Lane etiquette & passing people

Freddio

The NAC is great for swimming at your own pace at certain times.

Mid morning weekdays
Fri, Sat evening
other evenings after 7.30 slightly less so.

There is plenty of room to overtake, not too many and nowhere where you can stand in the way. People do hang around the end and chat but not in all 10 lanes.

Its been a long time since Ive been out there and had to share a lane with more than 3 people, but I do go when its set to 50m.

MojoMaker

My favourite time in the NAC used to be 8-10pm on a Friday. You could have the entire complex to yourself if you timed it right - sheer heaven. Mornings after about 7.30am Mon-Fri are also largely deserted and a real pleasure to swim.

Ben D Bus

I really do wish that all courses of swimming lessons included a 10 minute session on etiquette. From selecting the correct lane to overtaking to keeping the changing areas clean. It's amazing the lack of common sense some people can manage.

cassid

I tried the gentle foot touching the other day and it worked a treat.

I swam in Westwood and gave it up as most of the lanes were given over to lessons and even the 20 metre pool was halved off for more lessons.

I swim in sportslink now and again its the same crap, one lane left for swimmers of all ability. If you went to a gym and most of the equipment was out of bounds, there would be uproar but for some reason, gyms have no issue screwing over swimmers who pay full membership

willow46

ah the feet touch! Yes i think a good gentle tap works sometimes…

username000

I used to swim a lot and I always give way for faster swimmers. But there is always some idiot who swims really slowly and refuses to give way. I mostly tackled it by swimming right up behind them and PARALLEL to them as we reached the wall and then taking off next to them and just slipping in in front of them again. A lot of people get the idea when you do that.

One thing that did occur to me was that perhaps its people swimming without their glasses who genuinely cant see that they are holding up the whole show?

If there were more than two in the lane Id try to time it so I could do the above or go round them mid length if I knew for sure the third swimmer wasnt coming towards me.

Its hugely annoying, as is the groups of people who used to cluster blocking the wall so you couldnt turn properly.

Hani Kosti

You all are so polite (and I'm clearly not) if someone didn't let me pass , I'd jump in front of that selfish swimmer and slow him/her down for their entire swim 😈😈😈
For the record, how can they not let you pass??? Swim around them, done
Tap on a foot is clear sign there is someone behind me who wants to pass... I won't stop at the wall tho but will definitely pull more to the side so there is room to pass
I am swimming with tri club so these are the "rules" we follow

username000

Hani Kosti wrote: »

For the record, how can they not let you pass??? Swim around them, done

If there are other people swimming in the lane they could be coming towards you as you try to pass and youd cause a collision.

rainbow kirby

Some pools have very narrow lanes - it's difficult to pass in the pool I mostly swim in because it's a tight fit to get 5 lanes. If there's more than around 4 people in the lane it makes it even harder again due to the risk of crashing into someone going the opposite way.

There is always the skill of diving deep and surfacing in front of a really slow head-up breaststroker though...

eeeee

username000 wrote: »

One thing that did occur to me was that perhaps its people swimming without their glasses who genuinely cant see that they are holding up the whole show?

I wear glasses and that's no excuse for getting out f the way! I'm pretty blind, but you can hear/feel/see the faster swimmer. You'd have to have absolutely no sensory perception at all to miss them.

The slow, slow front crawlers and dainty breaststrokers that hop into the fast lane in my gym do my head absolutely in. Why, oh why, oh why when there are 4, FOUR Slow and Medium lanes to chose from? And about 90% never get the tapping foot message. From me anyway. They don't get out of the way ever. I end up moving lane, and frequently in a Slow lane cos it's empty. I suppose it's the lifeguards job to enforce it but they never do. So annoying.

It is absolutely lovely when you're in a lane with someone and you never get in each others way. I think my best swims have been that way!

ETA I think January is the worst time for this. New years resolutions and all that. Last week, I was in lane for 45 mins and 2 guys pop in, one teaching the other how to swim…all the other lanes were free

Shedite27

gadetra wrote: »

It is absolutely lovely when you're in a lane with someone and you never get in each others way. I think my best swims have been that way!

