I was surfing the web for my swimming class to find a couple of articles on swimming, when I came across an anecdote that was so funny I almost died laughing:
I teach group and private swim lessons at our local Y and am constantly amazed and entertained by the comments from the kids. Last year, little Ben, 5 years old, was swimming backstroke, eyes to the ceiling, goggles bigger than his head, blonde hair falling in his face. I'm watching from the side, signaling to kick and streamline. All of a sudden he yells out "Miss Barbara!""What Ben?" I reply, still making kicking motions with my arms. And loudly comes this little voice echoing throughout the pool "I want to eat you like a strawberry!". I thought the lifeguards were going to fall out of their chairs. What could I say? "Keep kicking Ben, just keep kicking!"
I didn't use this for my class (it's not copyrighted by the way, and it's not my personal story), but it made me realize that there's got to be a lot more swimming humour out there.
(Of course I could mention the time where I smashed my head twice in one lap swimming backstroke. They moved the backstroke flags!)
I'm interested to hear more...
Former Member
Haha...thanks! So I guess that wouldn't be powder for swim caps. Hehe...thanks for the pic, as I clicked on it I feared I would see some goo...I was very happy to see it wasn't!
This just happened today. I was doing free and coming in for a turn. I was concentrating on being tight and turning faster. Apparently I balled up to tight, and I ended up kneeing myself in the head. This wouldn't have been so bad, it was mostly underwater, but it was right in front of the hot lifeguard! Even so, probably no one would have noticed, but I had to stop and stand up because I was laughing so hard.
~Kyra
Reading these posts brings back alot of memories for me, as I am sure they bring back alot for everyone. One of my favorites was the time that we put a whole person in a swim cap while we were warming up, we were all about ten. In high school I decided to join the swim team and ended up getting fast enough times to go to the league finals. Everyone was talking about how and with what they were going to shave with. I had never shaved my legs before but since everyone was doing it, I did too. But no one had said to shave your arms, and as we were getting grouped up to head to the pool (it was across town) my friend started laughing at me because of my hairy arms. So I asked if he had a razor so I could shave them, and he produced one and I went to town on my left arm... totally dry. WOW! I cant really tell you how bad that sucked, but it was bad. I decided to wait to get to the locker room at the pool before working on my right arm, but before that I had to dip my left into the pool to cool off the razor burn.
Hi. It's been a while ... so I hope that all my friends on this Forum are OK.
I teach a number of kids (5 through 12) at the pool where I also work out at. These kids have various degress of ability and they are there because they really like being in the water.
I wear a pair of board shorts when I am working with the kids as a matter of habit. One of the kids wanted me to teach him how to do a start dive from the deep end of the pool off the pool's edge. No problem, I would start the lesson by showing him how to stand, bend over, etc. After going through those basics, I told him that I would then dive in a couple of times to demonstrate, then he should follow. So I did. And board shorts ended up around my knees. Good thing though I had my Speedo on from my own workout under them just in case. A word to wise, I suppose.
BTW, good luck to anyone going to the Colonies Zone SCY Champs this weekend.
Later.
I may have posted this story before. If I did here it is again.
In 1943 before I ever heard of Speedo, my coach Jimmy Thompson told me about SPEEDO GREASE.
We were at a swimming meet in Dundas a town 7 miles from our home town Hamilton, I was ten, my brother Thurlow was 12 and two other guys from our club were also 12. The team from Dundas were at the end of the age group for the under 14 relay and appeared to be giants.
Our team was very nervous. Our coach said "Don't worry boys we'll do fine we have SPEEDO GREASE". Jimmy then told us to meet him in the change room just before the race and he would put on the SPEEDO GREASE and we would just slip through the water. He also told us not to tell the other team about it, as he didn't want anyone to know about SPEEDO GREASE.
Guess what? We went up to the other team (the giants) and told them we were going to beat them, we felt great.
Just before the race we went to the dressing room, met the coach to get our SPEEDO GREASE on so we could win. He said "you don't need SPEEDO GREASE get in there and win", we did.
George Park www.swimdownhill .com
While on travel, I was pointed to a wonderful local Community Center by a college friend who got me into swimming last year after running injuries had gotten me down. Two stories.
There at this very nice pool complex (Herdon CC in Northern VA), as I was stretching getting ready to jump in, one of the few people there at the time, a teen boy working out started chatting with a young woman about to get into the whirlpool overlooking the pool and diving well.
They chatted a bit, then suddenly he got out of the water, climbed on the blocks and executed a very good racing dive, BUT he wasn't wearing a racing suit, was wearing baggy board shorts and now clearly I could see the his bare bums showing. He dove under, managed to pull his shorts back up, complete the 50, and then he quickly exited, a bit redfaced.
Got going on my own workout with a 400y free to start and realized this was going to be a slow day of "slogging", then a 30+ year old couple jumped into the next lane in the midst of an 800 free for me, one nicely filling out a very tiny bikini and the guy with another one of those loose fitting board trunks.
I know, not really kosher to pick up pace just to pass a young fellow trying to impress a lady with his skills. Knew it was time to go an hour later when the bikini clad lady (with her lane partner departed) matched pace with me on my free cooldown, but doing a very smooth breaststroke. When I stopped, she stopped and just looked at me sort of blankly.
I just nodded, and got out - it was time to go! Happily married here and working on keeping it that way. Perhaps single guy in same position would have different ending to this story!
Cheers, Mark W4CHL
Funny stories sorry I cannot tell these ones they involve me doing something to three different Olympians but they got me back and beat me.
However I was at the Commonwealth games in 1958 and found a pair of ladies panties on the ground and they had the swimmers name tag sewn in. I walked up to the barb wire fence that surrounded the ladies quarters and she came up to the fence. I asked did you lose these and threw them over the fence. I never lived that one down and was accused of being unfaithful by all the witnesses.
