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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Swim rage!

102 replies

Pittcuecothecookbook · 10/02/2018 11:46

Two lanes - one fast, one unlabelled. One guy in the unlabelled lane right up behind everyone, overtaking without enough room and generally being an arse. I ask him, not that politely it must be said, to stop swimming so close behind everyone and to go in the fast lane if he can't swim slower.

He says "what do you want me to do if I'm not fast enough for the fast lane" and "you should swim faster". Well, actually, I'm quite fast but I am moderating my speed because I'm not in the fast lane and I don't want to be today. Plus, if it's that fucking easy to swim faster, you do it and go in the fucking fast lane.

I told him he was probably one of those drivers that drive right up the arse of the person in front. He said that in his plane he flies behind the other planes, and he did this stupid aeroplane thing with his hands. So funny, he looked like a right mug.

Anyway, yes I was unreasonable for being sarcastic and rude and for being happy when he made himself look stupid but aibu by MN standards? Please say No 😂

OP posts:
edwinbear · 10/02/2018 18:08

YADNBU. He didn't want to swim in the fast lane because he knew he'd have people up his arse the whole time. But it was perfectly fine for him to be up other people's. If I'm swimming with slower swimmers (and on a Saturday I do as we share the pool with the kids swimming lessons) I will overtake, but leave plenty of space, don't kick water in people's faces and generally try not to spoil other people's swim.

Bramble71 · 10/02/2018 18:12

No, you're not BU. He was very inconsiderate, not to mention childish with his plane impressions!

I love to swim but my disability means I'm incredibly slow so need to stay out of the 'speedy swimmers' area and I hate it when people come up behind me and I can hear them getting impatient. I know I won't be popular, but when I also don't like kids being allowed to jump off the sides when there are other swimmers nearby. Please, swimmers, be considerate!

overnightangel · 10/02/2018 18:13

YANBU at all but very stupid bigoted comments here
@ThinkingQueSeraSera re your comment, wonder how you’d feel if certain things you did led to you saying you had a “slack minge”? Pathetic

SmiledWithTheRisingSun · 10/02/2018 18:17

I HATE people (they are usually men) like that 😤😤😤

Nickypollard · 10/02/2018 18:19

Overtaking without enough room? So he must have made contact with your body? That would have me telling him in a very loud voice, with accompanied raised hand in his face, that he is not to touch me while I’m swimming.

Arrogant bastard.

bakingdemon · 10/02/2018 18:20

I have so many Views on men who swim like this! If you're the fastest person in your lane and overtaking everyone else, you should obviously move up to the next one. I'm usually one of the slowest in the fast lane, but I think that's better than being the fastest by far in the medium lane. My pet hate are tumble turners - I've been kicked by them (always men) a number of times as they turn in a busy lane and would quite like it banned in public sessions.

ZigZagIntoTheBlue · 10/02/2018 18:21

This is why I switch lanes, it isn't set in stone! I'll do 10 fast lengths then a few slow and when I'm suitably rested annoyed at other people going too slow in the medium lane I'll switch back again!

ThinkingQueSeraSera · 10/02/2018 18:31

Women with a "slack minge" (disgusting misogynistic language but quoting fe a previous male poster) don't tend to have an aggressive complex:

lljkk · 10/02/2018 18:38

I once got accused of unacceptable "thumping" when I moved to the medium lane, b/c there were already 9 people in the fast lane & only 3 in the medium lane. I'm the slowest in fast lane. Moaner was the slowest in the middle lane.

Moaner was intolerant, didn't want anyone holding her up yet didn't want to be splashed, either.

I got moaned at by a wall-hogger in the fast lane the following week (who didn't like me misjudging pace of a stop-for-no-one butterfly-man). I told wall-hogger to go commiserate with moany. Some people just moan.

Original poster
Pittcuecothecookbook · 10/02/2018 18:53

How was anyone holding the slow person up if she was the slowest? Some people are moaners, totally agree, and some people are inconsiderate twats. I'm glad you've got the moan off your chest about the moaners though, lljkk! Feel better for it?

OP posts:
StrawberrySquash · 10/02/2018 19:01

Sounds like the real problem was that there weren't enough lanes for the swimmers at the session, in which case all the swimmers have to cooperate and make the best of it. People don't swim as two and only two speeds so there will always need to be some overtaking. When I swam with a club the etiquette was if you needed to overtake you swam up behind the person and touched their feet once. I wish people in public sessions would do this. You then slowed to their pace and they then let you overtake at the end of the length. If you can see that someone is catching you up then you let them go ahead.
If he was overtaking when there was a person trying to push off on the other (i.e. their) side of the lane then he was being unreasonable.

