One thing I haven't seen discussed ...
At the finish, if one has to run to the finish line on a beach/shore from the water, what is the etiquette on passing?
i.e., person finishes swimming in front of me, but takes FOREVER getting out of the water to the finish line on the beach (walking slowly). Is it completely rude of me to run by him/her?
-Would this differ between fun and more competitive races?
-If the person was a different age group/sex, would that affect your approach?
Thanks!
(I'm new so if this is already discussed somewhere, please direct me.)
Did they teach you how to respond when YOU were the one being run over, kicked in the face, had swimsuit grabbed off body, etc.?
Answer appears to be yes:they taught us how to rollover somebody, push their hand away
These are both safe, sportsmanlike defensive moves when another swimmer is cluelessly (or deliberately) swimming over you or crowding you from the side by hitting you repeatedly on the head with his or her recovering arm. You don't stop to yell; you certainly don't kick or punch the person on purpose; you don't grab the person's suit. If you can't just give way, you push the offender away to maintain your personal space; and if that doesn't work but the person has space on his or her other side you just roll over, back to back, and carry on.
As for finishing, I think the etiquette is situational. I agree with chaos that it's bad manners to run past someone who clearly outswam you. OTOH, if two or more swimmers are shoulder to shoulder coming up to a beach finish, part of the contest is to figure out just when to stand up and run, and may the best strategist win. Also, in a race with wave starts, you have to go all the way to the line lest some sandbagger who started in later wave end up with a faster clock time.
Did they teach you how to respond when YOU were the one being run over, kicked in the face, had swimsuit grabbed off body, etc.?
Answer appears to be yes:they taught us how to rollover somebody, push their hand away
These are both safe, sportsmanlike defensive moves when another swimmer is cluelessly (or deliberately) swimming over you or crowding you from the side by hitting you repeatedly on the head with his or her recovering arm. You don't stop to yell; you certainly don't kick or punch the person on purpose; you don't grab the person's suit. If you can't just give way, you push the offender away to maintain your personal space; and if that doesn't work but the person has space on his or her other side you just roll over, back to back, and carry on.
As for finishing, I think the etiquette is situational. I agree with chaos that it's bad manners to run past someone who clearly outswam you. OTOH, if two or more swimmers are shoulder to shoulder coming up to a beach finish, part of the contest is to figure out just when to stand up and run, and may the best strategist win. Also, in a race with wave starts, you have to go all the way to the line lest some sandbagger who started in later wave end up with a faster clock time.
