Ok, usually our masters team has few enough swimmers that we can split the lanes and not have to circle swim.. however, there are times when attendance is higher than normal and we do have to circle swim. (personally I think it's fun!)
anyway..
I am not sure what the proper etiquette for the turns are. Are you supposed to hit the wall on the right side of the lane and push off towards the opposite (return side), or while you're swimming into the wall do you scootch over to the left, flip and push off relatively straight?
I notice that I have some trouble with the angles coming into and out of the wall when circle swimming and so far have managed but would like to figure out the proper way to do this..
any insight?
thanks.
J.
Usually it's best to do your turn in the middle of the wall where you would do it in a race. As you are coming into the wall move over slightly so you can hit the turn in the middle. Sometimes on longer sets people may rest at the wall. If they do that they usually rest on one far side or the other, thus if you turn in the middle, you don't disturb anyone.
As you complete the turn, you push off on a slight angle so that you are on the other side of the lane keeping the center clear. Pushing off on an angle allows the next person coming in room to complete their turn.
Glenn:)
Great info.. thanks to all who answered!
I'll have to practice.. Something Ande said sparked a thought as to why it seems so akward to me. We usually swim counter clockwise, and I have a tendency to turn to the right, so while doing a flip turn and turning right but trying to move over to the left, it's a long weird sort of move for me.. I'll try turning the opposite direction.. (boy this isn't going to be pretty!) lol
Thanks again!
J.
More on getting out of the way for faster swimmers in your circle lane:
So far it has been suggested that someone who wants to pass will touch your foot or leg.
If you are aware of who is around you, you can avoid that too.
For instance, if the faster swimmer was 4 body lengths behind you on the previous turn, and now s/he's two lengths behind when you do your current turn, chances are s/he'll be right on top of you on the next turn. Just get over. Even if s/he didn't touch your feet yet, just get over, because you can bet s/he'll be on your feet for the whole next length.
It doesn't take too long in a lane with someone to figure out the relative paces and lapping patterns.
Back to the initial question about where to flip (left/middle/right) it also depends on where the rest of the lane mates are standing, or where they expect you to turn.
Most time I've been in this situation, the spot of choice was the middle. But if we are going counter-clockwise, and if "standers" are standing on the right, the better place to turn is all the way over to the left. (And reverse that if yor're circling clockwise.)
Best bet is to chat it up with the others in the lane before you start. I'm not sure what it is about us (humans in general), but sometimes we are afraid to say we don't know and are afraid to ask things. But if we all get on the same page before we start, a whole lot of confusion and friction is avoided.
the general concept with turn etiquette is
STAY OUT OF THE WAY
I agree with the goodsmith, you want to be aware of where you are relative to others in your lane. You want to consider people in front of you and people behind you. Try not to run into those in front of you as they come off the wall and those behind you as you come off the wall.
If there's no one in front of you as you go into turn move over to the middle or the far side of the lane.
Also pay attention to where people are and what stroke they are swimming to AVOID HAND SMACKING. You may need to stay under a little longer off a pushoff or break stroke in fly in you think you're going to hit someone
what's also interesting is when people do turns they either roll to the right or to the left and they it that way every time.
if you want to feel funny try doing turns where you roll to the side you never roll to. Let me know how it goes
there's also WALL etiquette, and the general concept is
if you're waiting on the wall and others in your lane are still swimming,
STAY OUT OF THE WAY
move the the side.
Ande
Glenn is correct.
But in addition, always be cognitive about where you are with faster swimmers in your lane. If you feel you are going to get passed as you approach the wall, stay to the right and let the person passing you flip in the middle or to the left of you. Try not to cut them off at the last second before approaching the wall as you will find them on a collision course with you on the way out.
Turns during warm ups are tricky with fast and slow people in the lane. It's best to move to the right when you think you are being passed and this includes the turn itself. People doing the passing usually brush your leg when they begin to go by to let you know you're being passed.
John Smith
Generally, I'd say flip as far to the left as you can. If I'm leading a lane, I usually flip in the left corner, because this makes more room for people behind me. If I'm going second, usually in the middle. If I'm third and last, sometimes I'll flip in the right corner, because it means I don't encroach on the person in front of me coming out of the wall.
-Rick
I was taught to go to the far left. I am a left flipper so as I come out of the turn I face the person going ointo the turn. sometimes this creates a problem if i'm not as far tot he left as possible.
Just a thought... If the person behind you is close enough that your turn off the wall impacts him/her, there may not be adequate room between you. Maybe you need to let that person pass you.