5plusMeAndHim · 10/02/2018 20:13

So who decides wjhat is fast medium and slow? It is meaningless unless they post times for each lane

ljlkk · 10/02/2018 21:46

I believe categories depend on who is in pool that day, but other people have fixed ideas. Only the fast people actually time themselves for lengths, so the slows & mediums would be confused, anyway.

Hissy · 10/02/2018 21:56

Oh op, yanbu, we’ve all swum with him!!

I am usually faster than most so me and my oh would usually just slap in a few fast lengths and rub him off, or we’d talk to the life guard.

Tbh, this is something a lifeguard should sort out.

He was a twat op. Don’t let twats like him get to you

I find this ego shit happens a lot in public sessions, both men and women, be it splashy splashy shot swimming or fucking walking in lanes

I swim with Masters group now, 50m pools or open water, you don’t get the twats when you take it up a level

Hissy · 10/02/2018 21:57

Run!! Run him off!!

Fgs, we all know heavy petting is totally against the rules 🤣

HorsesCourses · 10/02/2018 22:10

I think being confrontational is counter productive. There's no need for rage. Why didn't you just say pleasantly "You are too fast for this lane. You should really go in the top lane." and hold the lane rope up for him to duck under.

WelshDutchLady · 10/02/2018 22:19

YANBU! I really admire your confidence. There is only one lane for dedicated lane swimming at my pool (with the rest of the pool free) and last week two young men were walking in it while I was hoping to do a vigorous front crawl. I did say “this lane is meant for swimming” they shrugged and carried on before getting out after two more lengths. Really annoying!

Loveache · 11/02/2018 15:01

Also- what does one do with the flailing geriatrics? When I go swimming, there will usually be an old man hogging the whole slower section by being in the middle very slowly flapping his arms and legs and moving a few centimetres per flap. It makes that section unusable. I'm not fast enough for the fast lane (hogged by aggressive butterfly prick anyway). And the main pool is usually mums and kids. He could do his flaps and flails to the side out of the way but I'm not mean enough to say so.

Sarahjconnor · 11/02/2018 15:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Greenteandchives · 11/02/2018 15:21

Loveache that’s not very nice.

ljlkk · 11/02/2018 15:40

Is it always the same old guy, Loveache? We've got one Chronic offender, I call him Bob (looks like my uncle Bob). I view him benignly now, like an indulged pet. Our lanes are big enough he just can't take up the whole thing, though. Some of the other swimmers find him maddening! Our Bob doesn't do anything lifeguards ask him to so no joy there.

Would be wasting my breath on Bob, otherwise I don't mind asking people simply if they might be happier in another lane. When it seems like they really haven't realised they are in the wrong lane.

ClashCityRocker · 11/02/2018 16:07

I'm a terrible swimmer and would probably be Bob.

I just don't go to sessions where it's all given over to lanes. We have lane sessions and open swim sessions, where they will only have a couple of lanes. These seem to be taken by 'serious' swimmers.

I suspect I would be too slow even for the slow lane and piss everyone off so I just stick to the rest of the pool area and do my pathetic flailing about away from more competent swimmers.

Loveache · 11/02/2018 16:09

THere are two men and a lady. It seems like every time I go, one of them is there! As they barely move it baffles me why they don't have enough sense to just move to the side. I like the pet idea :)

DGRossetti · 11/02/2018 16:11

As far as I am concerned (and as a lifeguard I can be) faster swimmers should be the one making allowances for slower. Either by overtaking properly (many can't) or using their judgement and "short circuiting" slower swimmers just before the end.

That said, if you are a slower swimmer, and you've just touched the end and you see a swimmer pulling up behind you, and you pull off in front of them .... Angry

I had a good swim yesterday. 5 of us in the lane (33m) and not once did anyone overtake in the lane, or have to pull up behind another. All postion changes happened at the ends with slower swimmers pausing to let faster in front. They way it should be (and rarely is).

If it helps at that pool there are just lanes. No fast/slow.

UrgentScurryfunge · 11/02/2018 18:26

Lane speed is the most stressful part of swimming.

I went to a laned session last week. The medium fast had 3 people in. The fast had 1 slow swimmer Hmm I went in the fast as 4 in the medium fast would have been congested. He eventually left and two faster swimmers came in. I tucked into the corner every few lengths to let them pass before moving down to medium fast when the space in both lanes balanced up.

I save my favoured approach of alternating front/ back crawl for getting a lane to myself because of the variations in speed and the width of back crawl aren't fair on other swimmers.