Yeah, it's the holy grail. Being in a lane with someone too fast or too slow can be equally disturbing.

At the same time though, there are time when it's hard to know whether the fast person should move up or the slow person move down a lane.

Then you have lads who do different drills in the pool, for some drills they could be the same speed as you, and then if they're just kicking they'd be slower than you. Ideally, they'd move lanes when this happens but rarely does.

My pet peeve is people doing (for example), 100m sprints on 1:50 in the same lane as myself who's swimming 1k at 1:50 pace. Can be infuriating experience for both, myself getting to the wall with lads waiting every time, them having to overtake me every time.

jank

Interesting read here. Here in OZ it is not that bad. The pool I swim in is a public 50m outdoor pool, which generally always has people in it but has plenty of room for everyone. In the mornings or evenings there is squad training with maybe 4 out of the 10 lanes taken up. The rest of the time one can choose a lane according to their ability. The lanes are generally wide so passing people is not an issue I have encountered but if you are being a dick, then you will get it from other swimmers and more importantly the lifeguards. The lifeguards in the pool will tell people move if people for example are going a breaststroke in the fast freestyle only lane. If people still dont get the message, then its generally accepted that people will swim over you... literally. After this happens once or twice you will see them scurrying away with their tails between their legs to another lane. Open water swimming is huge here and swimming over people in the sea is kinda part of the course especially at the start and at the bouys and although annoying for slower swimmers (I had to literally push someone off me in Bondi yesterday while doing the bluewater challenge) it gives one the sense that one has to look after yourself in the pool and the sea.

The pools though have to set the standard. If they are on top of it and manage it which creates the culture then it would not be a problem. If more people complain about it it may change.

Shedite27

jank wrote: »

....if you are being a dick, then you will get it from other swimmers and more importantly the lifeguards....

Think that's the difference. Don't think an Irish lifeguard is going to be as agressive as an Aussie lifeguard.

rainbow kirby

Shedite27 wrote: »

Think that's the difference. Don't think an Irish lifeguard is going to be as agressive as an Aussie lifeguard.

This - it would be fantastic if Irish/British lifeguards would (wo)man up and not be afraid to ask people to move if they are clearly causing issues for others.

AngryHippie

Part of the problem is the Irish "it'll be grand" "ah sure what harm" attitude to be honest. I've found Aussies tend to stick to a system once there is one put in place(parking, escalators, queues etc.), whereas we Irish will do it when it suits us and then not bother our holes when we aren't in the humor and either feign ignorance or make light of the fact that we've been a total pain in the arse to deal with afterwards.

Having worked in pools in both, they take their lane etiquette fairly seriously over here as it would be total carnage without it (particularly with the level of TABP that is encountered in Triathlon and club swimming) whereas there are fewer facilities and a more mixed demographic of pool user in Ireland, so they are all lumped in together, and any attempt to enforce a system just drains the enthusiasm right out of those tasked with it due to sneering, apathy, I'm all-right Jack and faux-ignorance just so the few get to do whatever the fcuk they want.

moc moc a moc

rainbow kirby wrote: »

This - it would be fantastic if Irish/British lifeguards would (wo)man up and not be afraid to ask people to move if they are clearly causing issues for others.

If the lifeguards are not doing their jobs, even after being asked to do so, then make a complaint to their manager.

jank

I suppose culture does play into the problem. An Aussie lifeguard or swimmer is less likely to hold back a tongue lashing than an Irish version. I suppose also swimming is so big here, many are probably taught the appropriate etiquette from when they are young. Then again, I may be lucky in the pool I am in. I am sure there are pools elsewhere where its a problem.

AngryHippie is right about the personalities though. From the coaches to the swimmers tough love seems part of the course. I have seen plenty of heavy verbals given during squad training between swimmers, once it almost came to blows. I was like WTF? Coach was like 'meh, whatever..' In some way its amusing. Seeing grown men who would be successful their own careers have a hissy fit and call an other swimmer 'a ****ing pansy, dickhead, STFU ya asshole, make me dickhead...' lol Lane Rage!. Maybe the culture is slightly more dog eat dog. Would be interesting to see if this is an issue on the continent or in the US.