To never attend a mixed swimming session again?

[Iphigeniaa]

Went to a ladies only lane swim session. Mostly 55+ but a few in their 30s like me.

It was amazing.

Everyone was polite, made room for each other, stuck to appropriate speed lanes, said hello but we mostly politely ignored each other in the sauna/steam room.

No loud men trying to chat to you or over-taking.

Absolute fucking bliss.

Curious as to why you think you might be unreasonable?

I always swim mixed and sometimes women are aggressive or rude swimmers too and chat loudly and overtake. You are being unfair to most men. Male swimmers in my pool are usually polite.

If the men at your local pool are loud and you object to being overtaken then knock yourself out with the women only sessions. Personally I don't find that to be the case at my local pool so prefer the greater choice of timeslots for mixed sessions.

I don't think men have the monopoly on being a nuisance in a public swim session. You get the ladies of a certain age swimming breast-stroke very very slowly; and the men who swim in the splashiest way they can.

In my pool we have the woman who swims half way down the pool and then walks the rest but won't go in the slow lane. And then we have the bloke who thinks he's the world's best swimmer and goes in the fast lane even though he isn't the fastest.

Public swim sessions are to be avoided in my view. Lessons are better because you are properly divided up and people maintain etiquette.

Also why is it rude to overtake?

And why is it rude to chat?

If you are too slow, people will overtake. And as long as you don't chat while swimming and block the lane, there isn't a problem chatting.

If you enjoy it then no idea why you’d be unreasonable.

Not sure why it’s rude to overtake though. If someone is swimming faster than you then it’s natural they’d want to be ahead. Also unsure what an ‘appropriate speed’ is. I used to swim in a pool with university triathletes who swam much faster than the rest of the pool, but wouldn’t call it inappropriate. That’s why pools have lanes for different speeds.

Our local pool stopped doing women only sessions for covid and hasn't brought them back yet. Useless, I love women only it's a much nicer vibe. I will email them now (and they can ignore it as they do any other enquiries).

General lane swimming etiquette is to overtake at the end of the lane only. If you are having to overtake mid lane then one of you needs to move lanes.

I voted YABU butnonly because the pool I go to has a couple of serial overtakes who are women 😤

You're an adult, go to whatever swimming session pleases you. You don't need Man's approval.

If you prefer it, go for it.

It has never occurred to me that ladies-only sessions would be a thing, my current pool doesn't do them and I can't remember seeing them advertised at any pool where I'm swum previously.

Most men are courteous and stick to lane etiquette, a few aren't. Much like the women. Overtaking is fine as long as it's done considerately.

I love the lady swim near me. Lots of Muslim and orthodox Jewish women go who would not otherwise go swimming. Full of chatting and socialising. Great vibe!

Addicted!

I don’t understand the YABUs. I’ve read threads, where posters say men are aggressive and kick women, who swim faster than them.

Sounds lovely although I have had issues with female swimmers too but not often

I always found women way more annoying in the pool. Swimming slowly in groups and chatting with full make up, hair and perfume products polluting the water so much I could taste it.
The men just got in, did lengths and got out. Maybe I'm just not hot enough to get hit on as I was always completely ignored (apart from the odd bit of slight competition if they realised I was going faster!).

I wish the ladies only session at my pool was like that.

I would imagine it's about the implication that men are always annoying/aggressive swimmers, while women are always fine and that isn't the case in their experience.

Overtaking at the end only works if the person in front actually waits to let them overtake though. I give people 3 consecutive chances and then it's fair game to overtake mid length. I do it safely and without getting in anyone else's way, so I can't see the problem.

Too many workouts spoilt by people who think their pace is the only correct one means I am more ruthless than I used to be!

Glad you found something you enjoy Op. I love Lane swimming. Have never attributed the enjoyment to a sex, though. There are good and bad swimmers everywhere. If I had to judge I’d say the ladies have a tendency to talk more and it drives me batty when 3 of them are blocking my turn at the end of the lap. So It’s like they’re there for a catch up while watching others consistently swim for the full session. So irritating! January was the worst, so many of them having holiday catch ups. 😡🤭

I’m with @SunnyKlara , albeit I only give them one chance. But I currently swim in a 50m pool, so quickly get fed up if I’m stuck behind a slower person.

My wonderful and very young looking MIL got a talking to from 2 women who were displeased with her being in the over 50’s swimming session. She politely informed them she was 60+ so could they mind their own business in future! You never know who you’re going to get 🤷‍♀️

I hear you! I’m a steady but not fast swimmer, though I can swim for bloody miles. Can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had blokes charging past me because they absolutely HAVE to get past a woman only to find them gasping for breath at the side of the pool a few lengths later because they can’t stick with that pace…

I would suggest that the problem is people swimming so slowly in the wrong lane, not the people overtaking!!

Baffled as to why you would ask if you're being unreasonable. Just pick the swim session that suits best and go with that?

Why is overtaking lumped in with rude behaviour?
Overtaking is perfectly acceptable. And slower swimmers should stop at the end and let the faster swimmer pass them, instead of pushing off right in front of them.

Surely that type of interval training is very beneficial? You're supposed to get your heart rate up when exercising.