Clarifying Lane Etiquette

no, you shouldn't have had to stop if there was only two people in your lane. just swim like normal and let him pass you on your left. There is no that he can't do that.

I know what etiquette should be but he should have gone side by side. His right or not, social etiquette would also include being accomadative where possible--it overules pool etiqutte IMHO. I think he was trying to passively "bully" you into another lane so he could be on his own. Was everyone else in the appropriate lane for their speed and ability? Next time say "OK if you insist on circle but don't be touching my legs I find it offensive..." If he remonstrates let him know side by side will remedy the situation. If he tries to point you into a slower lane. Politely ask him if he feels it neccessary to make you share a lane with 2 other so he can swim alone. if he replies yes then tell him to get the guard to sort out all the lanes into appropriate speeds. Well, he did succeed in getting me into another lane. As soon as the aerobicizers were out, I was in. Unfortunately, I was pretty worn out by then and didn't get much accomplished. I'm trying not be be all "sour grapes" about this. I feel we both could have had a nice, unfrustrating swim if he had been more accomodating. Who knows, maybe he did want a lane to himself (don't we all?) and was purposely pushing the novice around. Or, maybe he was so wrapped up in what he was doing that he didn't notice or care how I was being impacted. Maybe he's just a Class A Jerk? I will handle the situation better next time. As I tell my daughter all the time, we can't make choices for other people, we can just make choices for ourselves. (Rolling eyes like she does, out the door...)

I shouldn't pick on the muppet. I was more directing my soap box speech towards the lane hoggers, most of whom will never swim Masters, or own anything other than baggy trunks. Hey I used to wear baggy shorts...:( Well, he did succeed in getting me into another lane. As soon as the aerobicizers were out, I was in. Unfortunately, I was pretty worn out by then and didn't get much accomplished. Barb...I think he acted a little selfish. If you can breaststroke a good "mis-kick" for each ankle grab seems a fair trade :rofl: We all hop into the empty lane when it's there...it's better for all...especially those flyers and the divine breaststrokers among us. I am grateful to all who I swim with at my Y that they are gracious and encouraging and helpful. Even if the odd rec swimmer gets in my way now and then I know they don't intend it and I can usally work around them until they're done. I was a rec swimmer too 3 months ago.

I prefer it because it is less time spent side by side, which means I am less likely to whack you. I also like having the whole wall for my turns. To some people that is more important than being passed (though I agree he should have just gone around). So way to be a bully and insist that your wholly irrational preference trumps someone else's wholly irrational preference. Bully? Nah. Just being reasonable as opposed to irrational.

Barb...I think he acted a little selfish. If you can breaststroke a good "mis-kick" for each ankle grab seems a fair trade :rofl: Ok, it did occur to me after a couple hundred yards, that if I stopped dead in the water when he grabbed my ankle and make him swim over half of me, I could restart my flutter kick at a really inconvenient time for him. Just kidding!!

The guy was obviously silly-wrong to insist on circling. Did he forget how to swim straight? Worried that some cute guy might show up and be afraid to get in with the two of you? Who knows, but maybe he had some weird reason that you'd rather not know! Next time either don't stop for him to pass as it sounds like he was plenty fast enough to get around, or don't stress out about having to stop and instead have some fun with it - do some speed work trying to stay on his feet for 25 each time he passes you, something like that. It's boring and unimaginative for you to swim without stopping every time you get in the pool anyway. Get some fins, swim underwater, go off the blocks and do a sprint, try one-arm fly. Be a wild thing - risk partial disregard for your lane mate.

....I wouldn't have had any problems, but I kept getting my ankle grabbed so I moved aside at turns for him.... It is fairly common practice to tap someone’s foot to indicate the intention to pass, but if you were being grabbed I’d consider that unacceptably rude behavior that should be corrected (either by you or the pool staff). It does indeed seem like this person was trying to bully you out of “their” lane. No one wants to split a wall lane and get the wall side, but there is no good excuse (IMHO) for how this person was treating you. At the very least you should inquire about the situation with the pool staff so they are aware that there is a potential problem. I’ve done quite a bit of research on lane sharing etiquette and there is no clear cut universal “right” policy, so your best bet is to check with the resident lifeguard or pool staff for the policy there in these situations. I believe the USMS web has some articles on lane sharing rules, as do a few other webs (try Googling the subject, or searching the archives here if you want to know more). A fairly recent copy of the USMS magazine had an article on the subject, but the following issue had to publish a correction, which is pretty indicative of the various (sometimes-vague) schools of thought on the process. So some confusion should be expected, especially when frequently sharing lanes with strangers, since there is more than one idea out there regarding what is correct. http://www.usms.org/articles/ www.google.com/search forums.usms.org/search.php (There are also Forum and Thread search links near the top of each message page.)

I'll take the contrary view here. All pools should require circle swimming all the time. What you do by insisting to swim side by side, or down the center, is make the next person entering the lane stop you and ask for permission and work out a plan you can accept. Circle swimming is the most efficient use of a finite space. Assuming this is public pool space so whether you develop a bad habit of circle swimming in races shouldn't be the concern of the owner of the pool. Their concern should be to fit as many people in the space as they can.