Not to swim in a straight line if the pool is busy?

[PrinceHaz]

When I’m lane swimming, I will move out of the way to avoid bumping into people, meaning that if the pool is busy, I’m not always swimming in a straight line up and down.
DP says by doing that I am upsetting the natural order of things and should simply keep swimming in a straight line regardless. He thinks that by being unselfish, I’m actually causing problems because I’m being unpredictable.
I tried out his way yesterday. I was swimming and actually it wasn’t busy so new joiners could just go next to me. Anyway, this bloke got in and proceeded to swim in my lane directly towards me. He kept swimming towards me and I kept swimming towards him. I got within centimetres of him and had to swerve or we’d have cracked our heads together.
So was I weak to dodge him. Should I have ploughed on into him?

Lanes should have a direction, were you following that or going the wrong way?
My local bath puts boards at the end with little arrows if you forget which way is clockwise or anti clockwise 😂

Do they not have different speed lanes? Also, as others have said a direction?
I

i've never seen lane swimming where there isn't a sign saying the direction - clockwise or anti-clockwise. If it isn't busy it is OK to overtake during the length but otherwise you wait till the ends of the length.

Mind you, they sometimes swap the direction during the session at my regular pool!

You need to swim in the right lane for your
Speed, follow the directions. Overtaking etiquette is a toe tap so they know you are going past. If you can't overtake turn around

There should be signs to say you swim either clockwise or anti-clockwise in the lane. Over take at the ends of the lane, if necessary a tap on someone's foot to indicate that you want to overtake but usually you can judge how fast people are going to know whether you need to pause for a second or two.

With lane swimming, there shouldn't be bumping into people. Slight brushing of skin may occur, especially if you're swimming backstoke (and therefore can't see that the person ahead of you is just before you) and you might occasionally get kicked or hit by an arm, but there should be no bumping into people head-on mid-lane.

Either you or this bloke were in the wrong side of the lane. If he'd just got in, he was in the wrong, even if he was swimming in the 'right' way (as indicated in the direction intended for the lane), since he would have seen before pushing off from the wall that you weren't following the direction.

This is why speed is important. Even in the slow lane you need to be able to swim fast enough to keep up with the others. If you’re frequently bumping into others or swerving you might need a faster lane. Alternatively you might be too slow for the slow lane and need to practice getting your speed up during family / open swims

This I don’t get how you can not go in a straight line?

If there are lanes in then you find a lane that suits your speed and swim in the direction of the arrows - if someone is swimming in the wrong direction then try to let them know or hopefully the lifeguard should. If there are no lanes in, as sometimes happens at mixed times, but you still want to swim lengths, then try to move out of the way of people/be aware, but maybe also find a general spot to stick to as well (so people have a rough idea of where you are) - don't swim through groups of people and if need be do half lengths/widths, depending on your pool lay out.

Oh for the love of god, I gave up
swimming because of these shenanigans.

The fucking male entitlement was infuriating.

Those regulars who just plough through people refusing to budge, having the same lane to themselves every day.

Seemingly no one following the anti-clockwise rule, too many people crowding the pool.

I got there stressed, left stressed and ended up hating it.

All this at 6am in the morning!

I haven't heard of this etiquette, you tap their foot? How do you manage to judge that? I cannot imagine getting hold of someone's foot whilst they're swimming.

@OHVanessaShanessaJenkins totally agree with you there. I find a lot of men so damn rude & entitled. Hog the lanes, plough through & won't move for anyone, thinking they're the next Olympic champion.
So I tried the ladies nights & you get them swimming slowly side by side so you can't get past, just merrily chatting away. Then they stop at the end of the pool for another chat, getting in the way again. If you want to chat & gossip go to the cafe & let us that do want to get fit do some swimming!

I can’t see how you’d bump into someone if you’re swimming in the direction you’re meant to? If you keep being overtaken you should go down a lane. I’ve never experienced what you said, occasionally brush someone in the next lane but no head bumps!

Our local pool is small, 4 'lanes' wide (under 10m) - it is often split in half with a 'public session' in one half and either one wide lane or 2 standard ones in the other half, or it's split in half with 2 wide lanes. We have a range of swimming abilities so people do often end up swimming alongside someone much faster or much slower than them, because there are only two lane speed options to choose from. Give me an ex-club swimmer any day though, they know how to stay to their side and swim in the right direction, and I am happy to give way if need be too. They also don't get annoyed if you accidentally splash them!

There are no directions, everyone swims up and down in the lane they got in to.

It’s a hotel pool split into lane swimming and a family area. There are no directions, you just get in and swim up and down. Most people show no awareness of the people around them.

Good grief, I am shocked to the core! No speed segregation and no directions? What is this anarchy?

The point is: you pick a lane, stay in that lane, swim up one side of the lane and down the other. I can’t see how that’s confusing 🤷🏼‍♀️

I'm always hyper aware of who's around me and find that in general most people behave well.

Those ploughing-through blokes are a bloody nuisance though.
I can spot the type even before they get in the pool and keep a wide berth.

Heaven on earth is an empty pool, all to myself and I plan my swim times and days accordingly 😂

How wide are these lanes? Surely wide enough to have someone going (eg.) up on the left and then return on the right?