Had a great time at the Atlanta Short Course Nationals event, however what was up with the lack of pool etiquette in the warm-up/down pools? I have competed in triathlons and open water swims and this event by far was the most dangerous swim experience in terms of etiquette. I spoke with many swimmers who felt the same.
In the warm-up/warm-down pools, I had someone actually jump in as aggressively as they could on top of me, pushing me under. The one time I tried to warm-up in the competition pool during a break, I was pushed in the head and told "Move" & when it was completely crowded with no where to go, I had someone pull my leg, push on my lower back, push me under the water and then they actually swam over top of me to get in front, which was pointless as everyone was touching? Really? I was also very disappointed to hear that younger swimmers were not only crowding the 65+ designated lanes, but were actually just as dangerous and argumentative with the older swimmers. Really?
Perhaps we need a revised USMS Pool etiquette for Nationals and similar type events in addition to the following,
www.usms.org/.../pooletiquette
I don't either....just stating what "may" be the only way to reduce the original posters concern. I'm a big boy and generally don't have a problem.
Well - I don't know that that's entirely fair to say. Even at a smaller "big" meet like Illinois State (my first ever and only until the end of this month). I remember getting into the warm up lanes and coming out thinking that about 15 people had gotten fresh with me (yes I was VERY flattered).
I think what would honestly help the most is developing an entry/exit system from the pool (Always enter from this end, always exit from that end). Then a break down of speed should move from lane one -> lane x (6, 8, 10?) Finally - plain and simple - don't stand in the end of the lane if someone's coming in.
The nerd in me says we should get someone who's sole job is to organize the warm ups and assign people places and allow them in when its the best time. This same person could keep track of what event is going on and tell people when they need to get out of warm up. (Of course the nerd in me is imagining a lot of nerdy tech stuff that would be pretty much impractical for a standard meet budget.)
I don't either....just stating what "may" be the only way to reduce the original posters concern. I'm a big boy and generally don't have a problem.
Well - I don't know that that's entirely fair to say. Even at a smaller "big" meet like Illinois State (my first ever and only until the end of this month). I remember getting into the warm up lanes and coming out thinking that about 15 people had gotten fresh with me (yes I was VERY flattered).
I think what would honestly help the most is developing an entry/exit system from the pool (Always enter from this end, always exit from that end). Then a break down of speed should move from lane one -> lane x (6, 8, 10?) Finally - plain and simple - don't stand in the end of the lane if someone's coming in.
The nerd in me says we should get someone who's sole job is to organize the warm ups and assign people places and allow them in when its the best time. This same person could keep track of what event is going on and tell people when they need to get out of warm up. (Of course the nerd in me is imagining a lot of nerdy tech stuff that would be pretty much impractical for a standard meet budget.)
