I'm a board member for our swim club.
Last nite there was mention of a complaint from a senior high school swimmer who was uncomfortable with using a locker room with the adult master swimmers. We practice at the same time a few days out of the week.
This became an bigger issue last nite because we have a desire to run USA swimming at the same time as a few masters sessions in the evening and our coach voiced concern about everyone using the locker room at the same time and kids being uncomfortable.
Does your club run practices at the same time?
Have you run into issues like this?
How did you handle/manage locker room time?
Former Member
My club swims in a pool that has no individual changing cubicles
I have no problem with women bringing in children. However I am getting rather fed up with woman bringing in (large) virtually adolescent boys whose voices are on the verge of breaking, yet are apparently incapable of being left alone to change in the boys changing room
our pool is located in the county facility and is open to the public. so besides our swimmers there are people 16-99 that use the lockers.
we even have co-ed staff that clean at night, so when our Masters practice is finished as the pool is closing we have women (often young) hosing down the floor, cleaning the bathrooms. They want to save time and be able to walk out the building 5-10min after the last guest.
I went into the men's faculty shower room for my university pool once and a guy was in there with 6 or 7 naked boys that were, I dunno, maybe 6 or 7.
He herded them all out, but told one, "You stay here."
I'm very nearsitghted, but I was aware that the boy on the other side of the shower room was looking at me with a great deal of curiousity - I had just taken my suit off and was soaping my stuff.
I glanced over, I tried to focus my myopic, astigmatic eyes, and then realized the "boy" was girl.
I was instantly aware of potential (but admittedly unlikely) legal repercussions for me and hightailed out of there. The headline that popped into my brain was "Missing girl found naked in shower room with naked man."
I got out so fast, I had to rinse off when I got home.
I don't have kids and I have a European kind of attitude towards nudity, but that still made me uncomfortable. Heck, even if it had been a close friend's daughter and he said "It's OK, she's used to nudity," I would not do that.
A stranger?
Aside from whatever the girl experienced, the guy who left her there was exposing both himself and me to hellish legal problems.
we even have co-ed staff that clean at night, so when our Masters practice is finished as the pool is closing we have women (often young) hosing down the floor, cleaning the bathrooms.We apparently have the same thing. A couple mornings ago, I had just completely undressed in the locker rooms when the male janitor walked in... followed by the female janitor. Everyone looked over at her but she acted like she belonged there and we all went back to changing into our suits.
My club swims in a pool that has no individual changing cubicles
I have no problem with women bringing in children. However I am getting rather fed up with woman bringing in (large) virtually adolescent boys whose voices are on the verge of breaking, yet are apparently incapable of being left alone to change in the boys changing room
Amen to that sista!!!!! I teach at a local grade school and I have had parents bring boys in the girl's locker room who go to my school. When that happens I just leave and wait in the hallway till they are done!
I've been walked in on while changing several times at the gym where I swim by female staff. They were just doing chores like replacing the towels, or cleaning early before closing on Friday, but nonetheless it's embarrassing.
Not to excuse the practice you describe, but there was an article in a recent Time about the earlier onset of puberty
I have a feeling Fenella may have been exaggerating just a tad. I sure hope so, anyway.
I have a feeling Fenella may have been exaggerating just a tad. I sure hope so, anyway.
I did take issue last year with the mother of a hoodie wearing spotty oik who was the same height as me, but I suppose could have been on overgrown 6 year old
I am 5 foot 8 .........................
Given basic rules (no photos, no touching, etc.) then if you are not comfortable with nudity, don't go to a public change room. Report creepy and inappropriate behaviour - which, BTW, does not include a middle aged person removing their suit to shower.
The teens who are "uncomfortable" with naked adults probably watch a fair deal of nakedness or near nakedness on TV/movies/internet...kind of ironic.
My advice: Get a grip - we're talking the human body here, which is not an obscenity.
