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
If you find that you have enough energy to hop out of the pool immediately after you touch to finish a race, you didn't swim hard enough during the race.
I try to give a handshake to both adjacent lanes... or the Handshake/Hug if a teammate or friend is neighboring. As for waiting, I'm usually trying to gather my bearings and tend to be one of the last out of the pool.
Amen!
I did this in USS, HS, college and Masters. It's out of respect for your fellow competitors. Plus, it gives you a moment to catch your breath. If my kids swim... I will definitely instruct them to do this.
:agree:
I agree as well!
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.
Here's my perspective... if you finished so far ahead of everyone that you had time to catch your breath, and then jump out of the pool before everyone else finished, then you sandbagged. If you finished so far behind everyone that people had time to get out before you finished, then you anti-sandbagged. Either way, you should work on your seed times. :) If everyone seeded themselves well, then we wouldn't even have to debate this issue. :)
(Admittedly, in events that are 400 and longer, there can be a significant gap between finishers, even in the most perfectly seeded heat.)
But on the whole, I don't have a problem with people getting out. I think you wait a bit for people to finish in a competitive heat. If you "pop" out, that's a bit rude. If your heat is competitive, in a fly-over-start meet, then you should stay in the water until the next heat finishes anyways. But if someone still has 50 yards to swim, and you're done, I think you have the right to get out so you can go warm down and not get cold. (As a meet director, in that situation, I'd rather you not warm down in your lane while the other person finishes, because odds are, you'll not time it correctly, and end up holding things up even longer while we wait for you to finish your warmdown lap.)
-Rick
After the heat has started, swimmers are to exit the pool by climbing out at the latter at the side of the pool.
I remember this procedure from Worlds at Stanford. It's OK in general, but gets a little interesting in the 50 frees. If you're in a middle lane you don't have much time to get across the pool before that next heat is on top of you!
I asked this at a USS meet I swam last summer that was doing flyovers. I had emailed the coach my times and she still came up with her own times. I swam the dreaded 200 free with a seed time about 15 seconds faster than I had ever done and basically hit the wall and a girl was flying over me. In the 100 fly I was seeded with a time about 15 seconds slower than I go so I had time to get out. I loathe flyovers so I try to get out of the way as much as possible.
I was told that if there was sufficient time to get out then that was okay. Otherwise stay in. In Masters I mostly swim 50s and a few 100s so it's rarely an issue.
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've done 400IM in local USMS meets where the range of times is pretty long in a single heat
I'm sure that is true Steve. You swam about a 4:10 IM at Div. III Nationals back when I pretended to coach you. I'll bet you'd wait almost two minutes for me to finish if I was in your heat.
I agree with the posters who think it's good manners to wait for the rest of your heat to finish, but sometimes it's just better to get out. A few years ago I was 17th seed out of 17 for the 50-54 200 Fly at Indy. There were two heats of eight for the age group, and I was thrown in with the first heat where there were a couple of open lanes. The next youngest guy was 78 I think. I didn't swim great, but I actually exited the water, ran down to the north course, watched my friend finish his race, and then returned to the south end of the natatorium to realize that two of the guys in my heat were approaching their last turn. They kept it legal, and the roar of the crowd was genuine praise for what the two 80 something swimmers endured to finish their event. I'm glad I had such a good view of it from the pool deck.
Ken
Taking a year off with four broken ribs. :(
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.
Amen. Ditto for the 1650.
