Swarthmore College Fencing Team, however, there seems to exists a desire for the traditions that pit us against each other in friendly competition. Predating my time in the club, the Swarthmore College Fencing Team has long participated in something known as “spotting.” The rules of the game are simple: when you see another member of the team on campus (who has opted in), you take a photo of them. For the point to count, you cannot not be “spotted,” meaning they cannot see you taking the photo. While the tradition has existed for years, this past semester was the first to see the implementation of a score sheet. For the entire month of April, campus became our battleground. 

There exists a couple of safe-spaces across the college, of course. Photos can not be taken in a shared class, nor can they be taken at anything ‘practice-related,’ including walking towards the fieldhouse, where our practices take place every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Second-dinners are also off-limits. After practice, the team has a tradition of “second-dinner” where everyone gathers at Crumb Cafe or the Science Center Cafe for a meal together. This allows everyone to come together in a less official capacity and connect with one another socially. It is through these dinners that I have been able to find some of my closest friends on campus, so it was always humorous to see the influx of sneaky group photos taken at this occasion before it was officially prohibited as a “spotting-spot.” Furthermore, you cannot take multiple photos of someone in the same place, nor can you take multiple photos of someone while they are working (for the sake of our team’s admissions tour guides, like myself!!). Beyond that, there is no limitation on possible “spots;” as soon as someone opts into the game, every notice of them becomes a potential opportunity for a boost in points.

The most targeted region, without a doubt, is the dining hall. Swarthmore was founded by Quakers, and while we are no longer religiously affiliated, we still implement many of those traditions into our day-to-day lives on campus, including the idea of “everyone eats under one roof” for the sake of fostering a closer on-campus community. Ergo, we have one primary dining hall on campus (along with various cafes scattered throughout). On a typical day-to-day, the Dining Center is a wonderful location: full of opportunities for socializing and eating good food with friends. During April, however, when the score-sheet was introduced for the first time, it was a place of stealthing and head-turning. Passing the entrance was an entertaining experience, for, inevitably, a teammate would be walking out and you were walking in. Sometimes, you would both need to turn towards one another and walk backwards towards the entrance: purely for the sake of security. Nonetheless, such efforts would always be in vain, as your phone would ultimately buzz shortly thereafter from a different teammate catching this endeavor on camera. My go-to places to sit in the dining hall are the tables directly by the entrance and the outdoor balcony, so not a day went by that I was not spotted mid-meal. 

Many of us made exceptions for genuine hangouts, though it was always humorous to be mid-conversation and see the other person pulling out their camera slowly, notice your noticing, then quickly stow it away. Truces started developing at some point, too, where we would confront another teammate and proclaim, “you don’t get me if I don’t get you,” but there was always a tinge of doubt underlining the arrangement. As the month progressed, people began getting more creative: adjusting routes and wardrobe to avoid being noticeable (I had to retire a bright blue shirt of mine because it was visible from across campus). Final scores are tallied as: number of photos you took minus photos taken of you, so you need to operate with caution. By the game’s conclusion, 336 photos had been taken, with the winner having 27 points total. Her reward? A plate at our end-of-year fencing banquet: proclaiming her “best spotter.”

During practices, there is always some level of desire to win, but ultimately, our team puts an emphasis on building a community and having fun alongside one another. With the existence of spotting, among other traditions, we are able to carry this excitement into our day-to-day lives, often when we least expect it.