Perils of Lap Swimming!

ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

I saw this article today, and I totally related: http://nypost.com/2017/01/16/former-olympic-athlete-swims-too-fast-for-local-pool/

Basically, a former Olympian got in trouble with a lifeguard for swimming too fast and accidentally bumping someone sharing a lane with him.

Guys- I live in fear that this will happen to me some day! I routinely feel guilty for swimming too fast at lap swim or taking up a lane for too long. Now that I have a regular pool, I've made a point to make nice with the lifeguards so that they know I don't mind sharing as long as I'm not getting kicked in the face. I'm constantly trying to make myself small and inconspicuous, but that's hard to do sometimes when you're lapping someone every 50 yards and you're not even trying yet...

I've been telling myself that the lifeguards won't really get mad at me for swimming too much- but maybe they will?! Now I really will worry that I'm just one new lifeguard away from getting yelled at because of someone who doesn't know how to swim!

Lap swim is a scary, scary place.

evmogregocthelittlemerwookiedpm50JustSwimcurlySydneDBrostarPamelaColemanp
«1345

Comments

  • wendyv34wendyv34 Vashon, WASenior Member

    OMG! You shouldn't have to fear that!

    I guard a fair amount of lap swims at my pool. We have a 'very fast' lane ( I call it the "swam in college lane"), and 2/3 of the pool is available for the 'easy-medium' swimmers, so when there are very fast swimmers in, we strongly advise other swimmers to swim in the appropriate lane. We will move people to the correct lane if they aren't figuring it out and our lane speed signs say "yield at the wall to faster swimmers". I've had people complain about fast swimmers, one was so rude that I said "don't begrudge them for being fast, it's not their fault that you're slow." Yeah, she was mad and went off in a huff...truth hurts and I'd had enough of her attitude.

    I can usually swim in the very fast lane, unless a gang of college swimmers shows up. I don't consider myself very fast, just fast. I'm pretty good at staying out of the way, being cooperative and I hate to hold anyone else up. I've had someone jump in with me and basically aqua jog; I ran right into her back because she wasn't going fast enough to leave a wake that I could feel. It gets frustrating when people are in the wrong lane and refuse to cooperate. I've trained my staff to be good at intervening and moving people to the right lane. They say "you will enjoy your swim more in this lane..." Every now and then, someone will flip out about it, it's usually that really fit guy with the huge ego and not much skill or the angry, bitter old lady who hates everyone.

    It does pay to befriend the lifeguards, they love cookies. :D It also helps if you're always gracious, even when others aren't. We tend to side with our regulars who are friendly, follow the rules and set a good example for others. On the other hand, we have a (short) list of pain in the butt regulars who are involved in 90% of all fights between swimmers. We aren't super nice to them. Once, when two of those aggro swimmers got in a fight, I told them they deserved to swim with each other. >:)

    I hope your pool management can be proactive about lane markings and enforcing courtesy rules. More people can use the pool when everyone does the right thing and nobody should have to worry about swimming too fast.

    swimrn62thelittlemerwookiedpm50ssthomasJustSwimcurlyswimfreeordie

    It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.

  • dpm50dpm50 PA, U.S.Senior Member

    I'm definitely not fast. During an open lap swim period, it depends on the time of the day whether I'm among the faster or slower swimmers, but I can't get too egotistical if I'm one of the faster swimmers, as it typically means that most of the others are not into the masters' swim scene or doing any specific workout. Among those who do serious workouts, I'm eating the wake of the others. ;)

    That said, I can totally sympathize--I don't think a lot of people are aware of lap lane etiquette, even when there are speed signs posted next to the lanes. I tend to take a look and see whose swim speed and style of swimming seems compatible with mine (or find an open lane if it's not crowded). But I've seen it all, including one day, a woman swimming in her underwear around the perimeter of the pool (maybe thinking a lap meant something like what one does on a track). Or a couple women who said I swam too fast (ME? FAST?) and was splashing them. Hello? It's a pool. There's water in a pool.

