Kids playing vs pepole trying to swim

[Funnyfarmer]

Both me and my dd are a member of a local gym. It's a very family friendly gym and does alsorts of kids and family classes. It's quite an expensive gym but the facilities are great and as I said it's brilliant for families. In the gym there's a pool. It's not very big or deep. It's more of a lessure pool than a swimming pool. There's only certain times of the day when kids are allowed in.
So today I took my dd swimming. There was plenty of other kids in there but not busy. They had floaty things, balls and noodles out. In the pool there was what seemed to be a professional swimmer. Very good, very fast, had all the gear on. On a few occasions while my dd and I was playing this swimmer crashed and nearly crashed into us she actually hit us a few times and others we had to quickly move out of her way. Even though she crashed into us we apologised to her to which she completely ignored us. She did seem to getting rather agitated with the families. I noticed a few times it didn't even seem like she was attempting to swim around the kids and just swimming right at them with them having to move out her way.
Ive seen this a couple of times and I've always felt bad for being in their way when they're clearly trying to train. Should I feel bad though? Or are the swimmers being unreasonable for crashing kids swim time?
I get that there might only be certain times they can go because of other sceduals but surly she has no right to be annoyed or rude with the families just trying to have a bit of fun and keep fit?
Surly a diffrent gym or pool would be better suited for swimmers of this level?

The pool should have a lane or two roped off for the serious people.

It annoys me when adults go to pools at times when children will be there and then get annoyed when children are there. There’s a pool near my children’s school so after school sometimes it’s full of kids. I’ve heard adult swimmers moan about them before but what do they expect at that time of day?! I appreciate that not everyone can go at adult only times but if you have to go at child friendly times you have to expect them to be there!

Our pool has these lanes roped off. It also offers "lane swimming" at certain points of the day, which are specifically for the more serious swimmers. The swimmer should have known it was "family swim" time and therefore either sucked it up or not gone!

YANBU. If the pool has lanes set aside for proper swimmers she should have been there. If the pool didn't have lanes set out you can't just swim into people and expect them to dive aside for you.

If she can't get to the pool at a time where lane swimming is available then tough luck. If I wasn't able to take my child swimming during the appropriate time I wouldn't just turn up at the wrong time and sit in the middle of the fast line on a giant inflatable ring.

I have some sympathy for the swimmer but they need to either swim when it isn't family swimming time with inflatables out, ask the club to rope off a lane for swimming during family swim time or ideally swim in a pool designed for lap swimming rather than recreational pootling.

Would be worth talking to the club management and asking for their views - either they could talk to the swimmer, put up a lane, put up a notice reminding people that when it’s a family session the serious swimmers should expect to be able to plough through those there for leisure use etc.

If nothing is done then both sides are going to feel increasingly hard done by and somebody (probably a little kid) will end up hurt.

Better to get in there first and see if you can make suggestions to help that work well for you and others with kids!

If people want to swim uninterurpted they need to go when there are lanes, thats what i do, more pften that not theres mpre lanes time than kids time

I get that there might only be certain times they can go because of other sceduals but surly she has no right to be annoyed or rude with the families just trying to have a bit of fun and keep fit?

Her schedule isn't anyone else's problem. I bet she wouldn't be happy if you took your DD swimming when the pool was reserved for lane swimmers and said "sorry my schedule doesn't allow me to go swimming at family swimming time".

She sounds dangerous and I'm surprised the lifeguard didn't pick her up on it.

The pool should have a lane or two roped off if its a mixed day kids and adult time. In my experience some serious swimmers are just dicks.

The pool is already roped off for swimming lessons. It really isn't big enough to rope off anymore.
I know alot of people have complained to the management. Mainly about the kids tbh. The management are very 'yes people' they will agree with who ever is complaining but not do much.
There has been some changes because of the complaints, mainly to do with the kids doing swimming lessons.
I think they've done everything they can to accommodate everyone. As I said it's only a small pool about 25 x 10 metres a good 3 meters either end are took up by Jacuzzi style pools and a good meter and half by the swimming lessons.
As I said before it's just not that type of pool. You can't dive, it's not deep enough and it's an odd shape. Like a letter D with 2 circles attached to the cresent side. (The circles are the bubble pools.
As an borough we're actually quite lucky with the local pools around. There are quite a few full leangh ones. Council run so they're cheaper, and a few other cheaper gyms with full leangh pools.
If swimming was your thing then I don't understand why they would use them ones.
When I go on my own at adult only times it's still full of more leisurely swimmers. Usually groups of women swimming together and having a good chin wag, again the professional swimmers can get quite ancy with them.

Thanks for the replies everyone.
I don't feel so bad now.
I'm definitely taking my oversized blow up unicorn next week 😁

This was the main reason I gave up my David Lloyd membership. I couldn't really do any 'proper' swimming because kids would just be jumping in, swimming across me etc without taking any care. and I couldn't go to the adult only times. That said I wouldn't barge into anyone, especially not kids.

I use my local council run one, it isn't anything like as nice (understatement) but they do enforce the lanes only very well.

If someone swam into my child on purpose they'd be getting a punt on the nose.

Fresh That surprises me as at our DLL they aim to always have 2 lanes available for swimming lengths.

OP. I think the 'serious swimmer' is the one at fault. If you aren't in lanes then no one should be charging up and down without due care and attention.

I do think because it's a fairly, no very expensive gym. (I only go because my daughter works there and I get a free off peak pass) some people think that they're entitled to a bit more of a relaxing experience because they're paying so much. There are certain areas of the gym kids arnt allowed at anytime, including the main hot tub, steam rooms and saunas.
Because it is a little more expensive it's never packed out, even on weekends and half terms you would count about 5 kids at one time.
Even with the swimming lessons there's never anymore than 5 kids having a lesson at one time. What alot of people was complaining about is parents and siblings taking up the seating and pool lounger areas, and letting their kids play in the pool on either side of the lessons, and people taking there kids swimming after school while parents sat on the loungers catching up on paper work, or reading or having a nap in some cases (me). So now every child under 16 must be accompanied in the pool by an adult on a 1 to 2 ratio. Bad news for the parents with 3 or more kids.
Parents accompanying children on swimming lessons are no longer allowed pool side and parents can't let their dcs swim while they go to the gym, do a class or use the sauna, it was great when you could do that. Even If the few hours of family time you can't.