I was swimming at a meet today, and I noticed that most/many swimmers get out of the pool (or at least in my heats when I was noticing it) more or less right after they're done with their race.
Back when I was about 9 (1993ish), I remember my coach told us before the local summer swim league championship meet (it was my first) at UNC's Koury Natatorium using electronic timing, etc., that it was good sportsmanship to wait until the entire heat is finished with their swim, and then get out of the pool. The reasoning was never explained to me at the time, but I can infer a good reason: no one has to finish the race alone (there are probably other good reasons).
I've generally adopted this practice for the most part when I swim in meets, even though this can impact the operation of the meet (namely, if it takes longer to exit the pool, the meet takes longer, unless you use dive-overs). And this practice can be problematic if you win the heat, and it takes a long period of time for the heat to finish (say 5 minutes). I should also note that I haven't paid a great amount of attention to this, and that the heats that I generally swim in are early heats, which tend to have larger time spreads (which would skew my perception). Furthermore many people who didn't have the lengthy experience with competitive swimming that someone like I would might not know about this idea. And in the grand scheme of things, waiting doesn't make you a better person or a worse person than anyone else--it's just a custom.
So what does everyone think about this kind of thing? Is it something that matters or is it largely irrelevant? And is the practice of waiting commonplace or haphazard?
Patrick King
Parents
Former Member
I think an exception exists for circumstances when you could take a shower and get dressed before the other people finish.
I've done 400IM in local USMS meets where the range of times is pretty long in a single heat.
This happened to me once back in 1962 or thereabouts. It was the University Championships. Back in Egypt, swimming is really a (country and sports) Club thing rather than High School or University. I did swim at the University Championships one year because they gave scholarships to Champions (even though University was, technically, free).
I did the (LCM) 100 free, 200, 400 and 1500 in one afternoon. Won them all. The sun was setting as I finished the 1500 (in no great a time, I might add; some 25 minutes or so. I was a sprinter) and it was getting cool then cold, so I decided to "heck with sportsmanship and shaking the 2nd place finisher's hand." I went showered and put my clothes and went back and peeped through the door and decided it would be better if I just left so as not to embarass the poor sap. I know how I would have felt in his shoes, had the winner waited for me to touch, with his clothes on.
Of course, I'm happy telling and re-telling the story (and he was from a different Faculty) years later, except that there were only three real swimmers (from Clubs, I mean) in the whole University and I did beat the other two who were a ***-stroker and a back-stroker but who, in real life being from our main opposing club in Cairo, had decided to take me on in my stroke.
I can't even remember their names now, but I do remember the whole afternoon and each and every swim.
I think an exception exists for circumstances when you could take a shower and get dressed before the other people finish.
I've done 400IM in local USMS meets where the range of times is pretty long in a single heat.
This happened to me once back in 1962 or thereabouts. It was the University Championships. Back in Egypt, swimming is really a (country and sports) Club thing rather than High School or University. I did swim at the University Championships one year because they gave scholarships to Champions (even though University was, technically, free).
I did the (LCM) 100 free, 200, 400 and 1500 in one afternoon. Won them all. The sun was setting as I finished the 1500 (in no great a time, I might add; some 25 minutes or so. I was a sprinter) and it was getting cool then cold, so I decided to "heck with sportsmanship and shaking the 2nd place finisher's hand." I went showered and put my clothes and went back and peeped through the door and decided it would be better if I just left so as not to embarass the poor sap. I know how I would have felt in his shoes, had the winner waited for me to touch, with his clothes on.
Of course, I'm happy telling and re-telling the story (and he was from a different Faculty) years later, except that there were only three real swimmers (from Clubs, I mean) in the whole University and I did beat the other two who were a ***-stroker and a back-stroker but who, in real life being from our main opposing club in Cairo, had decided to take me on in my stroke.
I can't even remember their names now, but I do remember the whole afternoon and each and every swim.
