I was complained by two ladies in swimming pool

[user1472754004]

I am a regular swimmer. Got complained by two ladies who swim slowly and chatting side by side. The pool was busy and I had to occasionally swim between them. They asked the staff to talk to me saying they were there before me and I should move over in stead swim in between them. It was only a 20 meter public swim but they two occupied about two lane and swim very slowly. Be frank, I hate people swim and chat. When I swim freestyle I try to look but there might be one or two seconds that I was close to them but they have their heads up, insist swim side by side. I ask the staff, should he talk to them not blocking the whole two lanes? Annoyed! I probably need to get up at six to do the lane swim instead.

As everyone has said - lane swimming and social swimming are not really compatible - if that's what you want to do, go to the pool when they have lane-swimming: there's bound to be a few session. People who want to swim lengths efficiently and people who want to pootle about and chat have absolutely equal rights in a pool - but they aren't likely to co-exist well.

If it isn't a pool party or a waterpark, then they don't have the right of hogging a public pool to have a chat.

I presume the op meant that the two ladies were taking up the width of two lanes, not two actual roped off lanes.

I don't understand the arguement that people swimming with their heads in the water can't see. I swim with my head in the water, yet can still see the people ahead of me - half their body is underwater too, like my vision. Even with no goggles I'm perfectly capable of seeing and avoiding other people. It baffles me that other people aren't!

I find the slow, chatty swimmers and the ones who stand in the way at the shallow end chatting annoying too.
My pool has a couple of lanes roped off but I'm not fast enough for those.
It's interesting that in the rest of the pool people like to swim in their own lane, but when another person gets in there's a sort of unconscious shuffling about until everyone has a space. I often swim around people, but try not to swim through them ... we've all paid to use the pool.
I'm in the get in, swim, go home camp. It's not a social activity for me.

For free style, you probably don’t see as well as breast stroke. Of course it is not a excuse, but this rule should apply to the other person as well if you are face to face. Anyway, heads up style will hurt people’s neck. People should know that. Pool could be a social place, I learnt that.

Hard for the pool to be social space if you're not allowed to have your face out of the water because of the neck damage police

Rabbit "I was once signalled at by a lady to get out of her way as she was thundering past me...in the slow lane!!"

I was in the medium lane and a bloke said to me "Can I just warn you, you might need to get out of my way as I'm fast".

I said "so go in the fast lane". He said "I'm not fast enough for that."

I just rolled my eyes. I didn't need to get out of his way but I thought the entitlement was quite something.

Anyway, heads up style will hurt people’s neck

Agreed, but it's their necks. The fact that other people are not swimming the way you swim isn't the problem here. It's their attitude that their experience matters and everyone else's can go whistle.

In response to some other quite strange posts here in relation to the 'right' to socialize, float about on lilos etc, I disagree that this is what pools are for (training/baby pools excepted). The general situation in any standard 25m pool is that people will use it to swim up and down its length. Go to any of them and watch what people do. Pools have the lengths marked on the bottom, even if they're not roped off. And faffing around, swimming and chatting, congregating around one end and generally causing an obstruction and annoyance for other pool users - which is what you the OP was initially complaining about - is entirely another matter. The clue is in the name: they're called 'swimming pools' for a reason. It's particularly annoying in my own health club, where there's a trainer pool and a large hydro-pool for people who want to do that kind of thing.

I completely understand why OP was annoyed by that, particularly as said obstructers then took it upon themselves to complain about her. If she was 'rude' for swimming between them - and I can't see why this should be the case - then they were doubly so. And as for the usual tune 'people have the right to do what they want'; that's true within reason. But because they can, that doesn't mean they necessarily should.

Going only by what OP has said on this thread, the two women were the ones being unreasonable here. (NB. you cannot 'tailgate' a swimmer in a pool)!

Complain to centre manager.

All decent pools have 2-4 lanes.

Slow and medium.

Slow, medium and fast.

Or

Slow, medium, fast and fast crawl.

They go alternative clockwise and anti and are single file lanes.

Etiquette is you move over at end of lane if person behind is faster but in your case you didn't really have that opportunity and were only overtaking 1 swimmer in a lane without causing them a danger.

@youarenotkiddingme

It wasn't lane swimming!!! It was a leisure swimming session. No lanes!! OP was creating imaginary lanes where they would be and decided those women were blocking lanes. There were no lanes. The whole pool was just open for leisure swimming.

Yes I realised that after posting and it refreshed revealing a whole new load of posts 🤦🏼‍♀️

「they're called 'swimming pools' for a reason.」agree.

Bluerussian don't be so unpleasant. It is clear what the OP means. It is also obvious from the writing style that English is probably not their fist language. You are trying to belittle them and make them appear stupid. All you have managed to achieve is making yourself look quite unkind.

It sounds like in one of your posts that nobody is picking up on that you swam close enough to them to actually make contact! I really do feel like you are in the wrong here OP if its open session and not lane swimming you can't go tearing around and into people and not look where you are going. Please find a pool that has Lane swimming that suits your needs. Some comments about slow swimmers on here are why lots of people I know won't go swimming everyone has to start somewhere.

Utterly sympathise - there are two like this at my pool, taking up a good three quarters of the open water (rest laned off for serious swimming.) They sail up the middle nattering, while people dodge round the edge or pile up behind them - what is wrong with a cafe and chat afterwards? Idiots. Grrr.