    Or there's the aquatic director who uses lap time to train lifeguards and takes up half the pool for that--or holds unannounced swimming lessons.

    I've overall been fortunate, though. We have a morning lifeguard who's very good about getting people into the correct lanes--he has just the right mix of politeness and "auctoritas" to do it without (mostly) causing any conflicts. And there was the one gentleman who happened to be a swim coach working out on his lunch hour. I was sharing a lane with someone a lot slower (yes, it's possible for someone to be a lot slower than me) ;) when he noticed and invited me to share his lane. I objected that I'd be in his way, and he said, no worries, I can swim around you. It worked fine, and toward the end of both our workouts, he even offered me some helpful tips and feedback.

    Lately, if I'm not at masters practice, I've taken to swimming at my local h.s. pool which usually is way less crowded than the Y even though there are usually only 2 lap lanes (I often have a lane to myself and have met some pretty cool, serious swimmers there--including a fellow gray-haired woman who competed in springboard diving).

    ssthomasKatieBunSolo
  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member
    edited January 2017

    @dpm50 said
    And there was the one gentleman who happened to be a swim coach working out on his lunch hour. I was sharing a lane with someone a lot slower (yes, it's possible for someone to be a lot slower than me) when he noticed and invited me to share his lane. I objected that I'd be in his way, and he said, no worries, I can swim around you. It worked fine.

    Exactly this happened to me yesterday...... surprising, considering how slow I am. I choose my lane depending on who's already in and am happy to move down if/when the beach lifeguards turn up. Sometimes I train with Shelagh Ratcliffe, (Munich Olympics 1972), who is absolutely lovely. She still manages to comfortably take on swimmers who underestimate her, albeit quietly and modestly. Nobody knows who she is and she doesn't tell them. I love watching her swim and trying to hang onto her feet for the odd length. (Fat chance.) ^:)^

    JustSwimbluemermaid9Solowendyv34Bridget
  • edited January 2017

    Love my pool. The downside is no team to train with, but the upside is that no one ever bats an eye, no matter what you are doing or for how long. I've never seen a guard get involved in policing members here (nor have I seen situations that called for it).

    Franco
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    I am fortunate that my home pool usually isn't too crowded when I swim. There are a couple women who have gotten to know me over the years. They are all pretty darn slow, but they don't take up a bunch of room thrashing around, so I like to swim with them in my lane. For people who don't know me, they wonder what the heck a slow woman is doing jumping in the "fast" lane with me. I like it because we split the lane and I'm not going to get some floppy breast stroker in with me. Good strategy. And yes, always acknowledge the life guards. Not only will they fish me out of the pool when I need them to, but they can help maintain the peace when you need someone on your side.

    Also, I find that it is a really good thing to keep your ego in check. You never know when that old guy next to you is an ex-Olympian. For that matter you better watch out for that little kid that just jumped in. Top time for 11 year old girls in the 500 free SCY is currently 5:08.05.

    dpm50thelittlemerwookie
  • dpm50dpm50 PA, U.S.Senior Member

    Re lifeguards supporting someone swimming long.... the lifeguards at the HS pool I mentioned above have been very supportive. One time, as I was exiting the pool, having finished 10 thousand yards, they actually applauded!

    curlywendyv34AngieSwims
  • ttriventtriven Senior Member

    I recently swam at a pool in Australia, and they had, can you believe it, times listed next to the lane's speed! I was so excited. Lane 1, "fast", 1:40 or faster (LCM). There were two women going very slowly in the lane, but when I approached the lane they moved over. I mean, it takes the guess work out of it. There was no bumping, and no throwing the fast people out.

    wendyv34dpm50Brostar
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    and in a continuation of sobering statistics... The current top time for 11 year old girls in the 1650 SCY is 18:28.98. Jeez oh man! I think I'm going to just get one of those little styrofoam floating chair things with a place to hold a can of beer and maybe a little umbrella and call it a day... I will move to the slow lane when I see any of those kids with a swim club cap...

