Hi everyone...okay, for my first post I have an etiquette question...I just joined a Master's team a month ago, so I'm pretty new to all of this.
My question is about passing people during practice. I know that theoretically, the standard procedure is to tap the person's feet to let them know you want to pass, and then they're supposed to stop and "pull over" at the next wall to let you get ahead. But do any of you actually do this a lot during practice? Do the people you pass let you do so without a problem, or do they get mad?
Maybe this doesn't sound like a big deal at all and it seems silly that I'm concerned, but I haven't seen anyone even attempt to pass someone else during our practices, and so I'm afraid it would be rude. Plus, some people I swim with seem like they'd get offended, since they're pretty competitive. But last night, I was getting kind of frustrated because I was swimming behind someone who was slower than me, and I felt like I could go so much faster...is the appropriate thing to do to just suck it up and enjoy the "break", or attempt to pass?
Originally posted by Michael Heather
I am all in favor of the foot tap, as it allows the passee to prepare to be passed, either to slow a bit, pause at the wall, do an open turn, whatever.
Sometimes you get the swimmers practicing for their next triathlon by swimming on your ankles. They get distracted, tap your foot (more than once during the set), but refuse to pass (because then there would be no one to draft). Doesn't happen often, but I worry afterwards if I scare them too much when I... erm... voice my displeasure. :cool:
Let me say that I just got moved up a lane in practice after being out many weeks having a baby and then working hard to get back into shape. The lane I'm in now is faster than me but I'm working hard to get back into their times. So, needless to say, I'm the slow one almost all practice long and I know it. When I see that someone behind me is too close, I will often stop and let them pass (usually they are lapping me). I don't want to hold them up since they earned that right to be in that lane and I feel I'm still "earning" it. If I need to pass, I have no problem doing the foot tapping. It is fine being done on me as well. It would be hard in our lanes to pass while still moving because the lanes are not wide enough for 3 swimmers comfortably across. Stopping on the wall is the best option for us and seems to be okay for all of the lane mates I have had the pleasure of swimming with.
If swimmers would just talk to each other and respect each other, passing shouldn't happen. If swimmer A catches B, A should ask B if she should go ahead. If B says no, then it is B's responsibility to go faster and stay out of the way. If B asks A if she wants to go ahead and A says no, even though she caught B, then A's obligation is to slow down and not catch B.
If you lead, you must go fast enough to stay ahead. If you do not want to lead and go second, you must set your pace correctly.
I have practiced with some younger swimmers who are faster than I am, but who have not been training. The smart ones will deliberately go behind me so they can set a pace to make the whole set. After a few weeks, they can lead or move up a lane. The not so smart ones insist on leading for 2-3 out of 10 and then die and mess up everyone's interval. The coach should advise the new swimmer, or the others in the lane should talk to the new swimmer.
If the swimmer still insists on leading, the "pull the ankle and swim over technique" might have merit.
Originally posted by Betsy
If swimmers would just talk to each other and respect each other, passing shouldn't happen.
Probably true in most cases, but what about in longer swims where you lap or get lapped by someone?
If someone laps me on a long swim (and it happens), I stop at the turn and let them pass.
The responsibility should be on the coach. Sometimes a coach plans a workout with long swims, but if a lot show up that day and the swimmers have a wide spread of abilities and the number of lanes is limited, the coach may have to adapt the workout and do shorter distances.
Many years ago at the USMS convention, our workouts were in a small pool. Two workouts were scheduled, but most people came to the earliest workout. We ended up with 7-8 in lane, with swimmers from different parts of the country. Clay Evans was coaching and did an outstanding job. He changed his workout and re-arranged the lanes as we went along. It was a great workout because the coach adapted to the situation.
Originally posted by Draconis
The most annoying thing about trying to overtake them is you go after 10 seconds from when the person ahead of you took off, you catch him at the 25 meters, but he does a tumble turn and pushes off the wall like a rocket, shooting straight for your head and chest.
If you can make up a 10 second lead in 25m why aren't you leading instead of following?
That can happen when not everyone in a lane is doing the same workout. Like - somebody just doing continuous lap swim while somebody else is doing sets, interval training, etc.
Here is one of my favorites: enough people in the lane that the last (slowest) person gets lapped. The lead swimmer waits a while before passing, so the swimmers behind him also get stacked up. Then - when the slow swimmer pulls up on the wall to let him pass, 5 people in a row swim by before the slow swimmer can resume his workout. Now, the slow swimmer is rested and pushes off and is immediately on the ankles of the swimmer ahead, who was maybe only marginally faster to begin with (or the same speed).
But a structured Masters workout still beats public open lap swim any day.
My local pool is only 25 meters and the lanes are so narrow you'd expect that they are made for one swimmer only. There's definitely no room for fly, and *** is possible if you have a narrow kick. It's hard to overtake someone when the lane's that short.
The most annoying thing about trying to overtake them is you go after 10 seconds from when the person ahead of you took off, you catch him at the 25 meters, but he does a tumble turn and pushes off the wall like a rocket, shooting straight for your head and chest. I was hit at least twice this way before I learned to stay the hell away from people when they are about to turn; usually I grab the lane rope at the 20 mark, wait for the person in front of me to tumble, then wait at the other end for that guy to reach the other end.
Originally posted by LindsayNB
If you can make up a 10 second lead in 25m why aren't you leading instead of following?
It's amazing what a good draft can do!
But the follow-up post to your question made the important point. If the lane is not part of an organized workout, there is no organization in most cases.
I would suggest this to people who find themselves in the position Draconis did. Maybe that might happen on the first lap, but it doesn't take long to assess what the other swimmers can do. Once I do, I consider it my own fault if I take off only 10 seconds after such a lane-mate. Next time around, I make sure I take off before they get back -- most preferably, immediately before they get back so that I have almost a whole 50 yards to make up before catching them. Maybe that way I can get in an uninterrupted 100 or 200.
Circling during a "general swim" open swim time usually sucks. You just have to do what you can to mitigate the passing.
