I swim with a small club in a small HS pool. As a result of low attendance, we often get only one or two people per lane at practice. The typical response to an addition is, "let's split the lane!" which is universally accepted. I have never been a supporter of this style of training or lane sharing, because it automatically makes a third person wait for someone to accept his/her appearance at the end of the lane. This is only the first of a myriad of reasons not to split lanes.
The one and only time swimming straight away is correct is during competition.
If you want to enumerate the good things about splitting lanes, please precede the number with "x" so we can keep track of the different lists.
Circle swimming is immensely better and automatically adding people to the group is a no-brain activity.
I will enumerate some reasons why splitting lanes is just bad all around, please feel free to agree and add your own observations. If you disagree, use reason to make your argument. Simply saying that you like it is not acceptable. Recreation swimmers are fearsome champions of splitting lanes and not acknowledging people waiting to enter the pool. For that reason, they get:
#1 - You didn't pay for half of the lane, only the space in which you are swimming. Be observant and share.
2 - Circle swimming forces everyone to be not only on the same set, but almost the same interval.
3 - circling makes you aware of all of the other swimmers in your lane
4 - circling forces people to know how to pass or be passed with civility
5 - circling allows you to drag on the leader or be a tow truck, pulling everyone else in the lane.
6 - unless in a really crowded lane, circling keeps collisions to a minimum.
7 - circle swimming can be symbiotic, making everyone in the lane faster through teamwork.
The only reason circle swimming doesn't work is that most people don't know how to do it.
If you grew up circle swimming, it is natural. It's like sharing the road while driving. I agree with most of what Michael said. When someone asks me to split the lane, I have a moment of panic every time I sense them approaching on the 'wrong' side. I feel like I screwed up.
Splitting does not fix any of the problems I have with sharing a lane -- wide fly so scared to smack the person, scared to swim backstroke, and breaststroke kick.
No one should have to wait around for a spot to open. Sharing lanes is actually pretty easy, once we know how.
Circle swimmers can do different sets, but we should understand what each other are doing, so we can properly start. We may not be able to use the exact interval we want, and we will have to pass and get passed sometimes, but that beats the heck out of sitting on the deck waiting for the noodlers to get tired and go home.
My age group team would have 6 or more per lane sometimes. Circling is the only way to do that.
Splitting sux.
The only reason circle swimming doesn't work is that most people don't know how to do it.
If you grew up circle swimming, it is natural. It's like sharing the road while driving. I agree with most of what Michael said. When someone asks me to split the lane, I have a moment of panic every time I sense them approaching on the 'wrong' side. I feel like I screwed up.
Splitting does not fix any of the problems I have with sharing a lane -- wide fly so scared to smack the person, scared to swim backstroke, and breaststroke kick.
No one should have to wait around for a spot to open. Sharing lanes is actually pretty easy, once we know how.
Circle swimmers can do different sets, but we should understand what each other are doing, so we can properly start. We may not be able to use the exact interval we want, and we will have to pass and get passed sometimes, but that beats the heck out of sitting on the deck waiting for the noodlers to get tired and go home.
My age group team would have 6 or more per lane sometimes. Circling is the only way to do that.
Splitting sux.