    ssthomasdpm50
  • MoCoMoCo Worcester, MASenior Member

    The majority of swimmers at my pool tend to fall into either the "giant kick slow breaststroke" or "swim 25 with head out of the water, pant for two minutes" categories. (To be fair, it's an inner city pool and there are TONS of new adult swimmers. I'm happy to encourage them, but I really don't want them swimming into me.) The few swimmers who swim consistent laps in a straight line generally trip over themselves to share lanes w/each other (especially since my very old 4 lane pool has FIVE rather thin lines painted on the bottom, so they don't line up with anything useful in the middle lanes). On weekend mornings I often end up sharing with a local guy who is much, much faster than I am... but he'll hop in with me in a second because he knows I'm not going to kick him in the ribs as he zooms by me.

    And the guards at my pool think I'm crazy because I swim for more than an hour at a time. It's kind of funny.

    ssthomas
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    I should clarify- the guards that I have befriended are AMAZING. Well, one did threaten to throw a wrench at me the other night if I was the last one out, again. Pretty sure he was joking. ;-) And on Sunday, one of them asked me to help move lane ropes (which I was very happy to do). I've seen them nicely suggest that someone join another lane and they are always great at suggesting which lane I should get into if it's busy and I need to share. And they are always in awe of the amount of yardage I do on a regular basis. Generally- they are amazing and I love them. It's sorta nice to have found my "home" pool after years of being a pool slut. My two favorite kids have even told me about their list of people they can't wait to kick out, given an opportunity (I did nearly crash into one of them- the guard watched the whole thing unfold and was laughing about it when I got out. He wanted me to be mad so he could use it against the other guy- but lucky for my co-swimmer I wasn't upset.)

    I do wish we had designated speed lanes- it would help so much when it's busy. And I do always pick the lane with someone swimming slow, but consistent over someone faster but more erratic. I'm good sharing with anyone other than the gigantic breast stroke kickers, over zealous triathletes in their wetsuits who swim down the middle, water joggers, and old ladies who won't get their hair wet. I've had "requests" to stop splashing so much and one lady even asked me to move over a lane because she could get into mine without getting her hair wet. The entire pool was empty otherwise.

    There's just so much strange behavior at lap swimming. And I really do worry that a new lifeguard won't be properly indoctrinated to how it works and get a little over zealous and side with the sweet old lady who won't get her hair wet. My two buddies are both seniors in high school- so they'll be gone too soon! Maybe I should start bringing them cookies in preparation for the transition. :-)

    wendyv34KatieBunArgent
  • dpm50dpm50 PA, U.S.Senior Member
    edited January 2017

    LOL, @curly -- Don't let the kids discourage you! Although I might join you for a beer or margarita. ;)

    They're not carrying the weight of years....runners have age grading for this very reason... a kind of BOTOX for one's times! You use a calculator like this one

    http://www.howardgrubb.co.uk/athletics/wmalookup06.html

    and fill in your time and the distance; then the calculator tells you what that translates to if you're in your prime.

    In that department, however, a friend in her 70s regular dusts me in road races, despite her being 10 years older....oh well.... My times still look prettier than they might. ;)

    Yeah, still, age grading or no, I'll move into lanes compatible w/ my real times, not my age adjusted ones. My coach drives this home every so often... if he's swimming with me which he does sometimes, he'll tell me to swim 100 and try to beat his 200. Sometimes I do if he gives me a head start. ;) Recently, he had me race him in a 50 free, wherein he dragged a 5 gallon bucket while I swam unencumbered... when I finished, there he was resting on the wall, not even breathless, while I was in serious oxygen debt. ("But coach, I should be in the same lane as you... my age graded time ..." uh... no.)

    curly said:
    and in a continuation of sobering statistics... The current top time for 11 year old girls in the 1650 SCY is 18:28.98. Jeez oh man! I think I'm going to just get one of those little styrofoam floating chair things with a place to hold a can of beer and maybe a little umbrella and call it a day... I will move to the slow lane when I see any of those kids with a swim club cap...

