Territorial dispute in swimming pool

[tamade]

I am lucky enough to have a proper lunch break and at least three times a week I go to a nearby hotel and swim a mile, sometimes 2km.

Today I was alone in the pool and started swimming in lane two (of four) which is one lane away from the side closest to the changing rooms entrance. About 30 min later a man got in and stated to swim in lane 1. Five minutes after that he changed into my lane. I caught up with him at the far end and when he turned he looked at me swimming toward him and seemed surprised (surprised I hadn't moved lanes?). He then kicked off the wall and swam beneath me and under the lane divider into lane three. Not long after I finished up and went to get changed. Before exiting I looked back and sure enough he had moved back into lane two, which I presume is "his". And based on that I believe that he was trying to claim lane 2 when he initially moved in.

He is another regular I have seen him coming as I am going although we don't usually use the pool at the same time.

I think this is knobish behaviour

I agree with you @tamade that swimming under you was unnecessary especially as the pool was otherwise empty and he could have easily moved into lane 3 without doing this.

Entering the only occupied lane was also unnecessary when three other lanes were available. Lane preference is not an entitlement. First in, first choice. I swim in any lane but prefer lane 5 of 6. It is no different to the other lanes as lanes 7-12 are the speed per length lanes.

Lane sharing is only necessary when all lanes are full.

I bet he pissed in the pool too, like the territory-marking animal he is.

I don’t doubt it.

are you a faster swimmer than him? Sooooo many dickheads like him in public pools.

Nothing was even said, yet this man is being accused of upskirting irl and needs reporting to reception presumably to be banned.

He probably wouldn't even remember it never mind call it a dispute. Mumsnet is wild sometimes

There's always one (not you @RhaenysRocks)

Once again, 0/10 for ragebait - must try harder JiffynttyGiffy

I’d report him tbh. What a wanker. The only reason he would have done this was to prove how superior he is to a woman. There is no convincing me that he would have done this to a man.

Who was faster, you or him?

I think unwritten lane swimming etiquette is 1-4, slowest-fastest.

It’s a bit like a motorway, he changed down lanes after you went cos he didn’t need to be up that high.

It actually sounds to me like he was trying not to be a dick by crowding you.

The answers here are bizarre. It is clear that he prefers lane 2 as he changed to it after she left. When he got there he went into lane 2 even though there was already someone there. Clearly he meant to make her move to another lane. When she did not he moved instead. It's rude,.none of this was by accident. He was trying to bully her.

But then he moved into lane 3 until you got out? Stop making assumptions and move on.

What a drama!

OP said she caught up with him (and he looked astonished), so clearly she was faster.

Women swimming faster than them seems to make a lot of male swimmers turn aggressive, ime.

Ahh of course. Because he's a man, he was obviously bullying her!

No. He tried lane 2, moved over to lane 3 until the OP left and he returned to lane 2. If he was bullying, he'd have continued in lane 2.

He moved into lane 3 by deliberately swimming under her. Which is an aggressive move.

Why try lane 2 in the first place?

Wow I can't believe you've actually spent time thinking about this

Nothing to do with him being a man 🤣. Totally random adding that In. His actions are odd, why go into her lane in the first place ??

Why not? It's a public pool. You don't own a lane. Perhaps that's his preferred lane? He moved over to Lane 3 so what's the issue?

Perhaps surprised because he hadn’t realised someone else was in that lane. How close were you that he was able to swim right underneath you? How deep is this pool? How narrow are the lanes that they can’t cope with more than one person. Perhaps his issue was that you were swimming right at him, and he needed to move. He swam under the rope and into the next lane, that doesn’t sound like him being territorial, it sounds like you were. He moved back to lane 2 when it was empty because he prefers it. Just like you do.

Are you usually this bothered by people being in the same space as you?

Why not?
Nobody owns a lane. Becoming territorial, because you happened to arrive earlier, is odd.
Also, swimming under people is quite common, especially among club/ex-club swimmers. I personally wouldn't fancy swim under a breastroke kick though, if I was going to do that.

She had a club, but not one with enough money to book extra training sessions outside club times.
It was just 2 mornings, at 07.00hrs to quietly do her lengths then leave. It wasn't busy, 4 lanes to choose from. She wasn't inconveniencing anyone. Just being female and swimming faster than a couple of men. She wasn't racing, just building stamina.

It's not 'her' lane.
It's 'a' lane, in a public session in a public pool.

I find pool etiquette fascinating. There are a couple of men in ours who choose to swim up and down the middle of the slow lane, overtaking everyone, rather than move into the (usually less busy) middle lane.

But she was using the lane already. Its just being civil not to use the same lane at the same time when there is no need. It's like saying there are loads of trolleys at the supermarket but I want you to empty yours out so I can use it because it's not your trolley. She doesn't own the trolly after all

Our club didn't generally book extra sessions outside training times either - they trained in the club training sessions, even the ones doing national and international events.
A club swimmer being in the normal lane swimming will inconvenience others, they're probably just too polite to say anything. The fact that you needed 'special permission' should be a clue that you're already trying to change the parameters of the session.

I find the arrogant men and splashy kids very straightforward to be around because they aren’t judgemental about other people. It is the uptight pool police that create a rather stressful atmosphere. I just want to go a swim in whatever lane seems about right for my speed without having to worry that I might be annoying someone with a list of unwritten rules in their head.