Hi! New guy to the forums here, and pretty new to lap swimming too -- I've been doing it since May sometime.
More than once when I've wanted to join someone in a lane I've found it difficult to get their attention. At first I thought people just didn't want to share, but then I paid attention while I was swimming and realized that when you're looking at the bottom of the pool it is indeed easy to miss someone standing on the edge.
So what do you do? I've taken to dangling my feet deep enough that they're hard to miss, but is this obnoxious? Does anybody have pointers for getting someone's attention without annoying them when you need to share a lane?
For general lane etiquette, I first try to stand on the end of the lane, out of the water, and wait for the person to finish and then ask the person if he/she minds sharing. If the person does not stop after 3 or 4 minutes, I then try to slide in on the side of the lane and wait for them to finish or see that I am there.
I really don't like to start swimming unless I have said something to the person in the lane already in the lane. You never know - the person might not have seen you when you get in the lane and when he/she runs into you, he/she might explode!!
For general lane etiquette, I first try to stand on the end of the lane, out of the water, and wait for the person to finish and then ask the person if he/she minds sharing. If the person does not stop after 3 or 4 minutes, I then try to slide in on the side of the lane and wait for them to finish or see that I am there.
I really don't like to start swimming unless I have said something to the person in the lane already in the lane. You never know - the person might not have seen you when you get in the lane and when he/she runs into you, he/she might explode!!
