After reading the Senior Games posting, I got thinking about "rude" behavior I have observed at a Masters Meet. I have not seen rudeness as much as observing improper pool etiquette.
My pet peeve is: When a heat is over, the fast swimmers don't wait until all swimmers have finished their swim before exiting the water. I would think that when the slower finisher discovers that he/she is the last one in the pool, he/she would be rather disheartened.
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Originally posted by Phil M.
I guess I am uninitiated as I have never seen it posted that you should leave the water before the heat is complete.
I've been to several meets where the officials have asked swimmers to leave the pool as soon as they've finished, to keep the meet moving quickly (usually when I'm too exhausted to move :) ). On the other hand at the most recent meet I swam in, we were specifically told to stay in the water, until the NEXT heat started ("dive over"), for the same reason. This may not be "posted" anywhere -- the officials may just tell swimmers at the time -- and it varies from meet to meet.
Of course, these are exceptions from what I've always thought of as an unwritten rule to wait until everyone has finished. But when the officials ask swimmers to do something that's not the usual etiquette, in the interests of keeping the meet moving expeditiously, it shouldn't taken bad manners.
Originally posted by Phil M.
I guess I am uninitiated as I have never seen it posted that you should leave the water before the heat is complete.
I've been to several meets where the officials have asked swimmers to leave the pool as soon as they've finished, to keep the meet moving quickly (usually when I'm too exhausted to move :) ). On the other hand at the most recent meet I swam in, we were specifically told to stay in the water, until the NEXT heat started ("dive over"), for the same reason. This may not be "posted" anywhere -- the officials may just tell swimmers at the time -- and it varies from meet to meet.
Of course, these are exceptions from what I've always thought of as an unwritten rule to wait until everyone has finished. But when the officials ask swimmers to do something that's not the usual etiquette, in the interests of keeping the meet moving expeditiously, it shouldn't taken bad manners.