  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    At my home pool we used to have the age group record board up on the wall. Times were posted for high school all the way down to the 10 and unders. When I started swimming there I was reasonably close to the high school records for the boys. Over the years I slowly moved down the ranks until the 10 and under girls were my only competition left. Thankfully they have removed the record board.

    ssthomas
  • wendyv34wendyv34 Vashon, WASenior Member

    Isn't that crazy how fast kids are? A couple years ago I had a little guy draft me for the entire mile of an OW race. I never even knew he was there. It was literally 10 feet to the finish gate from the water. He dashed by me on the sand and said "good job!". I came in at 24:00, which was a good time for me on that course. I was bummed out when I found out he was only 10. He needs to get a gentlemanly OW etiquette lesson some day soon though...you don't draft someone of another gender for the whole race, then jump into the finish chute ahead of them. If it's someone your age/gender, then that's different. 8-|

    dpm50

    It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.

  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    @wendyv34 At least he didn't let you go first and say, "After you ma'am..." :D

    wendyv34SydneD
  • The conduct of fellow swimmers never ceases to dismay me. Only this morning I had problems with 2 swimmers in the fast lane behaving bizarrely, pushing off right as I came in to turn etc etc. One fell in to the 'bitter old lady' category, the other I think was just not thinking. It became even harder to manage when I started swimming backstroke, yet was still the fastest in the lane (and I am NOT fast!). I am working on growing eyes in the back of my head......

    KatieBuncurly
  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member
    edited January 2017

    Today's lunchtime lane session peril............... a lady with a pungent reek of garlic..... tried to stay in there but it was so strong I switched lanes. :-<

    ssthomassuziedods
  • wendyv34wendyv34 Vashon, WASenior Member

    Pushing off in front of someone faster and swimming while reeking of garlic, definitely on the list of lap swimming faux pas.

    slknightKatieBunssthomassuziedodsSydneDBrostar

    It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.

  • SamSam Member

    How about those swimmers that join your fast lane and, I assume, being driven by ego decide to go flat out. Then you, understanding lane etiquette, give way to them after 8 lengths only for them to get out 2 lengths later. I find this happens a lot and is annoying because I'm generally trying to retain a consistent pace, to control my breathing and push out a larger distance. Being able to out pace me over 10 lengths when im well into a 5km is not impressive and really quite annoying.

    IronMikedpm50
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    @Niek You bring up a point that I finally began to realize a year or so ago. I used to get all upset about idiot swimmers messing up my flow. For example there is this guy that does breast stroke and he pushes a bow wave that you can feel three lanes over. I couldn't stand it when he swam in my lane because I would literally smack into that wave every time we crossed paths. Then one day I laughed at myself. I have swum in far worse waves than this guy can make. Why on earth was I all upset about it?! Likewise with the smashers and thrashers. I started to look at them as merely the best open water effects that I could get in a pool and now I consider them training aids.

    I do get irritated by poor pool etiquette. But I also am irritated by people who don't hold a door open for someone else...

    suziedodsflystormsArgent
  • So true!! When the youth team practices their dives? it's as if one is swimming in a giant hot tub w waves. I laugh and remember when I was on the youth team... and looked at all the "old fogeys" swimming laps.
    Mirror mirror on the wall eh?

    wendyv34
  • SamSam Member

    @Niek I am able to forgive mother nature for all she throws at you...its in her nature and its why we swim OW. But I struggle to forgive a guy who is swimming like an utter bllnd just to inflate his already over inflated ego.

    dpm50
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    @Niek says:

    Don't fight it but use it.

    Zen....................

  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    And continuing with this funny thread. Today in the pool there were three guys swimming three abreast in the open section of the pool. Not a problem. We had three lanes with lane lines and they were swimming three abreast taking up maybe a lane and a half.

