Swim Rant

Has anyone ever swum in France? I don't know about other European countries, but I found, while living in France, that most pools follow different rules. Most cities have a couple pools and at least one of them is pretty nice, relatively new and 50m. This is where I usually would swim. There would usually be two or three lanes with lane lines for lap swimming and the rest of the pool (if there was nothing else going on like a swim practice) would be a free-for-all. I had to swim there once or twice, and had to find available wall to turn around on between the few couples hanging onto the sides and making out. Really, you ask? Yes, really. They would get into their swim suits and get all chlorine-y just to float vertically, hang on to the wall and sit there making out! Anywho, my true gripe is with the lap lanes. They do not have any lanes marked Fast/Medium/Slow and apparently disagree with this concept. I actually got yelled at by some woman that I needed to slow down, after I passed her. I did nothing but pass her, so it's not like she wanted me to slow down because I hit her or was drafting for a long time and tapping her feet forever or something rational. So when I got out of the pool, I went and talked to the lifeguard and asked if there were (unmarked, but understood) Fast/Slow lanes. He said no, and they would never do that because it wouldn't work out anyway. Slow people would think they're better than they are and swim in the wrong lanes anyway! I really hated it, because the pools were so nice otherwise!

Has anyone ever swum in France? I don't know about other European countries, but I found, while living in France, that most pools follow different rules. Most cities have a couple pools and at least one of them is pretty nice, relatively new and 50m. This is where I usually would swim. There would usually be two or three lanes with lane lines for lap swimming and the rest of the pool (if there was nothing else going on like a swim practice) would be a free-for-all. I had to swim there once or twice, and had to find available wall to turn around on between the few couples hanging onto the sides and making out. Really, you ask? Yes, really. They would get into their swim suits and get all chlorine-y just to float vertically, hang on to the wall and sit there making out! Anywho, my true gripe is with the lap lanes. They do not have any lanes marked Fast/Medium/Slow and apparently disagree with this concept. I actually got yelled at by some woman that I needed to slow down, after I passed her. I did nothing but pass her, so it's not like she wanted me to slow down because I hit her or was drafting for a long time and tapping her feet forever or something rational. So when I got out of the pool, I went and talked to the lifeguard and asked if there were (unmarked, but understood) Fast/Slow lanes. He said no, and they would never do that because it wouldn't work out anyway. Slow people would think they're better than they are and swim in the wrong lanes anyway! I really hated it, because the pools were so nice otherwise!