:bitching: Ok, tell me please if I'm being petty here. Every summer, I swim outside in the community pool which has 2 lap lanes available in the morning and evenings. HOwever, while swimming, I often have to wait for non swimmers who enter the lap lane and go under the ropes to cross over to the open area, because they are too lazy to use the other two entrances to the pool ALL THE WAY ON THE OTHER SIDE, about a whole 15 feet away! Today, I ended up in a confrontation with a woman, (sorry, but why is it always the women????) who said she didn't want to walk around to the other side. When I told her that the lap lanes were put in for lap swimming and that crossing while people are swimming is not safe, she laughed at me. Of course, the 3 lifeguards sat and watched in their usual stupor. Do you deal with this in your general outdoor pools? I am throwing in the towel and giving up since the guards will not monitor the lanes and frankly, fighting when swimming is making me very unhappy. :badday:
I think no good ever comes from people telling other people the "rules" - be it hikers telling mountain bikers to stay off single-track trails (when it's forbidden) or yelling at someone entering the pool in the wrong place. The best you can do is talk to the pool manager and let them know the problem, as them to ask the lifeguards to enforce the rules/policies (if they are, indeed, rules/policies of the pool.) If they're not going to make it an enjoyable place to lap swim, then find another pool.
I did that in the past, and a woman who refused to get out of the lap lane (so she could do some semblance of water exercises against the wall) claimed I hit her, while I was doing backstroke. She then got out of the pool and called the police!
Wow, sounds like quite the group you've got there.
I'm sure the police were really excited to respond to this BS call. File under "first world problems."
Bill, you are very fortunate.
Brenda, It seems that this pool company feels that lap swimming is a PIA (poor guards have to remove and install lane lines every day!), and therefore, despite the homeowners' management company's instructions that guards should keep the non-swimmers out of the lap lanes, the pool company is disregarding those instructions and guards sit there and stare straight ahead, pretending not to see the rule breakers. We are second class citizens.
Fresnoid, Chris, and Sunruh, I did that in the past, and a woman who refused to get out of the lap lane (so she could do some semblance of water exercises against the wall) claimed I hit her, while I was doing backstroke. She then got out of the pool and called the police! At that time, the guards were very supportive, and told the police that she refused to get out of the lap lane. It's a very stressful experience sometimes. Other times, it is a very lovely experience, depending on whether or not a random cretin shows up at the pool on any given day.
You need some guards who are also swimmers who care about that sort of thing! I was very strict with this sort of thing back when I lifeguarded/managed pools in high school and college. It isn't unreasonable to expect lap lanes to remain clear of of people not swimming laps!
My post really was asking if my expectation is unreasonable. It seems like I'm in the minority in this residential community.
No, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect guards to enforce pool rules. At our neighborhood pool the guards will keep ppl out of the lap lanes if they aren't swimming laps.
We usually have this type of problem with teenagers in the area. Be careful though, if you do get on to them they'll remember you and have all of their buddies do the same thing whenever you swim. Have you talked to the manager about this behavior? Maybe they can have a word with the lifeguards who are supposed to be doing their job.
Because they sit there in a stupor pretending not to see anything so they don't have to do anything. We have the absolute laziest guards in the state. IMO, it's the fault of the pool company, who do not instruct or ensure that the guards keep people out of the lap lanes that are not lap swimming. My post really was asking if my expectation is unreasonable. It seems like I'm in the minority in this residential community.
In defense of the lifeguards keep in mind they are young and may not be comfortable confronting adults like this. It's just too bad the swimmers can't follow the rules. You'd think at the very least they could cross the lanes when you were out of the way!
Went swimming last evening at one of my semi-regular pools. I usually do not swim at this pool during summer, because, like many pools, they accommodate recreation swimmers during the summer months and scale back lap swim time. However, this pool does have posted lap swimming hours during the summer months. I arrived at the correct time and the pool staff cleared away the recreational swimmers, put in lane lines, and made sure I had a lane to swim in.
I believed I thanked the pool staff at least 10 times during the evening for going to the extra effort for me. They had a challening time keeping my lane free of other pool attendees, as they usually do not see lap swimmers during summer. There are lap swimmers all winter. Its a year round pool.
Bill, I would thank them if they actually monitored the lanes, but they don't. I bring donuts, buy them ice cream, treat them to lunch the summers that some of the guards actually do their job. This summer has been the worst - the only time they say anything is if a child gets in the lap lane. They refuse to deal with anyone over the age of 14.
