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
When I swam at worlds in munich, they had warm up lanes with time intervals (1.30 being the slowest)
I am thinking about doing something like this for our meet in August. The only problem here is the success of lane-speed rules depends on the honesty of the swimmers in the water. Some people think higher of themselves than they should; others should think more highly of themselves than they do. Plus people do some kick during warmup, so it's not going to be perfect.
I'm glad someone mentioned using people as the wall. At a meet a while back, I came upon a crowded wall, and there was someone in the middle who had had more than enough time to move. I did a slow flip turn (as not to hit them on the head with my heels) and straddled the person in the middle of the wall uncomfortably close (for them, at least) for a second before I pushed off. Next time down, everyone had moved over and there was plenty of room!! :bolt:
When I swam at worlds in munich, they had warm up lanes with time intervals (1.30 being the slowest)
I am thinking about doing something like this for our meet in August. The only problem here is the success of lane-speed rules depends on the honesty of the swimmers in the water. Some people think higher of themselves than they should; others should think more highly of themselves than they do. Plus people do some kick during warmup, so it's not going to be perfect.
I'm glad someone mentioned using people as the wall. At a meet a while back, I came upon a crowded wall, and there was someone in the middle who had had more than enough time to move. I did a slow flip turn (as not to hit them on the head with my heels) and straddled the person in the middle of the wall uncomfortably close (for them, at least) for a second before I pushed off. Next time down, everyone had moved over and there was plenty of room!! :bolt:
