In Great Britain most pools have three lanes: fast lane(for free style), medium lane and slow lane.
Here in Germany pools aren't divided at all. People just swim anyway and anywhere they want to which makes it impossible to do proper work outs.
I had to join a private gym with a pool in order to do my work outs because public pools are a drag in Germany.
How are most public pools in the US? Do they all have a fast, medium and slow lane or does it depend?
Parents
Former Member
What I have noticed, though, is that at many "gym" / sports club pools in the US, people generally don't seem to know how to or have a desire to circle swim ... so you'll find 6 lanes with 12 people swimming side-by-side and a handful of people waiting on the deck for a lane to "free up."
That's absolutely true at my gym. Most people who swim at 24hr Fitness aren't necessarily training, so you'll see a lot of people swimming their leisurely breaststroke and some people swimming freestyle. Since the lanes aren't assigned by speed, it usually ends up that 2 people will split one lane. It's impossible to swim 3+ if the rest of the people are swimming slow, so waiting on the deck is the only option.
But I think your question was about public pools. In my experience swimmers usually sort themselves out by speed. Most decent swimmers won't jump into quick lanes for fear of holding up the lane. That's how it was when I swam at the UC San Diego campus, if that's what you call a public pool.
What I have noticed, though, is that at many "gym" / sports club pools in the US, people generally don't seem to know how to or have a desire to circle swim ... so you'll find 6 lanes with 12 people swimming side-by-side and a handful of people waiting on the deck for a lane to "free up."
That's absolutely true at my gym. Most people who swim at 24hr Fitness aren't necessarily training, so you'll see a lot of people swimming their leisurely breaststroke and some people swimming freestyle. Since the lanes aren't assigned by speed, it usually ends up that 2 people will split one lane. It's impossible to swim 3+ if the rest of the people are swimming slow, so waiting on the deck is the only option.
But I think your question was about public pools. In my experience swimmers usually sort themselves out by speed. Most decent swimmers won't jump into quick lanes for fear of holding up the lane. That's how it was when I swam at the UC San Diego campus, if that's what you call a public pool.