    This is the cool and weird part. They were wearing water polo caps with numbers on them. OK...that might be normal. But there's more. They had kind of narly looking snorkels and big black framed goggles. Plus major league swim fins. Seriously major league. They were doing these intense sets where they would do underwater swims with either fly or flutter kick, grab air at the turn and then underwater all the way back. 25 yard pool. They did a bunch of other stuff but I was kind of doing my own workout so I couldn't really keep track of them. But they were definitely working. You could feel all the turbulence and currents that they were kicking up. It was amazing. I have no idea what they were training for and I didn't want to stop and ask them in the middle of their workout. I asked the lifeguards to find out for me.

  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    Thanks @Niek I have never heard of that. Man, those racers are moving. I can't imagine how hard that is. Your leg muscles must just be burning after doing that for a bit.

  • BridgetBridget New York StateMember

    curly said:
    Thanks @Niek I have never heard of that. Man, those racers are moving. I can't imagine how hard that is. Your leg muscles must just be burning after doing that for a bit.

    I was doing my pool laps yesterday, and thought I'd play with my fins after my 4 miles. OOPS!!! Instant leg cramps. :-( Long swims and fin laps need to be further apart. I can't wait for the lakes to thaw.

    I can't complain about the pool I use-- very little use, so I have rarely shared a lane. I am there for a few hours at a clip, so I'm going to put a sign at the end of my lane welcoming swimmers who want to share, so we can split the lane and chat later. ;-) As long as I know someone is coming, I'm happy to share.

  • gtswimgtswim PennsylvaniaMember

    I can't complain too much about lane mates.

    My biggest peril is misjudging the turn and hitting my heels on the wall.

  • From OZ so don't get all this lane sharing/splitting stuff, it's all circle swimming here. Can fit lots more in the lanes. There are 2 pools I use: at the times I swim one has a fast, 2 medium, and a slow. I swim in the "medium" fast, and am often the slowest. No worries, just give way at the wall when required. The other pool has fast, medium, slow. I swim in the fast, and am quite often the fastest. Go figure! I find it's not so much mismatched speeds that cause problems but lack of etiquette, e.g. give way at walls, don't push off in front of someone unless you KNOW you are faster. I also sometimes take a quick look and push off into a faster/slower lane if a "I DO NOT GIVE WAY" swimmer is in front. I'm swimming early mornings so generally ~3-4 in a lane, never more than 5-6. Easier in 50m pools as well I guess.

    gw

    KatieBunKellieJaimie
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    curly said:
    And continuing with this funny thread. Today in the pool there were three guys swimming three abreast in the open section of the pool. Not a problem. We had three lanes with lane lines and they were swimming three abreast taking up maybe a lane and a half.

    This is the cool and weird part. They were wearing water polo caps with numbers on them. OK...that might be normal. But there's more. They had kind of narly looking snorkels and big black framed goggles. Plus major league swim fins. Seriously major league. They were doing these intense sets where they would do underwater swims with either fly or flutter kick, grab air at the turn and then underwater all the way back. 25 yard pool. They did a bunch of other stuff but I was kind of doing my own workout so I couldn't really keep track of them. But they were definitely working. You could feel all the turbulence and currents that they were kicking up. It was amazing. I have no idea what they were training for and I didn't want to stop and ask them in the middle of their workout. I asked the lifeguards to find out for me.

    It sounds like Underwater Hockey to me! We have some of them at my pool. They have similar gear and do a lot of underwater work. I like to race them when I'm swimming and they're doing their laps with fins underwater. :-)

    KatieBunArgent
  • This thread is funny and interesting. I am blessed to do the majority of my swimming with my Masters team in a workout setting. But I occasionally need to work out on my own at a different pool- and I have seen it all! And don't even get me started on trying to get a workout in on vacation. So rarely do hotels have actual lap pools, I often get my work outs in by taking advantage of the wonderful outdoor pools. I have found that people will move or stay out of a runners way, but have absolutely no issue getting in a swimmers way.

