Hand Paddles "Safety Issue"

Cork24

So, i was out for a morning Swim in my local gym did 3km swim the other day at race pace so i said i'll do a 1.5 km recovery swim today, 1k Free Style without hand paddles and 500 meters with the paddles, So after my 1000meter Swim i stop to get some Water and to place the paddles on my hand.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/speedo-biofuse-power-paddle/

When all of sudden this women comes swimming up to me and started to get stuck on me, telling me she is not swimming in this pool with me having them on, either i take them off now or i will go to the head desk and he can force you to take them off, i told her they are safe, she them reply that this is not a Training Lane.. ("I'm sorry why do you come to the gym in the first place?" "To Train maybe ?")

I moved away from her outside the lane and continued to swim with the paddles so the women gets the person on the desk telling him that its a health and safety issue.. i was asked to take them off while she was in the pool..

has anyone ever have this kind of issue, never in my life did i have such a person say anything about them. i often see people wearing them inside the same lane, and no issue. i don't see why my training should be effected by someone who is to slow in the swim lane..

Stella Virgo

leisureland salthill galway ,same rules.no fins,snorkel,paddles,etc,unless u are in a class learning to swim :rolleyes:

Cork24

Theirs no rules in the pool area to say you can/can't have paddles,

I often use Fins for my warm up while doing kicking drills. again no problem till today..

okane1

No issues in the pool I train in. I did have to sign a wavier to use a training snorkel.
For me, if used correctly, paddles are safe. They have soft edges on them, so any contact would not be 2 bad.

You get some funny people in pools. I was given out too by an older woman for swimming too fast in the "fast lane". I explained the "slow lane" was free, so she could move in there if she felt afraid. She explained she was going to file a complaint with the manger!! Gas. Got a good laugh out of it!

RedRidge

okane1 wrote: »

You get some funny people in pools. I was given out too by an older woman for swimming too fast in the "fast lane". I explained the "slow lane" was free, so she could move in there if she felt afraid. She explained she was going to file a complaint with the manger!! Gas. Got a good laugh out of it!

This is a problem in a few pools, I swim in the NAC and it is ridiculous the amount of times people get into lanes they are clearly not able for or are too slow for. There are two particular people I have in mind who get in to the medium lane and do that aqua running side by side, completely Ignoring everone else and messing up everyones sesion.

It may seem funny that some older woman might complain, but you would be surprised how often their point of view wil be taken by management who are more afraid of upseting some old lady then pointing out the obivious to them.

AngryHippie

There's a lot of dumb behavior out there regarding fins/paddles.

As for a snorkel, it should be covered by a form with management, as improper use can cause drowning.(again you'd need to be pretty dumb, but it has happened)

Fins and paddles, should be allowed in any situation where you've got lanes marked off. In an open session with just a free for all pool, I can see how some may have concerns. Most hand paddles and pool fins are made of soft enough and smooth enough materials to avoid any harm. But the "think of the children" brigade will always get their way.

Stick to sessions with lanes, stick to the fast lane, check with management prior, should be no problem.

Cork24

RedRidge wrote: »

There are two particular people I have in mind who get in to the medium lane and do that aqua running side by side, completely Ignoring everone else and messing up everyones sesion.

Funny I have Seen some people do that as well i just go on the outside where their is no lanes and swim up and down,

their was almost a free for all last week with one person was walking up and down the other person wanted to swim two "women again" almost went to blows..

Same with the gym, giving out your banging the weights / banging down hard on the treadmill while doing Speed Training... some people just like to give out,

I think the next time i do what normally happens if their holding up the show i normally just hang back and wait till they hit the wall and i try and take off before them.. but i think i just start hitting the legs telling them to speed up or more on..

RacoonQueen

Cork24 wrote: »

Funny I have Seen some people do that as well i just go on the outside where their is no lanes and swim up and down,

their was almost a free for all last week with one person was walking up and down the other person wanted to swim two "women again" almost went to blows..

Same with the gym, giving out your banging the weights / banging down hard on the treadmill while doing Speed Training... some people just like to give out,

I think the next time i do what normally happens if their holding up the show i normally just hang back and wait till they hit the wall and i try and take off before them.. but i think i just start hitting the legs telling them to speed up or more on..

Just swim 'through' them. It definitely seems to be women more than men, but maybe men get out of my way because I'm a girl.

I've you're overtaking the same person every few lengths then they're in the wrong lane. We don't have fast and slow lanes in my gym but that still counts.