Once or twice right between them in a 40 minute period in a crowded pool was not unreasonable. They were U to complain....

but not convinced that it was that crowded or only 1-2x.
Just aware we only hear one side of the story.
Lane sessions are better although not perfect, either, still need some give & take.

Shock horror, having the audacity to go to a swimming pool to actually swim!

Laned sessions tend to be at the arse ends of the day or quite tight time slots which don't work for many people. They can still be problematic for judging speeds. I tend to be too slow for the fast lane and too fast for the middle and have to keep changing lane around who else is in there.

If I'm in a general session, I accept that I'll have to adjust my swimming around other people and can't just plough up and down in a straight line. It is however unreasonable to take up a lot of width by breaststroking slowly while chatting with sufficient space that another swimmer can pass between you. You can still socialise and swim by swimming in line with each other and talking at the ends of the pool. By taking up a lot of width and claiming that space, a large proportion of the pool is rendered unusable as other swimmers can't use that length of that section and get squashed up around them in the remaining pool.

I used to get aggro from the "ladies what breaststroke" when I had adult swimming lessons. They objected to me doing lengths down the middle of the pool and wanted me to use the edge... except there was no space at the edge because they'd have a 5 minute chat there between each width. My swimming instructor saw the problem and told me to carry on as I was.

I love swimming, but other swimmers can be a right pain. Ultimately all swimmers should look out around them for other users of the pool and adjust accordingly.

I'd make sure you contacted the management telling them you were going somewhere else and suggest they train their staff accordingly.
What have the staff done wrong ? . They were asked by two other swimmers to have a word with someone who had pushed between them. Very rude and potentially intimidating.

If it isn't a pool party or a waterpark, then they don't have the right of hogging a public pool to have a chat.
Of course they do. Not that they were 'hogging' - they were swimming, just not up at the speed the OP would have liked. Are you seriously suggesting you have to pass a swim speed test before being allowed to use a public pool ?

The clue is in the name: they're called 'swimming pools' for a reason.
Well, round here, people talk about going to "the baths" not "the swimming pool", which rather rules out that argument.

If she was 'rude' for swimming between them - and I can't see why this should be the case

Are you for real? If you are walking down a pavement between 2 people walking more slowly than you, do you go round them or barge through them ? If you seriously think it is okay to barge between two people having a conversation, you need to do some work on your social skills.

In response to some other quite strange posts here in relation to the 'right' to socialize, float about on lilos etc, I disagree that this is what pools are for (training/baby pools excepted). The general situation in any standard 25m pool is that people will use it to swim up and down its length. Go to any of them and watch what people do
Not in any of the pools I've ever been in, except during the lane swimming session. Yes, some people swim lengths, but pools are used for kids to play in, people to practice their widths, people to practice jumping in, people to spend time moving limbs with the pressure of water, people to practice picking things up off the bottom of the pool, or fun stuff like swimming under peoples arms and legs, people just having a rest inbetween lengths, parents who have to accompany U8s, but who really don't want to swim, pootling around waiting, etc, etc.

And faffing around, swimming and chatting, congregating around one end and generally causing an obstruction and annoyance for other pool users -
You mean, 'relaxing and enjoying themselves ?

they're called 'swimming pools' for a reason. I agree

You are being far too literal.
You can't just make up lanes and expect others to observe them.

.....................
And as for the usual tune 'people have the right to do what they want'; that's true within reason. But because they can, that doesn't mean they necessarily should.

That works both ways, doesn't it?

Can you just swim in a straight line even though there are two people ahead of you whom you know perfectly well are together, swimming slowly and chatting, based on your too literal understanding of what a pool is for?
Of course you can. The OP did just that.

Could you swim right in among a group of children or elderly people too? Or parents swimming beside children who are learning?

Whether it's open swimming or even lane swimming you can't behave as if you are the only person in the pool.

It is clear that she could not easily go around them because they took up two lanes. The lanes are often marked on the bottom in tile so a swimmer would be able to recognize them, even if they are not divided at the top. It isn't really fair to expect the OP to have to not swim at a reasonable pace when she is in a pool. There are many places where people can stand and talk and take up a lot of space. The only places where people can swim are bodies of water like pools. If the women want to chitchat, fine; but I don't see why they're bitching.

For free style, you probably don’t see as well as breast stroke.

The pool was crowded yet you chose to do a stroke that meant you were not capable of seeing people in front of you?

I hope this was not the case.

It isn't really fair to expect the OP to have to not swim at a reasonable pace when she is in a pool.

In an empty pool perhaps. Or during a lane swimming session.

But this pool was crowded, according to her own description, and it was not a lane swimming session.

There are many places where people can stand and talk and take up a lot of space. The only places where people can swim are bodies of water like pools. If the women want to chitchat, fine; but I don't see why they're bitching.

They weren't standing they were swimming very slowly, which was maybe all they could manage? So do you suggest a swimming speed test before being able to enter a PUBLIC pool?

Someone tried to force me out of a lane on Monday by swimming at me. I was nearly done but ended up swimming further than I have ever done so he wouldn't think he had succeed

@mathanxiety that's what I was thinking. Surely people understand that if the pool is very crowded, one may have to adjust their swimming style accordingly.