How Many Swimmers Per Lane

This is for two of the questions. I swim in a 10 lane pool, 25 yardsX25 meters. We only swim yards. Usually 3-5 swimmers. Sometimes I get lucky and am one of two. It doesn't matter which workout I go to, i'm never alone. With regards to leading off, everyone argues about who should go first in whatever lane I'm swimming in. When I don't feel very energetic, i move down a lane, but my coach makes me move back. I don't like to lead because my mind wanders (duh!) and I forget where I am. The older I get, the more I think about things when I swim. Glad to see I'm not the only one. Arlene:violin:

My opinion is this shouldn't be the lifeguards' responsibility. Their job is not to enforce pool etiquette. Actually, it usually IS the lifeguards responsibility. A while (while!) back when I was a lifeguard it was right in our handbook that we not only had to display the placards indicating lane-speed, we were also to tell the members that circle-swimming was the rule if it became an issue. That was at a YMCA. At the community pool I swim at, the members handbook states that during lap swim hours, "patrons will circle-swim in the lap lanes, staying to the right side of the lane." Now there never usually are enough people during lunch-time for that, but we've had two to a lane. Technically we are violating the rules when we "split" the lane rather than circle. But it doesn't matter, the guards are more interested in watching the clock to see when they get to rotate again.

You could look it up on Snopes.com, but they may not have it. I swim at Walnut Creek just about every day, right after I get off the deck in Oakland. I've been swimming with Coach O'Brien since 1982, long before I started coaching. So I feel empowered to tell you that what you "heard" qaulifies as an urban legend of the Masters Swimming variety. The Creekers swim in ten lanes of a 50 M pool going across (25 yds) at most of their practices, some are LCM (5 lanes) part of the year, and more often than not there will be at least three to a lane, five is not rare. If you tried to identify this "fast woman" you'd have a problem, one because she wouldn't be alone in her own lane, and two there's a lot of really fast women on that team. So do drop in for a practice if you're in the neighborhood. You and your Philly pals will get a wonderful welcome, a great workout, and maybe an a** kicking from several of those fast WCM women. I am sure that we would get a great workout and some asskicking from some of the WCM women. I am really not clear on the Masters team but I could have sworn it had Creek in it, I think. Snopes.com, never heard of it until your post. I was just going off on the idea that someone would forbid others from entering his/her lane and everyone would go along with it including the coaches. But, It could be an Masters Urban Legend.

I'd say 4 to 5 is average, but it can definitely get up to 6 or 7 if it is packed, and 2 isn't uncommon. A lane to yourself is pretty much a Sunday treat, if ever. More than 5 definitely means leaving 3s apart and either getting lapped constantly or short repeats. Are all you folks with one or two per lane either on small teams or are you mostly in big pools? Our biggest pool is only six lanes (one is five lanes, the other four), and we have a fair range in speed, so you can also get into a situation where you have six in one lane and two in another, but that is still easier than trying to spread out.

I don't mind leading, but what I do mind is when someone doesn't want to lead, yet catches me fairly quickly. It screws up my set to have to stop to let them pass. The solution to this is to make them pass you. No need to stop for them.

I have been barely wet for 4 months because of a shoulder injury and not even near a pool for 3 weeks, and the first time I get back into workout (with up to 7 per lane LCM), they all look at me to go first. So I do. And they mostly do not want to pass me, they just drag off of my wake. The lane does have honor, though. If someone has led and is gassed out (that would be me), someone else will take the lead after a reasonable whining period and arguing who is worse at (insert stroke and/or distance here).

In my old masters group we would have up to 6-7 per lane SC when we were outside last summer in a community pool. Narrow lanes, no fun, lots of bruises from that. With the older kids group that I swim with now we get 3-5 for SC and 8-9 LC. Not too much of a problem even with them being so much faster than me.

This summer it's been one or two to a lane when I swim short course and typically 4-10 per lane long course. During the winter up to six per lane is not uncommon, but it varies considerably through the week.

our masters group is so small only 4, but we swim with the HS kids that don't want to train 7 days a week, so we're 15 total in the group and we get 3 lanes. we usually have 3-4 per lane. we usually have 2-3 work outs to choose from, so it's happened that we have had 2 + 5 + 4 per lane since only two of us wanted to work distance. towards the end of the school year we were 2-3 per practice, but decided to swim in the same lane, since some people like to swim on the tales of others, and some people need to be pushed to swim fast.

And the lifeguards are half the problem because they should be telling folks to circle swim and labeling the lanes as slow, medium, fast, etc. OMG, do NOT get me started on this. I have asked the center manager to throw the big sign boards away. her response 'why?' um because there is no enforcement????