    curly
  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member

    gregorywannabe said:
    From OZ so don't get all this lane sharing/splitting stuff, it's all circle swimming here. Can fit lots more in the lanes. There are 2 pools I use: at the times I swim one has a fast, 2 medium, and a slow. I swim in the "medium" fast, and am often the slowest. No worries, just give way at the wall when required. The other pool has fast, medium, slow. I swim in the fast, and am quite often the fastest. Go figure! I find it's not so much mismatched speeds that cause problems but lack of etiquette, e.g. give way at walls, don't push off in front of someone unless you KNOW you are faster. I also sometimes take a quick look and push off into a faster/slower lane if a "I DO NOT GIVE WAY" swimmer is in front. I'm swimming early mornings so generally ~3-4 in a lane, never more than 5-6. Easier in 50m pools as well I guess.

    gw

    @gregorywannabe we also circle swim here, but it doesn't prevent people from choosing the wrong lane...... and, as you point out, there are those whose lack of lane etiquette can cause problems for everybody else in the lane. Much harder to ignore in a 25m pool. :((

    wendyv34
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    Camille said:
    This thread is funny and interesting... I have found that people will move or stay out of a runners way, but have absolutely no issue getting in a swimmers way.

    Isn't that the truth. One summer my sister and I were at a resort area with a nice 25 yard pool. Plenty of room but no lap lanes. We staked a claim on an outside lane and another triathlete joined us. So the three of us were pretty obviously swimming a strong workout along the wall. Well we started attracting idiots like you wouldn't believe. There was no one near our lane when we started, but then it became a sport to see how they could interfere with us. Bunch of teenage boys being the major offenders. Finally one of them got too close to me and I hooked him on my recovery stroke, pulled him under hard and then fake apologized. They stopped after that.

    ssthomas said:

    It sounds like Underwater Hockey to me!

    Ding! Ding! We have a winner! I had asked the lifeguards to find out what those guys were doing and today they told me it was underwater hockey training. I'm chuckling to myself as I write this as I recognize I was using a bit of a hockey move during my annoying lap swimming described above.
    :ar!

    ssthomasCamille
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    curly said:

    I'm chuckling to myself as I write this as I recognize I was using a bit of a hockey move during my annoying lap swimming described above.

    :ar!

    If they were smart, they'd try to recruit us. I bet most of us would make fierce underwater hockey players!

    Bridget
  • dc_in_sfdc_in_sf San FranciscoCharter Member

    ssthomas said:

    curly said:

    I'm chuckling to myself as I write this as I recognize I was using a bit of a hockey move during my annoying lap swimming described above.

    :ar!

    If they were smart, they'd try to recruit us. I bet most of us would make fierce underwater hockey players!

    I ran into a underwater hockey group in a Florida Y that I was doing lap swimming in while traveling for work. Decided to join in one night after my workout (they were very welcoming).

    Man that sport is hard! You need crazy breath control or you'll be constantly resurfacing. I was absolutely knackered after about 5 minutes.

    Franco

    http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer

  • FrancoFranco Chestertown, MDCharter Member

    Wow. I had never heard of that so I found this video.
    http://usauwh.org/media/video/uwh-promo-video

    Looks like a young persons sport. I don't know what knackered means Dave but pretty certain I would have been knackered too.

    And to get back to the original thread, I am another fortunate one who has plenty of swimming options and rarely worries about crowded pools. My main pool has eight wide lanes and even when they have other stuff going on there are five lanes available for lap swimming. Occasionally split the lane but never have to circle.

  • 86 degree pool. In a heated room. Me doing speed work. I could cry.

    ssthomasSolosuziedodssosophiaphia
  • curly- pre-teen and teen age boys are the worst! I used the same recovery arm swing on one at my local open air pool last summer!

  • Oh lord- I just realized I sound like on old lady now, haha! "dang teenagers".

    But seriously, no matter what lane your in or pool simple lane etiquette means everything. I have a GREAT masters team that I love, but there are a few people I basically will do ANYTHING to not share a lane with- even if it means I got to the newbie lane and show them what a flip turn is, haha!

    suziedods
  • MoCoMoCo Worcester, MASenior Member

    last night during my swim, there was a younger guy and an older guy (in the pool in split shorts like you'd run in. eeeew.). they had quite the conversation while hanging on the lane lines, one on each side of my lane. I may or may not have flung water on them "accidentally" since I was swimming a paddle set at the time.

