Getting someone's attention to share

I get completely irritable if I am the one in the lane swimming something for time and somebody stops me in the middle of a swim even if it's brief. That might be a convenient moment for them but not for me. Totally agree. I think you should make your presence known, but if the swimmer already in the lane doesn't stop you should just go off their lead. On another subject, I've always been a little hesistant splitting a lane. The problem is what if a third person wants to enter? Splitting the lane sort of sends the message that anyone else who wants swim in your lane is out of luck.

On another subject, I've always been a little hesistant splitting a lane. The problem is what if a third person wants to enter? Splitting the lane sort of sends the message that anyone else who wants swim in your lane is out of luck. I knew we'd eventually agree on something.

I sit on the side and dangle my legs in the pool where they are obvious. If the swimmer stops, I ask "circle or split". Otherwise I wait until I see how they swim for their next 2 lengths to see if they switch to circle swimming or if they move over to just use one half of the lane. If they keep swimming down the middle of the lane, then more drastic measures are needed to share. I get completely irritable if I am the one in the lane swimming something for time and somebody stops me in the middle of a swim even if it's brief. That might be a convenient moment for them but not for me. This depends on the ability levels involved, best with experienced swimmers.

I've slammed into people before that were cutting across my lane - and they look at me like it's my fault! Yes, I'm swimming backstroke - and I cannot see you... my bad. Sounds like some people need to go back to Safety Town: Look both ways before crossing!

A general rule: the slower the swimmer, the less likely they want to share. That's well beyond a general rule, it's universally true. Fort's new avatar is sweet, I'm jealous, old school Ali, nice!

I stand at the end for one lap and if they don't stop I get on the right side.If they move to the right after the push off I figure it's circle,if they stay left I guess split.If they stop I ask"circle or split?" I don't ask if they mind,as I don't consider their refusal an option.If they are a less experienced swimmer I consider it my responsibility to make sure we don't collide,so I swim cautiously for a few laps to see how they are doing.

My response would be "No, you can either share it with me or kiss my a$$" Yep, that was mine. And damned restrained it was, I thought! The "swimmer" was slow; he probably just assumed I was even slower since I was a guuurl. :shakeshead: I know most of the noodlers at my rec pool. I'll share a lane with anyone, although I obviously prefer to swim alone. Most people I run across are pretty well versed in lane splitting. In fact, I never see anyone circle swim. But then I am usually there during a low attendance period. Triathletes are invariably among the rudest in my experience. Like noodlers, they never want to share a lane and often will literally avoid your attempts to get their attention. What I just cannot stand is the noodlers who, rather than get your attention or get out of the pool, swim across lanes to get to the ladder or switch lanes. I have absolutely nailed some people doing this when I was doing underwater work. And I have no interest in getting injured by them. I like to do that one my own too.

For those who hate sharing or not, we ought to love the pools in places like Wisconsin and Northern Virginia. In my experience, for whatever reason, those pools are pretty nice, but very empty of swimmers. I often see about three lanes per person in those places. Wisconsin has its fair share of OAFs but that excuse doesn't work for Northern Virginia. If there's somebody who's really slow and is a real jerk in a lane, I'm very tempted to go back into water polo mode. Inviting a few more good swimmers into the lane always works. Start doing some sets and the one who doesn't belong soon gets run over, washed out of the lane, or both. I've slammed into people before that were cutting across my lane - and they look at me like it's my fault! Yes, I'm swimming backstroke - and I cannot see you... my bad. Related to this are folks who stand around at the ends with their crotches on the crosshairs. Out of courtesy, I remind them what the crosshairs are for. If they're men, I tell them that if their voices are raised up a few notches afterwards, they'll know why. That usually does the trick and gets them out of the way.

The other day I had a slow swimmer noodler type ask me if I would vacate my lane to swim with another lap swimmer so she could float about unhindered. You can only imagine my reaction ... Then, another day recently, a "swimmer" ask me to vacate the lane I had just hopped into and to swim in the adjacent lane with another apparently slow lap swimmer so he could have my lane to himself to swim fast. You can only imagine my reaction ... I can't imagine asking someone to get out of a lane they were using ... I can't imagine circle swimming at a rec pool either ... I'll wait for my half of the lane. I can imagine your reaction but would love it if you would tell us. My response would be "No, you can either share it with me or kiss my a$$"

Then, another day recently, a "swimmer" ask me to vacate the lane I had just hopped into and to swim in the adjacent lane with another apparently slow lap swimmer so he could have my lane to himself to swim fast. You can only imagine my reaction ... . Just how fast was his fast?