To think if you wear arm bands you should not go in the medium speed lane of the pool

BlueBumedFly · 02/10/2009 13:33

An adult in arm bands? That's something I've never seen before! Yes, I would say if he is not a competent enough swimmer to swim without said armbands then he should move to the slowe lane.

..... they must be big armbands ???

Avendesora · 02/10/2009 13:40

how odd!

Innat · 02/10/2009 13:48

i feel your frustration. i often get "lane rage" at the pool. regardless of the armbands, people should swim in the appropriate lane - grrr.

i can't believe he refused to move after being asked!

Terpsichore · 02/10/2009 13:50

OP, I'm with you! I gave up going to one (well-known) health-club-type chain because the pool always seemed to have two people having a lovely comfy chat as they paddled their way incredibly slooooooooooooooowly up and down, side by side, hogging at least 3 lanes' worth of space, while everyone else tried to squash into the meagre remaining bit.

I appreciate that your chap may not be a confident swimmer but it's not very considerate to ruin everyone else's swim. He should move over.

Hassled · 02/10/2009 13:53

I am no stranger to Swimmers' Rage myself - I would have been apoplectic if some twat in armbands was blocking my lane. I'm amazed the lifeguards didn't shift him. So no, YANBU.

geraldinetheluckygoat · 02/10/2009 13:56

I had a lady with tummy band and arm bands who was sort of thrashing about and moving about 1m an hour, she shrieked when I over took her (at the end of the lane, she'd stopped so I went ahead). It was just plain weird, specially as she was in the fast lane, not sure what was going on there really.
What I really HATE though, is when you are swimming lanes and you get two (usually but not always) women just stood at the end, in the lane, talking. There are 2 particular ones when I go that stand there for half an hour, swim about five lengths inbetween then stand there again. They seem to be really great swimmers too, so Its not as if they are knackered and need the rest. So annoying. And what a waste of £3.00 as well, why not just go round for a cuppa and chat??!!!

Im stepping away from thread now

LauraIngallsWilder · 02/10/2009 13:58

Dilemma - frankly I am impressed that you can swim 30 lengths in 15minutes, and that you can be bothered with all the hassle of getting showered and changed just for 15 minutes in the pool

No yabu - he should be in the slow lane!

Hassled · 02/10/2009 13:59

At least the chattering swimmers congregate at the end of the slow lanes at my local pool. But yes, why don't they just go and have a nice cup of tea somewhere? If they're hell bent on coming to the swimming pool, there's quite a nice cafe there - they don't actually have to get wet to chat. It's weird.

Original poster

dilemma456 · 02/10/2009 14:00

Message withdrawn

OP posts:

geraldinetheluckygoat · 02/10/2009 14:04

It is VERY weird, I hate it as you cant kick off the end when they are there! And dont they get cold?

curiositykilled · 02/10/2009 14:06

Clearly he shouldn't have been in that lane but really there are worse things in life. If you can only go at a busy time then it's unlikely you'll ever be able to swim as much as you'd like. Breathe and let it go...

TheHeathenOfSuburbia · 02/10/2009 14:06

I'm surprised they even let people in the big pool with armbands on... Honest-to-God bright orange blow-up armbands? Not some fancy doowhacky for improving your stroke, say?

I am well aware of my swimming limitations and wouldn't dream of darkening anything other than the slow lane. Apart from anything else, the fast-moving splashy people scare me and get water in my eyes

ProfYaffle · 02/10/2009 14:07

Oh God, I've actually stopped swimming due to the whole 'lane rage' thing. Our pool has a complex rope here, clockwise here, anti clockwise there but all speeds in together arrangement. I can't see the signs without my glasses. The slow swimmers swear at the fast swimmers when they get kicked in the face, the jacuzzi's full of fast swimmers moaning about the slow swimmers. It all got just Too Much for me.

Pikelit · 02/10/2009 14:15

I only do swimming in outdoor pools or at the seaside nowadays. The competitive lane rage thing leaves me losing the will to live.

Having said that, why on earth would anyone in armbands think they should be doing intermediate lane swimming.

globex · 02/10/2009 14:23

Yep - I've also stopped swimming due to lane rage. And men. Stupid stupid men who NEED to overtake you even though they can't swim as fast as you. And the people who think lots of splashing makes them faster.

MiniMarmite · 02/10/2009 14:27

Lane rage, am totally with you on this. Takes all the benefit out of swimming IMO!

at Globex - can be quite good fun though just watching them struggle to catch you up and then collapse, red faced at the end of the pool!

globex · 02/10/2009 14:35

Or the ones that swim in the middle of the lane and you have to stop while they swim past you, oblivious idiots that they are.

onebatmother · 02/10/2009 14:36

An adult? In orange armbands? Excellent.

Are you sure there wasn't also a small dinghy with an outboard motor and dick or dom at the helm in the fast lane?

Bcs it sounds like an excellent sketch

Hassled · 02/10/2009 14:51

Ah yes, the men who assume that because they are men they can swim faster than you. And even though you're constantly catching up with them they won't stop at the end of the lane and let you go ahead. The anger makes me swim faster still .

And my favourite pastime is pushing off at the exact same moment as someone in the next lane and then reaching the end before them. I give myself bonus points if I've beaten a man. And extra points still if it's a man who turns out to be wearing overly skimpy trunks and looks like he might be a twat.

onebatmother · 02/10/2009 15:03

There was some oddness last week with man who was going underwater just outside the lanes and sort of hanging around down there, waaaaatching everyone through his goggles.

His trunks were skimpy. And his cheeks were all puffed up while he held his breath.

I kept losing my stroke.

MayorNaze · 02/10/2009 15:26

ah i feel your pain. i give nicknames to people who especially annoy me while swimming.
not especially original is Fat Slow Man, who thinks, because he is a man, he does not belong in the slow lane with the elderly ladies with grey perms.

even though they swim faster than he does.

many a time it seems as if i am going to swim right up his Fat Slow Arse

onebatmother · 02/10/2009 16:20

I don't like to think about arses too much.
Plus, I think I'm going to go back to my old crap goggles. With these new ones, I see Too Much - the floaty looky man, for a start, but also icky stuff.

The lanes in my pool are too small and I often accidentally touch other people going in the opposite direction, which I find excruciating.

heylottie · 02/10/2009 17:14

Even worse than the two abreast (sometimes three abreast) tandem swimmers are the ones who do it PERFUMED! Or the ones who do widths when everyone else does lengths!

Or the heavy petters down one end! Or the splashy splashers who confuse this with technique!

Or the ones who wait at the end of the lane for you to get there and then take off again a split second before you- so you have to wait for them to get half way down the pool before you can go or you will swim on top of them...

I could go on

explodes

Ivykaty44 · 02/10/2009 17:20

Do what another mner does and swim under the slow ones and pop up in front of them if they dont like it then they need to move out of the lane you are in

KurriKurri · 02/10/2009 17:43

Do skimpy trunks automatically equal weird? There is a middle aged speedo-wearer at my local pool, and before he gets in the pool he walks slowly all the way round the edge, presumably so we can all get a good look and be delighted by him.