Vindicate me (or not) in my fury (lane swimming)

[Jazzybean]

Went for a swim this lunchtime. Pool is busy in the leisure areas but the lane swimming is separate and tends to be quiet during the day. Just a few people in a double lane. I was trying to get an hour or so done as I’m going a 5km swim next weekend . I did my first km in the fast lane and then moved to the medium lane as there were people doing faster intervals in the fast lane and I was swimming steady (so not sprinting).

Despite there being AMPLE space for three people to swim in the medium lane, one woman seemed to take great offence at me swimming slightly faster in the medium lane (not unreasonably so at all but I did have to overtake - usually very easy in a double lane) and went, what felt like, out of her way to cut me up.

Firstly she stopped kicking about 5 metres before the end of the lane, meaning that she massively slowed down. Then rather than pushing off, walked the double lane width before starting her next length, meaning that it was really hard to overtake at the end of the lane!

Secondly, she kept pushing off (after a rest), just as I got to the end of my lane. Meaning that I was then stuck behind her for a length or had to overtake mid-length.

AIBU to think that the person who is already swimming and just turning, has right of way over the person who was resting at the end of the lane? This is just common sense IMO!

Thank you for explaining what you meant to say in your first post. Your first post was short and excluded significant detail - such as the aggressive bloke was swimming in the wrong lane.

Happily you have confirmed that we agree it is important to accommodate other swimmers which means you will be allowing faster swimmers past you providing they are in the appropriate lane.

Sadly we can't leave this in completer harmony because of your little dig: "so luckily we don't have to "accommodate" people like you".

I just had a lovely 50 minutes drama-free swim with random strangers in the fast lane at my local pool.

How does one deliberately but safely tap on toes of another swimmer mid-lane, without getting kicked? No way I'm going for any breast-stroker's feet.

If somebody touched my toes..or any other part of my anatomy in the pool I would freak!!😲
Very nervous swimmer, but persevering in the slow lane.. and yes I stop at the shallow end to let others pass..😇

Have you genuinely never been kicked, thwacked or scratched? I mean entirely by accident, but yeah, of course, sometimes people misjudge, especially at lane/rope edges. My goggles cloud over completely so I can't see well at all & may be responsible for veering into others' space. Breast-strokers are very wide swimmers & they kick very hard... I've learnt to my peril to give them wide berth.

If you ever swim with kids who are club swimmers, they are all elbows and feet, jostling for space in crowded lanes is their normal, they will be encountered. I had a 11-12yr old more or less swim on top of me in France. She only weighed 2 grams & was gone in a flash. No harm done.

People who think fast swimmers should for some reason be prioritised are barmy. I mean it’s completely beyond me.

I say this as a fast swimmer, often in the fast lane myself. If I’m in the medium lane because I fancy being there, I wouldn’t dream of overtaking others. Their experience is just as important as mine.

I turn mid-length if needed.

I have zero expectation that anyone should let me pass. How utterly bizarre. Why should they?

Even when I get to the end I always check with a resting person if they don’t mind me going ahead.

There is no justification for this ‘fast swimmers should go first’ attitude in my opinion. Why should faster swimmers qualify for the priority and not slower swimmers?

I find this attitude so bizarre. Do these people also push in front of supermarket queues because they believe themselves to be faster shoppers and therefore entitled to go first?

Don't touch people's bodies without their consent.

There are plenty of men that do it when I'm pretty sure that the attraction is an excuse to touch a woman's wet foot rather than a simple 'get the fuck out of my way because I'm better than you'. And there's no way of telling which it is or if they're going to grab and pull you under for an extra thrill or quick grope in advance.

hmmm... well, my take on it is that it's comfortable to go the pace you are comfortable working at. Same principle if cycling or walking. People like to go at their natural pace. They get a better work out if they work to their sustained greatest effort, so they don't want to work at lower exertion. And that's without (OP's situation) where they are training for a specific target.

It's no bother at all to me to let faster swimmers go past. Which I do a lot of.

Fast lane front crawl, middle lane breaststroke. If you went into the middle lane doing front crawl, you're a massive dick.

I don’t get why OP thinks it’s more important for her to be able to overtake someone slower in the middle lane than for her to be overtaken in the fast lane.

She should have stayed in the fast lane in my opinion or slow down to the pace of the medium lane - there is no need for overtaking.

I didn’t realise this thread had taken off 😬

To clear up a few things:

• average pace in the fast lane was (I would hazard) 1:30-1:50/100m
• my average pace was 2-2:10/100m so by no means fast or club standard
• the signs at the other pool I swim in (operated by the same company) suggest that the medium lane is for those who are able to maintain 30 seconds per 25m length
• some people swim breaststroke faster than my steady/easy front crawl so stroke is a poor indication of speed
• the slow lane wasn’t busy either
• tapping feet (which I didn’t and generally don’t do) is a very common and accepted method of communication amongst swimmers for those who seem to think it’s some kind of creepy foot fetish thing

I’m so 😮at this tapping feet thing. Lifelong swimmer and have never heard of this or had it happen to me. If someone tapped my foot in the pool I think I would stop swimming and turn to face the person and ask them what they were doing!

Foot tapping is an extremely common practice tbh. However, I was a club swimmer when a child and then a Masters session swimmer as an adult.

It's only in the general public lane swim that I ever have a problem with lane etiquette.

But FYI, if I foot tapped in a general public lane swim, it would be an accident. If someone hasn't let me past after 2 lengths I know they wouldn't have a clue about foot tapping.

I have been told this post is too vitriolic, but the reason it is is pools are so full of selfish swimmers who think everyone should have to swim at their pace. British public pools are usually so crowded we all have to think of others. You don't get it because you are only thinking of yourself. Please start thinking of others.

So here it is again, with one addition and one removal (if that is the correct word):

What in Heaven's name is wrong with you? It is incredibly selfish not to accommodate faster swimmers.
Decent people wait at the end of a length if they are holding up a faster swimmer. If they don't there is a permanent traffic jam and the lane swims at the speed of the slowest swimmer, which is ok for you if you are the slowest swimmer but no use to anyone else.If they do then everyone swims at their preferred pace.

The only thing I disagree with the OP about is foot tapping. It is known amongst club swimmers at organised club training sessions. I have never experienced it in over 40 years of almost daily swimming in numerous municipal pools in England. If you are a nervous swimmer please don't be put off by the prospect of someone tapping your ankle, it won't happen.

Doesn't matter if you like it or consent to it.

The person they're doing it to hasn't.

You should look into adult swimming lessons tbh. From what you've said it's no wonder you struggled in the lane swims and I agree, the general swims are awful if you actually want to do any swimming.

Not RTFT so maybe someone has mentioned this already, but this instantly reminded me of Alice from Radio 1 saying she wasn’t sure about overtaking etiquette and ending up trying to do it by swimming underneath some old man, misjudged it and popped up with her head in his tummy! 😂

I think there are clearly standard practices for club swimming that club swimmers think should apply to public lane swimming too, even though the conditions and expectations and goals / objectives of both are completely different. I now know why there is so much aggression in public lane swimming, at least. Half the users think they’re club swimming.

Great!

I’m going to sign out of this thread too now. I’ve been lurking on mumsnet for years and very few posts have ever compelled me to sign up and actually write anything. But people who don’t share pool space nicely is one thing that tips me over the edge. Hope everyone here who is learning to swim isn’t put off by all of this.