I did a search and didn't see a dedicated thread for this topic, which was inspired by a post by Chris Stevenson in the "How Many Swimmers Per Lane" Thread. I'll reproduce Chris's quote below (I hope you don't mind!) and my response (edited for context). What do others think?
(Hopefully I didn't just miss the thread on this. Sorry if I did--I did run a search!)
As far as passing goes, it is the responsibility of the passer. The slower person should not have to stop or slow -- indeed, s/he should not do anything differently...except perhaps be aware that s/he is being passed, swim in the proper part of the lane (esp not too far to the center) and don't do anything radical like speed up or move over suddenly.
It was interesting to read Chris say that, because I have the opposite view. I think, once alerted by a tap on the feet, the person getting passed should stop at the next wall and get out of the passing person's way. Maybe I feel that way because I swim in a pool with very narrow lanes and it's just not feasible to swim around somebody. This is also the way it works in my lane (the person getting passed will stop to let the faster person by) so that might also influence my view of what is "right". But in any event it seems reasonably fair to me. It's the slower person holding the faster person up, so it seems fair that the slower person defer...
I wonder if people's views are influenced by whether they are usually the "passer" or the "passee"...
sometimes it's appropriate to tap a swimmer you're passing
1) if they're not aware you're about to pass them or
2) if you're approaching a turn
you can let them know what side you're on
mixed signals or no signals can cause a collison
lately I've been getting passed a lot because I've been skipping parts of sets
or going at slower paces during my extended taper
in races
if you wanna pass
you've gotta take it
I think we're generally on the same page. Personally, when I catch the person ahead of me on a long swim, I might give them a lap to realize I'm behind them and to give over at the next wall. If that doesn't work, or if it's a shorter swim, I'll tap the person's foot once (but only once) to let them know I'm there and ready to pass. It's only if that also doesn't work (and the person is being stubborn) that I will tap the foot a couple of times. From there, I'll just turn at the flags to get around the person...
sometimes it's appropriate to tap a swimmer you're passing
1) if they're not aware you're about to pass them or
2) if you're approaching a turn
you can let them know what side you're on
mixed signals or no signals can cause a collison
lately I've been getting passed a lot because I've been skipping parts of sets
or going at slower paces during my extended taper
in races
if you wanna pass
you've gotta take it
I think we're generally on the same page. Personally, when I catch the person ahead of me on a long swim, I might give them a lap to realize I'm behind them and to give over at the next wall. If that doesn't work, or if it's a shorter swim, I'll tap the person's foot once (but only once) to let them know I'm there and ready to pass. It's only if that also doesn't work (and the person is being stubborn) that I will tap the foot a couple of times. From there, I'll just turn at the flags to get around the person...