    IronMikesuziedods
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    I think it is also important to understand that some people aren't intentionally screwing you up, they just don't know the rules. Yesterday I was in the middle of a pretty strong set and I was blasting down my unoccupied lane. I went by something splashy and was kind of wondering if it was in my lane or the lane next over. When I flipped I looked down the pool and didn't see anything. But sure enough something splashed by me on the way back. I flipped and chased him down and stopped him and yelled at him. I said don't jump into a lane when nobody knows you're there and he said, "Oh, OK", like it was some sort of revelation. Then I told him to swim on one side and I'd take the other and continued with my set. He eventually moved to another lane and that was fine with me.

    When I finished my workout I ran into him in the locker room. I apologized for yelling at him and said I was in the middle of a tough workout and was pretty wound up. He was all mellow and said "No worries" I explained that there were ground rules for lap swimming lanes and told him how it worked. I said if he worked within the ground rules no one would yell at him. He was appreciative and thanked me. And so now we have one less person screwing up the lap lanes.

    Teenagers on the other hand.... well, they are probably intentionally screwing you up... Get off my lawn!

    KatieBunIronMikedpm50suziedodsBridget
  • dpm50dpm50 PA, U.S.Senior Member

    I once had a woman just standing in the middle of the lane chatting with someone standing nearby in the open swim side. She wasn't a teenager. But maybe didn't know the rules.

    IronMike
  • wendyv34wendyv34 Vashon, WASenior Member

    Sometimes, you just have to run over someone, (usually it's those older "kids" who have already been told to get out of the lap lanes). If your catch just happens to occur on the top of their head, they end up a couple feet under water. Usually the offender will be gone when you make the return trip down the pool.

    The other folks who sometimes need an object lesson are the ones who stand around in front of the wall, right in the middle of the lane. I give them one warning, (both when lifeguarding and swimming). "You see that stripe/tee/cross you are standing in front of? Well, that's where my feet are going to hit the wall when I turn. I would advise that you not stand in front of it or you may get kicked in the junk. If you're going to stand around, do it in the corner." It's on the rules sign for a reason.

    Lap lane rules are so similar to driving (and common sense) that it boggles my mind when people have such a difficult time figuring it out. A couple of times (when very frustrated) I've said "I hope you rode the bus to the pool because you clearly don't understand traffic!"

    curlyssthomasdpm50IronMikeCamille

    It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.

  • I am going to sound like @curly... "oh those teenagers" but really some of it is.. wait for it..the entitlement factor..
    I'm here.. you need to give way to me, I'm more important.. or what I'm doing is more important.
    I had a guy , public pool SF, 6 people in a lane so obviously ( to me) no one was going to be doing any fancy interval stuff. He however was intent on doing his "sprint 50's" . What ever.. BUT , what bothered me most was he went on about one of the other people in the lane going too slowly. Mind you she wasn't super quick but w 6 in a lane you just have to kind of pootle along. Please don't berate anyone for speed, esp when your "sprint" 50's were ahem.. not fast, believe me.

    KatieBunCamille
  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member

    Just back from a pool swim...... there is a long hair caught in the strap of my Garmin. Barf. Feeling hair get wrapped round my hand, mid-lap, is a pet hate. I want to stand up and yell at everybody to wear a cap............................. and breathe. #:-S

    ssthomasCamilleJaimie
  • JayJay Outside Boston, MAMember

    I'm also just back from pool....a frequent site is a Band-Aid or two floating near the pool bottom that I have to look at every 50 yards. With hairs, I think I'd rather have them in my fingers than getting stuck to the face like a spider web. Either way, caps should be required in ALL cases.

    KatieBun
  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    Ok, ok...my FAVORITE lap swim horror story.

