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 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. Logically, this concept is great, but I've swum in too many lap pools where they do have a 'speed' designation to know that too many people overestimate their speed, as you note. Plus, beyond kicking, people will often do different strokes in warmup; would we need to change lanes when we switched from free to ***? I think this might end up setting people's expectations falsely and end up with more disappointment.
I think we should all just aim to be big boys and girls and get along ... POLITELY entering the water, POLITELY being aware of others in the lane and doing the best we can. I know I never get in the kind of warmup I'd really want to do at a Nationals, but that's just part of the game.
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. Logically, this concept is great, but I've swum in too many lap pools where they do have a 'speed' designation to know that too many people overestimate their speed, as you note. Plus, beyond kicking, people will often do different strokes in warmup; would we need to change lanes when we switched from free to ***? I think this might end up setting people's expectations falsely and end up with more disappointment.
I think we should all just aim to be big boys and girls and get along ... POLITELY entering the water, POLITELY being aware of others in the lane and doing the best we can. I know I never get in the kind of warmup I'd really want to do at a Nationals, but that's just part of the game.
