Concussion, pool management and lifeguard responsibilities
Former Member
For the past sixteen months, I have lived in a town where there is only one swimming pool option-- the local YMCA. I have the typical complaints about this (warm water, crowded lanes), but recently my chief complaint has become the unsafe environment. Just over a week ago, I ended up with a concussion after someone swam into me head-to-head. While this occurred, the lifeguard was chatting with another employee. The accident occurred when a known "problem swimmer" informed my lane-mate that he needed to start circle swimming. An inexperienced swimmer, he began to do so immediately, but without my knowing. After the collision, I called out the lifeguard on not doing anything, and was asked what I expected her to do (in the event she had actually been paying attention). I said, "blow your whistle!" To which she responded, "no one listens when I do that."
I later spoke with the lifeguard manager, who said the same thing. Additionally the manager claims that guards have tried to talk to the problem swimmer in the past, but she will not listen to them. I have seen this woman intentionally swim into people rather than inform them she is getting in their lane. When asked what the repercussions to her would be, should she continue to ignore the lifeguards, I was told "well we can't kick anyone out of the Y."
I have had numerous other incidents in the past. For example, the lifeguard once allowed someone to tread water in the middle of a lane with four circle swimmers. Another time I slammed into a man's rear end coming out of a flip turn. (I have no idea why/how he was there.) And on a daily basis, there is zero oversight to how people join lanes, meaning you never know when someone (who is inevitably nowhere near your pace) will appear in your lane.
As I lay on my couch recuperating, I contemplate if anything will ever change. It is frustrating to know that if the lifeguard had done something, I would not currently have recurring headaches, sensitivity to light, and difficulties with my equilibrium. Hopefully, my symptoms will improve in the near future but I cannot help but think my concussion was avoidable.
My questions are: what are realistic expectations of a lifeguard? To whom are they accountable? Who is responsible for teaching swim etiquette? Who is responsible for keeping swimmers safe? Who is responsible for organizing compatible circle swimming lanes? Do people really not respond to blowing a whistle?
If this were an isolated event, I would probably be more forgiving. But the fact is that the lifeguards are frequently socializing, drinking coffee, or staring off. I thought their responsibility was the safety of the swimmers?
I look forward to swimming again once I am symptom-free, but I do have some lingering reservations. I would also like to use this incident as a wake-up call to the YMCA management, but am not sure how to do so. (Or am I being too quixotic?) I filled out accident and incident report forms after the event, but there has been no follow-up. I would love to find a new pool, but there aren't any options so I am stuck.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Former Member
I think that part of the problem is that there the rules of the road are often unspoken, or understood only by experienced swimmers. At my pool the rules are to split the lane with two swimmers, circle swim with three plus, be verbally acknowledged before entering a lane with another swimmer and tap a swimmer on the foot if you wish to pass at which point they should then yield to you at the turn.
Real solid set of rules in my opinion but to find them you need to be on the website, there is nothing poolside so it leaves the people that do not know in the dark.
I think that rules and a bold sign explaining those rules is a good start.
That may be asking a bit much, while we are in hypothetical land I would suggest a policy requiring a cleansing shower before entering the pool and that if you leave a band-aid in the water you should have to swallow it, but we all have our pet peeves.
I wish you well and would like to make a few points:
1. I suffered a non swimming related concussion about 20 months ago. The symptoms disappear gradually but if you are swimming again you are doing just fine.
2. I reiterate what others have stated: I am not a lawyer but it seems to me that you have a libel case, if you care to pursue it. However, it will probably take years and lots of your precise time on this earth.
3. I have never had problems with lifeguards but I have often thought what a thankless job it is. Although boring and monotonous it is also with great responsibility. The job becomes harder when there are no penalties for outrageous behavior. At our pool everybody signs an agreement that includes a conduct code and penalties for misbehavior. Perhaps you could suggest this at your Y.
I haven't been back in the pool yet, but hope to go for a short swim tomorrow. My headache seems to be gone, but I fatigue easily and have some lingering eyesight problems. When I wear glasses, my vision seems OK, but wearing contacts is disorienting. I am not sure if this is typical, but I hope it cures itself quickly.
