How does lane swimming work if I am a very slow swimmer?

[Nitgel]

I know this has been covered before, but how does lane swimming work. I went today as that seems to be the only option to swim at my local pool and I am desperate for a swim. i stuck to the slow lane but people were overtaking me. Am i too slow to use the lane swimming?

I am a competent slow swimmer and haven't been in the pool for a year plus I have bad knee arthritis so was hoping this would help me. I felt like I was in the commonwealth games.

Should I find another pool? it's a pain as I use the gym frequently and get swimming too as part of the membership. I just breaststroke quite sedately.

People who foot tap are obnoxious. Just pause at the end of the lane and let faster swimmers go first. If they are lapping you over and over, they need to move up a lane.

i always wish life guards would help manage this more actively. They have a great view and it would be easy enough to recommend people shuffle a bit.

Hmm, there's no touching anyone's toes on the pool where I swim, and I would not look kindly on anyone who tapped mine.
It's the faster swimmers who need to consider if they are in the right lane. I'm a fast slow or slow medium so often have to change over depending on the relative speeds of other swimmers.

You carry on with your sedate breaststroke! Good for you, keep at it.

The foot tap makes more sense in the fast lane context where swimmers are tumble turning and may not stop at the end of the lane for ten or twenty minutes or more unless they get a foot tap, and some swimmers are there to train for speed and don’t want to swim slower than they can but may not be able to safely overtake if the lane is busy.

It’s a knob move in a slow lane though. Should be unnecessary unless the swimmer in front is somehow swimming so wide that it’s completely impossible to overtake and not ever letting people pass at the end of the lane.

First time someone did the foot tap to me, I nearly jumped out of my skin. He explained it to me and I genuinely had no clue.

another time someone told me I was too slow and he would just swim into me.

It's incredibly offputting and everywhere is lane swimming. Or at least everywhere I can get to. It's such a shame because there's literally nowhere for a leisure swim anymore in many areas I think. I talked about it with some work colleagues and they all said it really puts them off.

In my local pool the slow lane is wider than the medium and fast lanes.
V slow swimmers get overtaken, but don't feel you shouldn't be there, it's not that hard to swim round someone . Im about averagely slow , some overtake me.

Foot tapping isn't a thing I've ever been aware of.

I've noticed the fast laners can spend a lot of time chatting before they get going.

I've been lane swimming for 40 years and I think I've only had my foot tapped once fortunately, I find it really irritating. I stay close to the lane rope, I can't evaporate, pass me when you can or turn early.

It doesn't necessarily matter if you are the slowest in the lane - someone has to be! As long as you are pausing at the end to let others swimmers go, rather than launching off one second in front of them, it shouldn't be a problem.

Where I go the slow lanes are half the pool and the fast lanes are half the pool. The actual lanes are roughly marked out on the bottom of the pool. We can book either fast or slow. Slow is generally breast stroke, fast is generally face down front crawl.

Yes stay in the slow lane.

Then problem is the lane guidelines don’t reflect the reality of differing swimmer speeds.

Ours is slow lane = a length per minute
medium = 45 seconds
fast = 30 seconds.

The reality is a fast swimmer will do 2 lengths casually at 35/45 seconds repeatedly so some fast swimmers move to medium lane and then the slower swimmers there move to slow lane leaving the slow swimmers nowhere to swim without being overtaken.

IMO the fast swimmers who are usually more experienced should stay in the fast lane and figure it out between themselves.

Foot tapping generally originates from club swimming whereby swimmers who train together 1-2 times a day will let those in front know they are there to let them pass on the turn.

No one does toe tapping at the pool I go to, yuck. I'm on the faster end of slow swimming (my pool puts times on to help people decide which lane to use) so I overtake quite a few people. If it's busy I hang back and wait till the end of the lane to get past. The slow lane is wider, so room for overtaking. Unless you get two groups of three chatting and swimming very slowly, that's quite infuriating, and I had to change my session time to avoid them.

I'm extremely slow and no one has ever tapped my toe and I wouldn't be happy if they did, I just pause momentarily at each end and if someone faster is approaching let them go, I often fiddle witu my goggles so I don't get into that "you go first" "no you" thing. I've started going to early lido sessions before work this summer and it is blissful, the other swimmers are a friendly bunch and often exchange friendly comments at the end of the lane.

Oh god it’s not masters swimming it’s public swimming @Favouritefruits Never touch other people’s feet. People going faster do not have the right to make you stop mid action. You keep going at your own pace someone can either choose to overtake you during a length of its safe or you pause at the end to let them go first.

well done… keep at it OP!

Kick harder and move faster!

This!

I would say that's not what the slow lane is for ...

Wouldn’t it be great if, inbetween all the use by schools, clubs, lane swimming local leisure centres could find some time for people to just have a swim. I like swimming but I’m not that good and hate lane swimming as like OP always feel I’m in the way but our local baths hardly ever has any designated time for just general swimming, it’s another of those things that makes me wonder why I pay so much council tax to help fund facilities that aren’t actually useable

If anyone taps my foot whilst swimming they will be getting kicked. (ASD and I don’t react well to things like that unexpectedly).

I agree. I’ve only heard of this recently and would not do it to anyone and if someone did it to me I would be furious. It’s so intrusive and rude.

Op you have every right to use the pool and go at your own speed. That’s what the slow lane is for. Some people walk, run, swim. You’re allowed to use the water the same as anyone else.

ive just come home from a mental health swim. My pool has one person per lane and you book in advance. It’s a novelty not to be crowded but it means you can’t just go when you want. But it does mean no one is going to touch me!

enjoy your swimming. You deserve it as much as anyone else. You don’t have to have achieved a certain speed to be able to enjoy lane swimming.

as someone above said- the best thing if there are two people in one lane is to ask them if you can use half a lane each. No need to go clockwise and keep chasing each other. You need a bit of space.

also try different times of day and night until you find a relaxed time. Well done for going and I have got so much from my swimming. I hope you do too

Oh trust me. It would be the last time they ever touched me.

How long are the lengths?

Keep going OP if someone is overtaking and not happy about it in the slow lane they are definitely the problem not you! Also foot tapping in the slow lane is and outrageous idea and I’ve literally never come across it in RL. At my gym the slow lane is for beginners and people who want to swim up and down having a chat.

i move between all three lanes- slow for a swim/chat, fast when it’s quiet and I’m on my own, medium when there’s a bloke faster than me in the fast lane!

if you are training for a race or aiming for a PB you need to be in the fast lane at a quiet time. The slow lane is not the place for aggression!

Touching my feet? What is this?! I have cPTSD and really don’t want anyone touching me, especially from behind. This may well be the end of me swimming if this is a thing.

If someone did it to me it would be the end of their swimming.

Probably a very stupid Question from a want to swim but not been for decades person:

Do all pools have these slow mid etc lanes and if you’re a newbie, how do you know? Are they marked? And do pools tell you what their etiquette is? I’m actually scared to try!

I remember signs saying "give way to faster swimmers" at my local swimming pool when I was a kid and I always thought that seemed really unfair. Now I am a member of a David Lloyd club and swim most days and I can't imagine anyone touching someone else's foot to get past. In fact, I find that people in the slower area are incredibly polite to each other - not so much in the fast lane, where they are intent on bombing up and down the lane as fast as they can (with huge spray over the next lane).