to think people shouldn't leave their stuff in swimming pool changing cubicles

[PoppyField]

Ok so it makes my blood boil... you're in the swimming pool changing room, your DCs have just come out the pool and the fun bit of trying to get them dry and re-clothed begins. There are changing cubicles but the only ones with no-one in them have clothes hanging up on the hooks and shoes on the floor. I think OK - that cubicle is free, we'll go in there.

Then, about two minutes in, there's a knock on the door and the person who's left all her kids stuff in there wants to come in! I mean WTF. The first time it happened I said 'I'm sorry you'll have to wait' and we got changed as fast as we could and got out. The second time, last week,a woman just barged in with her child and started drying her kid off next to us and getting his clothes on. I was speechless. I wanted to say 'Get out, we're in here!' but I am such a fucking wuss. I wish I had.

What is it with these people? There are hundreds of lockers but they still seem to think that they've rented the cubicle for the day. Grrrrrr.

[hercules1]

Agree. I hate this. If there is nowhere else to change I will move the clothes out. Bloody selfish.

[SaucyJack]

Dry your arse on it.

[WorraLiberty]

I just move all the stuff out if there are no free cubicles.

[ilovepowerhoop]

our pool has notices all over it saying not to put clothes in cubicles until you are finished using the showers. We are not allowed to book them with clothing and the staff can remove them if they are left there unattended.

[orangepudding]

Put the clothes on the floor in a puddle!

[orangepudding]

Only adults clothes not the kids.....

[PrincessScrumpy]

I hate this. Dd has a lesson once a week at our local pool. Luckily the management has just become really strict on this and they move stuff into lockers and you have to go to reception to get a key to get your stuff. Hugely embarrassing for the offender but hilarious for the rest of us who follow rules and are considerate.

[mummybare]

Are you sure they haven't just got stuff out the locker and plonked it in the cubicle for 3 minutes while they have a shower? Only I do that when I take DD, due to the layout at our pool. Am I making enemies all over the place? No-one has yet swooped into 'our' changing room...

[pyjamaramadrama]

This annoys me too, rude and lazy.

[mummybare]

Mind you, it is very quiet when we go and there are always loads of free changing rooms.

[Beanymonster]

I'd just leave it all at a pile outside the door.. If they say anything id be a wuss suggesting that they must have forgotten they left their clothes in there instead of in the locker!

[Moomey]

I hate this too!.... It happens alot during parent/baby swim. The infant carseats are left in there too. Prob is, we're all there for parent/baby swim so there's no arguement about it being okay as it pushes us late comers out!

I am too much of a woos to move the clothes. But, I might just start getting changed with the clothes in there.... I like the idea of the knocking on my cubicle all wet and cold :)

[Bambamb]

Who does this??! That's ridiculous. I would also just move the clothes out.

How was that woman able to barge in, are there not locks on the doors?

[CrohnicallyChanging]

Just out of interest, is the money for your lockers returnable?

I use 2 pools on a regular basis. One has lockers where you put £1 but it returns it when you unlock the locker. The other costs 20p but you lose the money and need to pay each time you want to lock the door.

I have never come across clothes in cubicles at the first pool. People go and grab their things for the shower and relock their clothes in the locker. Whereas at the second pool there is frequently clothes in cubicles- mainly from children having lessons. I had previously thought that the parents didn't want to spend 20p on a locker, but maybe like mummybare they are showering and don't want to spend a second 20p to relock their clothes in.

At the second pool I bring DD's towel and drink and leave them poolside (on the seating) because she is frequently thirsty and tries to drink the pool water, and I'm not spending 20p every time she wants one! And have the towel handy so she doesn't get cold walking back through the changing rooms- the family changing is the opposite side of the complex to the splash pool!

[wobblyweebles]

This used to happen at the Bury St Edmunds pool (I think it was) all the time.

We just got changed in there anyway, and let the family in when we were done. No hurry.

[mummybare]

My reasoning has nothing to do with being tight and everything to do with being lazy, incidentally as the £1 is returned at our pool. There really are loads of spare cubicles when I go and it's only really the parents and toddlers from our class using them at that time though. I wouldn't do it if it was busy backtracks.

[SweetPenelope]

I hate that too. We don't have many cubicles so I just go in and use it. We rarely get anyone knocking on the door, because they really are leaving their stuff there for the duration of their child's lesson. It's really inconsiderate and lazy.

[MrsCakesPremonition]

This happens a lot at our local pool. The locker money is refundable but that doesn't make any difference.
I have noticed that the parents who "reserve" cubicles are also the ones who block the door where the little ones are returned to parents by the lifeguards. In their world, it doesn't matter how many youngsters are queuing up, getting upset that they can't see/get to their parents just so long as ubermummy gets their child first and nabs the shower (before starting long and complex ablutions involving rinsing and conditioning multiple times). They are absolute, unashamed cowbags.

[FannyFifer]

I just bundle the stuff up & put it in a locker or her pool staff to do it.

[MidniteScribbler]

Happens at our pool with the changing mats. People pile their things on them, then go for their lesson, not caring that other lessons will finish and need the space. I just dump it on one of the benches.

[Moomey]

Chronicallychanging.... Why don't they just leave their stuff in locker and not relock it to go for a shower?... What's the difference between leaving your valuables in an unlocked locker or an unkocked cubicle?

[fluffyraggies]

Never seen this. Although its a good while since i went swimming with little DCs.

Are they leaving their stuff in there for the whole swim? Or between getting out of the pool and out of the showers?

[PoppyField]

People are leaving their stuff in for the whole swim. They have exactly the same lesson slot as my two but they get kids undressed, leave stuff in the cubicle, come back half an hour later when everyone comes back in to the changing room and magically expect their cubicle to be 'reserved'. I don't even think they know they're tossers.

[MrsWedgeAntilles]

This used to happen all the time when we lived in London.

We often used a pool with 4 or 5 dedicated baby changing cubicles and 2 family changing rooms. After the first 3 visits when I roamed the changing room trying to find a free space and then struggled away trying to change DS in normal size cubicles, I always just used whatever cubicle suited me best, at whatever speed suited me. I never handed their clothes out until me and DS were dry and decent. If someone had left their stuff in it, woe betide them (we'll as much woe as can be betided by having to wait for a bolshy woman to sloooowly change her wriggley baby).
It always gave me the rage to go into one baby cubicle after an other and see all the big shoes lined up on the floor

[Ladyface]

This happens at mine too and despite many notices about it people ignore it and there are never any staff around to do anything about. I just use the cubicle and have not had anyone knock for their stuff.
Last week I saw two women sat in a cubicle chatting for the entire swimming lesson. Idiots.