Nothing worse than one of those people who stand at the end of the lane 'resting' as they watch you come towards them then push off as you get there and then swim slowly :mad:

Ben D Bus

The world is full of idiots. Swimming pools are no exception.

I swim in TCD, the country's premier university, and so many of our future captains of industry, science, arts & politics seem to struggle with the basics of lanes, direction arrows, and big signs saying dont walk around the changing area in muddy boots.

I can only imagine how bad it is elsewhere, where lesser mortals swim, like UCD

valerie

Ben D Bus wrote: »

I can only imagine how bad it is elsewhere, where lesser mortals swim, like UCD

Yes, it's hard for us lesser mortals. Thank God we've a nice spacious 50m pool to console us....;)

RedRidge

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Nothing worse than one of those people who stand at the end of the lane 'resting' as they watch you come towards them then push off as you get there and then swim slowly :mad:

The other one that gets me is the 2/3 lads stopping to discuss their training at the end of the lanes leaving you about 6 inch of wall to turn on.... then getting annoyed with you when your foot hits them on the turn.

cjt156

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Nothing worse than one of those people who stand at the end of the lane 'resting' as they watch you come towards them then push off as you get there and then swim slowly :mad:

:mad: Grrrr.....boils my blood. Should be a hanging offence.

I've been both the fastest or the slowest in a lane at any one time; if I'm slow I'll make damn sure I keep clear of those faster.

Cork24

cjt156 wrote: »

:mad: Grrrr.....boils my blood. Should be a hanging offence.

I've been both the fastest or the slowest in a lane at any one time; if I'm slow I'll make damn sure I keep clear of those faster.

Its common practice in a pool if someone start's hitting your legs it normally means you are to slow and that you need to get your A** out of that lane into the next one.

But the problem Lies, with me is their is only one lane and the rest of the pool is open.. and then your trying to do your training and you have some one in front doing the breaststroke or else making a dam Fail attempted at the backstroke hands going every where not turning their body into the stroke.

Ben D Bus

Cork24 wrote: »

Its common practice in a pool if someone start's hitting your legs it normally means you are to slow and that you need to get your A** out of that lane into the next one.

Problem often is, the one getting their foot tapped either doesn't know or doesn't care about lane etiquette.

eyescreamcone

AngryHippie wrote: »

There's a lot of dumb behavior out there
regarding fins/paddles.

As for a snorkel, it should be covered by a form with management, as improper use can cause drowning.(again you'd need to be pretty dumb, but it has happened)

Fins and paddles, should be allowed in any situation where you've got lanes marked off. In an open session with just a free for all pool, I can see how some may have concerns. Most hand paddles and pool fins are made of soft enough and smooth enough materials to avoid any harm. But the "think of the children" brigade will always get their way.

Stick to sessions with lanes, stick to the fast lane, check with management prior, should be no problem
.

FYP

okane1

RedRidge wrote: »

The other one that gets me is the 2/3 lads stopping to discuss their training at the end of the lanes leaving you about 6 inch of wall to turn on.... then getting annoyed with you when your foot hits them on the turn.

Cue me going for a sprint 50m with as fast as humanly possible tumble turn. This gets them of the wall pretty fast!

johnsds

Stella Virgo wrote: »

leisureland salthill galway ,same rules.no fins,snorkel,paddles,etc,unless u are in a class learning to swim :rolleyes:

That's a load of BS, I am there 5+days a week, I often use the flippers/leg floats/paddles/floats while in public session in fact I used them all this morning in the 8am public session, just tell the lifeguards your taking/using them or ask nicely to borrow them, never ever have I ever seen someone not being allowed to use them.

Cork24

Was in that pool once while in galway, I was doing open water training I salt hill but one day it was to bad to go out so I ended up in the pool,

What really gets me is people who jump into the lane and start doing breaststrokes holding you up.

I was their the other day in my local pool seen could I come in at 16 mins of a 1km swim at race pace normally I'm around 18-20 mins a km doing a training pace was on target for the. 16 but some fool put my time at 29 mins with his breaststroke

godarraghgo

i enjoy swimming
i guess I am alone

mossym

godarraghgo wrote: »

i enjoy swimming
i guess I am alone

in fairness, if you're alone, then most of the issues above don't exist so i can see why you enjoy the swimming..

godarraghgo

CatFromHue

Lol my local pool used to drive me and so many people nuts.

It was for the most part bad management in that they'd let too many people in or not realise they'd need to change the set up of the pool for the people that they'd let in.

There were one or two people who'd be too slow for their lanes too.