Lane swimming : courtesy and discipline

[Flanker7 20]

Virgin Broadfield is 25 metres long and always roped off into lanes *. Fast , medium and slow in the first 3 lanes - IMO you shouldn't be in the fast lane if you don't do a length in 30 seconds.

 

* - During Aqua-aerobics they remove 1 or 2 lanes to allow the very big classes room. This is very annoying but I can't complain because there are many more of them than there are lane swimmers. So I avoid 11:15am - 12:15pm.

At about 4pm the swimming lessons start and they take 2 lanes, whilst the third lane is for 'family fun'. I avoid these times too.

 

My favourite times are:-

9am - When its serious good swimmers, mostly female, ploughing up and down at a cracking pace, for me. This eases off towards 10am.

1pm - 3:30pm - Usually loads of room and very little passing needed. If swimmers know what they're doing passing can be easily accomplished at the turn.

 

Its a pity about the lockdown closing of pools because the swimming part is clean and the infection potential is very small according to the ASA.  Its the changing room situation that has messed it up. Wild swimming anyone?

 

 

[Justin Smith 10]

On ‎18‎/‎09‎/‎2013 at 19:51, Flanker7 said:

Your comments all make sense.

But, if someone is obviously much slower than everyone else, or is swimming breaststroke in the 'fast' lane, its the life-guard job to ask them to move.

The life-guards rarely do anything.

My suggestion is for a time per 25metres to be displayed on the fast/medium/slow boards. This time can change to suit swimming numbers in the pool.

nb - I've nothing against breststrokers - if they can do the time.

I agree with you, they should be more pro active, but I've been swimming for over 30 years and I cannot remember the last time a lifeguard told a swimmer to get out of the fast lane. Actually I can come to think, of it. Me and my lad accidentally got into the fast lane at Hillsborough once (they'd moved all the lanes around) and the lifeguard came down off her high chair like greased lightning to tell us to get out, yet my lad, who was only just past his 6th birthday at the time, was actually a better swimmer than a fair proportion of the adults in that pool *. I'd have had every right to feel annoyed about it but in actual fact I didn't because they should be doing that, though more consistently, obviously.

 

* this is him diving to 8ft one week before his 4th birthday !

 

[Chekhov 488]

On 28/03/2020 at 14:04, Flanker7 said:

Virgin Broadfield is 25 metres long and always roped off into lanes *. Fast , medium and slow in the first 3 lanes - IMO you shouldn't be in the fast lane if you don't do a length in 30 seconds.

Not always...... I swim at Stocksbridge who use double width lanes. I was never that convinced by that idea but it can actually work reasonably well so long as swimmers have good lane discipline. I have learnt that slower swimmers (generally doing "head up" breast stroke) aren't really much of  a problem because they tend to stay right over, keep a good look out and and give way to faster swimmers. The ones you have to look out for are those doing freestyle but who are not as fast as they think they are. Those kind of swimmers rarely give way and think nothing of pushing off right in front of you as you come in to turn as "I have to leave on a time" *. I try to alter my set intervals to stay out of their way.....

 

*TBH I do not think anyone should be working off a strict interval in a lane swimming session unless they have a lane (or one side of a lane) to themselves.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Chekhov

[Chekhov 488]

TBH 

On 26/07/2022 at 12:07, Chekhov said:

Not always...... I swim at Stocksbridge who use double width lanes. I was never that convinced by that idea but it can actually work reasonably well so long as swimmers have good lane discipline. I have learnt that slower swimmers (generally doing "head up" breast stroke) aren't really much of  a problem because they tend to stay right over, keep a good look out and and give way to faster swimmers. The ones you have to look out for are those doing freestyle but who are not as fast as they think they are. Those kind of swimmers rarely give way and think nothing of pushing off right in front of you as you come in to turn as "I have to leave on a time" *. I try to alter my set intervals to stay out of their way.....

 

*TBH I do not think anyone should be working off a strict interval in a lane swimming session unless they have a lane (or one side of a lane) to themselves.

Not always.

The of the biggest problems is that many swimmers are determined to get in and "keep swimming continuously". They never stop for anyone, or even, it appears, even know where the other swimmers are, or who is faster than they are.

Then they moan about other swimmers being "selfish" when they overtake them !

The cheek of it ! !

I reckon before complaining about other swimmers they should to take the plank out of their own eye first......

Edited September 10, 2023 by Chekhov

[Chekhov 488]

Saw this sign at the end of a pool's "fast lane" today :

 

 

Twenty seconds per (25m) length is a bit too fast for the vast majority of swimmers (maybe 25, or even 30 would be more realistic), but the idea is sound, which is to make people think about which lane they should be in and what should be expected about swimming in the fast lane, i.e. that if you're slow you're going to get overtaken a lot.

So don't get annoyed about it, and don't even think of complaining about being overtaken.....

Swimmers complaining about being overtaken in the fast lane ?

Really ? ! ?

Yes, hard to believe it may be but that actually happens, I know that for a fact. Sod knows what they're thinking, but, as they say, there's nowt so queer as folk.....

Edited December 10, 2023 by Chekhov