Regarding the Y, I am not eager to pursue a legal battle, but I do wish they would get their act together! I sent a polite but firm email informing them of my injury and requesting that they evaluate the safety of the pool and the training of their guards and pool staff/management. In the brief response I got back, they said their insurance would be in touch (I think regarding the medical bills) and that they would work on educating their member on "lap lane etiquette." This doesn't seem like a thorough solution to me-- unless the guards pay attention and enforce things, I don't foresee any major changes occurring. I am nervous to get back in such an unsafe environment.
I had a nearly identical experience some years ago. I was the first in the lane, shortly afterwards joined by a woman who insisted on splitting. She didn't bother to tell me a third swimmer had joined, even when he suggested it, and I had a head-on collision with him. The lifeguards actually blamed me for "not keeping your head up and looking forward when you're swimming". I didn't swim at that pool again for several years, and then only when nothing else was available. And now I'm very nervous about splitting and tend to circle even when I'm alone in the lane, just to indicate to anyone joining that that's what I'd prefer to do.
Hope you get better soon. Mentioning liability and insurance sounds like a good idea.
I'm really sorry to hear about your injury, and I definitely hope you recover quickly.
Speaking as a lifeguard and an active swimmer, it's a hard situation to be in. Lifeguards ultimate responsibility is patron safety in all forms, but it's true that people often don't listen to lifeguards after repeated attempts to talk to them. People often don't see the point of lifeguards because it's usually a younger person seen as "Just sitting there." I've had people tell me to my face I wasn't good for anything more then getting a tan...as I was filling out the paperwork after pulling out her friends struggling child from the water.
If the lifeguards really have tried to talk to this person and nothing has happened, your best bet is to confront this person directly or go straight to YMCA management. The Red Cross only trains the lifeguards, they have no authority after that.
As someone also mentioned, experienced swimmers often take "unspoken rules" , like circle swimming, for granted. The average person who only swims occasionally will not know. That's the responsibility of lifeguards and the facility to make sure patrons know what's going on. However, small squabbles that happen amongst people regarding these, especially amongst adults, can hopefully be dealt with without the involvement of lifeguards.
I really hope you can resolve this to your satisfaction. I hate to see people get hurt, and I hate to hear about lifeguards slacking. We have enough of a stigma as it is.
Ouch!!!!! I hope you're better soon.
I used to swim at a pool where the lap lanes were marked slow (no consistant pace), medium (1:30-2:00 per 50), and fast(less than a minute per 50). At least you had a slight chance of having more than a floater in your lane if you were trying to do an interval workout. This also forced people who had no idea of what was going on to go talk to a lifeguard and be advised on where to swim.
Where I swim now the lanes are open to whomever wants to jump in. A couple weeks ago I was doing a faster sprint type workout and the girl I was sharing with was a college swimmer home on break getting a good workout in (fast!). A man jumped in with us and said we'd have to circle swim. I actually stood up to him and asked him to join another lane that was also lap swimming instead of forcing us to abandon our workouts and slowly swim laps while dodging him. Needless to say he got cocky and told me he could swim in any lane he wanted. I agreed with him but tried to explain that the slow swimmer hi-jacks the whole lane and forces the others to have to go slow and wait for opportunities to pass. He really didn't care so college girl and I spent the next 20 minutes tickling his feet and having miserable swims. Finally college girl and I decided to join forces and make him miserable; we started doing 25 Fly Sprints with arms as wide as possible followed by 50's with big paddles. I'm really not sure if his workout was over or if he was just tired of eating our waves but he finally left the pool and hasn't come close to my lane since. I'm not cocky enough to think I always deserve a whole half a lane for myself, but I really wish people would scan the pool and find a lane they could fit into without disrupting the flow. I have 3 or 4 friends I usually swim with at this pool; we swim with all 4 of us in the same lane and do the same workout. I wish others were considerate in this way too.
I worked at a Y as a lifeguard when I was in my 20s, and we had a very obnoxious and unsafe lap swimmer. I tried to remove him from the pool, and management would not back me. I had to throw a kickboard at him one night when we were closing because he would not stop no matter what I did. I believe the other swimmers applauded me.
