AIBU to think that if you are not swimming, you should get out of a swimming lane?

[Glitterandglue]

I don't mean if you stop for a minute at the end of the lane to adjust your goggles or take a drink. I mean if you just... stop swimming. Whether that's to take a five minute break or to chat to someone else - or even to sit on the side and dangle your legs in.

It baffles me as to why so many people think this is okay, when there is a specific section of the pool next to the lane for general swimming - which means anything goes. Swim up and down, stand and lean on the side, jump in, float about in circles, whatever. The whole point of a lane is so that people can all swim in the same direction and turn easily at the end, rather than having to avoid someone hanging about there, possibly whilst also navigating slower or faster swimmers. Surely?

I genuinely have to wonder if I'm missing something here.

I have a local pool where you can hire a lane quite cheaply so I do that now because I got fed up of men acting in very dominant ways.

I hear you OP - i hate that I cant do a quick turn around at the end as they are blocking me, and get that lovely push off with my feet.

I have become quite curmudgeonly in the pool for all sorts of transgressions especially in summer when the pool becomes quite full
My pet peeve when someone goes in front of you, without leaving sufficient space.

I'm a cold swimmer so most of the summer crown have wafted off .... happy empty pool for me!

I didn't know you couldn't stop for a while at the end of a length. I've just graduated from Improvers swimming classes and am using the slow lane for the first time. I do a couple of lengths and am building up my stamina so sometimes have to stop briefly at the end of a few lengths but I always squeeze out of the way so that I don't get in anyone's way.

It's fine to stop to recover. It's the people who hold a coffee morning at the end of the lane who are annoying. Of course you can take pauses

Ah, I've never done the coffee morning thing. I'm trying so hard to get the etiquette right - took me an age to use the lanes.

There's normally a sign at the pool somewhere with some basic rules but as long as you are being mindful of others who may want to swim continuously you will be fine

The one that enrages me the most is someone who sets off just as I reach the end of the lane, as I like to swim continuously

Absolutely agree OP. It's not that hard to look at a lane and see how fast people are swimming and get in the right one.

The absolute worst are people who don't allow you to pass at the end of the pool when you've been 2cm off their toes the whole way down in the fast lane. It's so rude.

Yes mine is too. Because I have good leg strength but very little arm strength.

I tend to go in the medium lane but I’m sometimes frustrated by the slower speed of this lane.

Or people who wait until you’ve just about reached the end and are about to turn to set off in front of you. At a slower pace than you are going!

Ahh, yes. The person who has stopped for a breather and chooses to push off a second before you get there. The rage is real.

Its like when people stop in shop doorways - I don’t care what you’re doing, it can wait 2 seconds whilst you get out of the way.

I've read the rules posted poolside but it doesn't cover stopping!

I just let people swim up and turn and then wait a while before pushing off so I'm not tailgating them.

My own personal bugbear is people crossing lanes to get to the ladder without watching out or taking the lane dwellers into consideration!

Mine too! If I go in the slow lane I’m overtaking everybody all the time, it’s all elderly or very slow swimmers in the slow lane at ours. Never for a moment thought I might not be welcome in the middle lane!

I'm in swimming lessons with an instructor and a lane reserved for us - you wouldn't believe the number of male swimmers who get in and are most put out when it's pointed out that they can't use the lane: 'but the other lanes are busy...'

You are thinking of ‘gran stroke’ head up, arms doing something vaguely similar to breaststroke and legs may be somewhat imitated a frog but very slowly.
Proper breaststroke is fast - I can do it but I’d rather not all that launching your chest out of the water is too much effort. When I do do it I’m certainly not in the slow lane.

I am a slow swimmer, I don’t bother with the lanes as I’m too slow (one fast lane, one medium lane, half the pool for general swimming).

My bugbears are swimmers in pairs, middle of the pool acrobatics, and people who should be in the two labelled lanes because they’re going at rocket speed and are pissed off and huffy that there are mere mortals in the pool trying to improve.

I would love to be able to hire a lane, but it’s not offered here. Might suggest it to the baths next time I swim.

Lane swimming annoys me so much I have had to stop! The stress completely outweighs any benefit it might have 😂

I don't mind people chatting at the end as long as they leave a bit of wall space for me to turn on. I'm not dog-paddling in a fucking circle five feet from the end because you won't stand to one side!

My absolute bugbear is men - and it is only men, I reckon about 60-70% of them - who speed up when you're overtaking them. You can be on your fifth time lapping them, but they'll still push that little bit harder when you're trying to pass like they just can't quite believe you (me - a lady) could possibly be faster than them - even though I was the past four times they tried to stay ahead. 🙄

I love lane swimming, even when I have to wear a band declaring my ‘slow’ status 😂 but I try not to stop at all so get most frustrated when other swimmers make me stop by pushing in front at the end of the lane or accumulating for a chat leaving nowhere to push off from! Our slow lane is a double lane so there is space in the middle for overtakers - absolutely no need to barrel past me a metre before the end to push off in front of me when I’m then going to have to overtake you?!?! I switched pools to get away from the old ladies who swim 3 abreast while they chat, I appreciate its lovely to have company to exercise but doing it at 6.30am with the people squeezing a swim in before work is quite frustrating. My new pool is better organised and the lifeguards are quick to remind people not to swim alongside each other so my bugbear about the people chatting at the ends is probably because they’re not allowed to swim side by side. Anyway, I agree with you OP, lane swimming is just that so if you’re not swimming (taking a breather is fine obviously) just get out!

Yackers need their own lane...

What bothers me are those who know you are on their heels but don’t briefly pause at the end of the length just to let you go ahead. So you have to try and overtake in a busy lane which could have been avoided, or get stuck swimming slower than you want to.

I always just turn a bit before them if this happens. But I agree it's annoying.

I would stop briefly normally in that situation... but not if they initially set of within half a second of me setting off because in that case they chose to be on my heels and that's a them problem. Also if they clearly have a faster pace than everyone in the lane and should be in the faster lane then again that's a them problem (a lot of men do this I notice as they would prefer the ego boost of being faster than everyone in their lane)

Oh and people who push off literally as you are getting to the wall to turn. Where are you supposed to go then!

Yes that's the one that gives me the total rage. It's the swimming equivalent of pulling out at a junction into the path of a car.

I love that analogy.