    Me and a friend (who is also a very strong swimmer) are sharing a lane together, doing our own workouts and splitting the lane. Masters practice was scheduled to start in about 45 minutes, so we were just getting in some extra yards (cuz, you know, 3500 yards during masters isn't enough).

    A third guy came and wanted to join us. My friend was between sets, so she welcomed him and said we'd be happy to swim circles with him. He then mentioned that he had his own set and he'd like for us to join him in it. My friend was very nice and explained that we were happy to share, but we were both doing our own workouts and that I would most definitely not want to do his workout (as it was mostly 50s). At his insistence, she explained that I was a long distance swimmer and needed to do my own workout.

    About this time, I realize that they've been discussing for a while, so I pop my head up to see what was going on. My friend, again, being very nice, offered to get out so that he could split the lane with just me. I told her that was silly and that we could all happily swim circles. This guy then started to insist that we share his workout because he was a "professional" triathlete. I told him "NO" rather firmly and then continued on my workout.

    This guy then commented to my friend that I didn't look like a very good swimmer.

    Eventually, my friend got out and this guy got in. The "professional" triathlete didn't know how to do flip turns.

    It gets better: So, lap swim time ends, and masters practice starts. When masters is there, there are no available lap swim lanes. My friend and I joined the masters practice and after warm up, notice a commotion in the lane we had left. Our coach is gesturing and looking annoyed. Turns out- this guy was trying to get the masters lane to do his workout with him. Our coach explained that it was masters practice and while he was more than welcome to join us, the lane would not be doing his workout. The guy threw such a stink that the coach had to call security and have him escorted from the pool.

    Haven't seen him there since.

    Also, this is a lesson that you should always check lap swim times so that you're not stuck swimming for 5 minutes and then have to get out.

    KatieBunevmoSolorosemarymintcurlydpm50IronMikewendyv34flystormsKarl_Kingery
  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member

    Brilliant story... and also a lesson that if swimmers want to join your lane and they don't know you, it's better if they observe first, rather than open mouth an insert foot. ;)

    suziedodscurlydpm50IronMike
  • Every time I read threads on this subject here I am astonished. The rules and etiquette of lap swimming are clearly region-specific. The idea of having to ask permission to get in a public lane or to have to alert someone else to you getting in the lane or lane splitting is so foreign that it would never occur to me to do it. So if someone breaks one of these rules of etiquette at your local pool, it's possible they are Australian and just have no idea what you're mad about :)

    Solodpm50ssthomas
  • ChickenOSeaChickenOSea Charter Member

    Kellie said:
    Every time I read threads on this subject here I am astonished. The rules and etiquette of lap swimming are clearly region-specific. The idea of having to ask permission to get in a public lane or to have to alert someone else to you getting in the lane or lane splitting is so foreign that it would never occur to me to do it. So if someone breaks one of these rules of etiquette at your local pool, it's possible they are Australian and just have no idea what you're mad about :)

    Hi Kellie,
    It might have something to do with the size of the pools here (at least in my area of Chicago). Im Australian and when I go home there's a never ending supply of 50m pools to swim in. I've never had any trouble fitting into a lane.
    Where I swim here in the Chicago suburbs, the only pools available are pokey 25 yard (yes yards) pools with narrow lanes. It would be really rude to join a lane without nicely letting the occupants know and checking to make sure if they want to circle or split the lane.
    We're spoilt in Oz :)
    Happy Australia Day!!

    KellieIronMikedpm50
  • MoCoMoCo Worcester, MASenior Member

    Last night (before I asked the guard to tell people not to interrupt me during my long set, to just make sure I saw them and then hop on in) to also ask the woman who was about to get into my lane to AT LEAST put her elbow length hair in a braid or something, rather than swimming with it down. It was long enough (and our lanes are really narrow) that I might have caught it.

  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member
    edited January 2017

    KatieBun said:
    Brilliant story... and also a lesson that if swimmers want to join your lane and they don't know you, it's better if they observe first, rather than open mouth and insert foot. ;)

    no idea how I repeated this. @evmo please can you delete? Cheers

Sign In or Register to comment.