Just wondering from you more experienced public pool swimmers what the general social rules are for swimming in the roped off lap lanes?
I've tried doing so once with kickboard, but found myself going quite slow (and also needing to rest more) and decided to not use them until I felt I had the speed and stamina to not slow the lane down.
Our pool uses circular lane swimming, where a person can swim up the sides (either left or right) of a lane and then swim down the middle of it when going back.
Depending on the day, the lanes can either be completely open or have as many as 4 people in them.
Should a person requiring significant rest between lap cycles get out of the pool during that time? Should a slower person use the open pool area instead of lanes? What type of lap lane etiquette have you guys found most common in public pools?
There is a general Pool Etiquette article here:
www.usms.org/.../pooletiquette
On the left side bar there is link to a circle swimming diagram. What you interpreted as "swimming down the middle going back" was swimming back on the other side. Knowing the basics is a great start, but it seems that many pools and many groups of swimmers develop some additional unwritten "rules". Before you join a lane take minute to look around and pick one that looks closest to your speed and is not too crowded. When in doubt ask to join a lane before you hop in and be courteous. Hopefully the other swimmers will be courteous back.
If your lane mates get ticked off at you, join the club. It's happened to most, if not all,of us. Learn from it (you may have done goofed or maybe you are in the right) and then continue with your work out.
Good Swimming!
Thanks for the link, as it is quite useful. I generally stay out of the lanes unless they are mostly empty. I don't really like getting in people's way and often fear I am if there are more than a few people in the lanes. Best of luck to you if you do ask to join a lane. Perhaps you will find a nice group of people you enjoy practicing with.
Venting...
This morning some chucklehead decides to jump into the my lane 30 minutes into the workout, but he did it without paying attention. I'd been alone in the lane (heaven!) the whole time and it's halfway thru practice and in the middle of a hard, long set, no less. Next thing you know I damn near run into him head-on. He never made any indication he was there. Then he wanted to circle. That would've been fine had he been there from the start, but he still was going to warm up or do something. We weren't even on the same set. Had no idea of his speed. I don't know where this dude came from (walk-on or maybe new guy?), but boy he screwed up the mojo I had going. Coach said that he the guy didn't do what he was told.
My only fun after that was when I had fins on and would kick extra hard when he was close to give him my wake. LOL! Yeah, that's mean, but it made me feel better.
Rant over. I feel better, thank you. :banana:
Yes - when entering a lap lane , please try to let the other/s know that you are now going to swim with them.
This eliminates many other problems also. Ask what they do with " circle swims"
What about the use of paddles in circle swimming? I feel that using paddles in a non-pull set is annoying ( and slightly dangerous to other swimmers in the lane).
My experience in lap lane swimming is that unless the lifeguards are on the ball and actually controlling the experience, it is everyone for themselves.
Most people want a lane by themselves, but will split a lane with someone else in order to seal off entry to anyone else. Forcing someone to ask to join a lane is pretty selfish behavior unless you already have three or more and have all agreed upon a workout set. Otherwise, it is fair game to join any lane at any time, no matter what speed is going on. Obviously, this would presume good sense is being used, but that also seems to be lacking in these lanes. I never ever ask to join a lane with one or two people. Usually it is because they already know I am there, letting me know by suddenly engaging in a massive distance swim that requires them to never stop at the wall upon which I am standing. This behavior is not saved only for me, I have witnessed it many times for other swimmers. If I am in the water already, I will beckon anyone waiting on deck into my lane.
Common courtesy dictates that if you did not pay for an entire lane to swim in alone, you only paid to swim in the pool with others. If the lanes have speed markings, common sense dictates that you make a reasonable estimate of your own abilities before joining. As stated before, both of these qualities seem to be in short supply at some pools, apply the standards at you own peril.
I hear what you're saying Michael and totally agree. When I'm at the pool doing my own workout outside of Maters, I defnitely keep an eye out for others wanting to jump into the lane. Most times, I only swim on one side of the lane so someone else feels welcome to get into the other side. Even at Master's practice, the first 10 minutes or so, there are one or two guys who are normal stragglers that will jump in so we never really expect a lane to ourselves.
This knucklehead came in 30 minutes into a 1 hour Master's practice and just jumped in without even letting me know he was there. It was dangerous and we dang near collided head-on because I wasn't expecting him to be there at all. Had he been at the end or even waved a toy in my face at the end, it would've been a completely different story, but he didn't. That was what the rant was about.
He may not be a knucklehead. Maybe he’s just Swimming While Obvious.
People with SWO syndrome will:
1) Dive into the pool in the section clearly marked No Diving
2) Enter the pool with great splashing about 2 feet from your head, as you approach the wall
3) Choose to swim in your lane instead of choosing one of many empty lanes available
4) Dive in the fast lane and swim slow or the slow lane and swim fast
5) While circle swimming, push off just before you flip turn on a hard swim, then they proceed to do slow breaststroke
6) While swimming backstroke they will serpentine (apparently to avoid torpedoes) and proceed to pinball off every other swimmer in the lake
7) Also while swimming backstroke they will “accidentally” reach under lane ropes and grope swimmers in adjoining lanes
8) In kick sets put on fins, go 3 seconds behind you and proceed to run over your feet and get halfway into your swimsuit before either running you down completely or moving over or slowing down momentarily to try this ramming maneuver once again
9) Take your kickboard, pullbuoy, fins and other equipment use them for a while then deposit them at the other end of the pool or in the lost and found.
10) Listen to the coaches instructions, or not, then do something completely different.
11) Arrive at practice 30 minutes late and proceed to totally disrupt FlyStorm’s workout
