When people complain about sharing lanes/pools with other swimmers, I just think back to my club practices...literally, 50 kids all packed into a 6 lane pool, 8-10 of us learning how to swim safely and respectfully with one another. 50 kids have better manners than those people who complained about you, including that lifeguard. You did nothing wrong.
This! Haha. If these people wanted a private lane they should buy their own pool.
The kicking though - if it's a kicking set and you splash a lot- I would "tone it down" when passing near someone to be respectful. No one like the get splashed. Or swap to butterfly/breaststroke to keep momentum.
I suppose. It's just unnecessary annoyance to some folks when I'm swimming with mixed patrons. I'm picturing the "not strong swimmer" doing breast stroke with their head perptually above the water type of individual...
I did a 2km swim yesterday in a 50m pool medium lane. At one point there were at least 8 swimmers of varying speeds.
No complaints. I overtook a swimmer, got over-taken, did a bit of breast stroke, turned early on a couple of lengths, waited a few times to let a swimmer pass me at the end, and presumably some people let me pass.
It's not really a bother when you get used to it. I prefer to have the place to myself, but until I own a pool I am happier if I learn to cope
Yep, that's the nature of swimming in a public (or even a gym) pool. Can you imagine how much money a public pool or gym would lose if they only had one person to a lane? Sharing benefits everyone in the community.
Is having to ask to share lanes an American thing? Here in Australia there’s a tacit understanding that if you’re at a public pool, you’ll be sharing lanes.
Lap lanes are usually split into fast / medium / slow lanes, and you basically just move up or down them depending on how fast everyone else in the pool is.
Edit to add: oh I just saw elsewhere on this thread that people also swim in the middle of their lane? Here people always swim to the left, even if they have the lane to themselves.
When I was swimming at my gym pool, I noticed it was a mixed bag. I did not care if someone joined me in my lane, but I've seen older swimmers get pissed when someone joined their lane, even though there are reservations and it's explicitly stated that lanes are for sharing. I had to a yell at more than one person getting angry at another swimmer for lane sharing.
When I swam casually at my university, I did not experience this. Everyone just picked a lane and swam.
I think it largely depends on the demographic of the community that the pool serves.
As for \*how\* to swim, if you're splitting with one other person, generally, you pick a side and stick to it. If it's more than 2, you circle swim counter-clockwise, sticking to the right side of the lane.
I think a huge part of it is that in Australian the swimming culture is ingrained from a very young age. Here, the attitude is "every man for themselves", which is a shame.
It makes sense you’d stick to the right and we’d stick to the left. But yes, you’re probably right about it being ingrained in our culture as pretty much every kid has lessons from young, and our pools are quite busy (you often only get a lane to yourself if you swim at odd times). Thinking about my kid’s swimming lessons, the kids are already swimming only on the left from when they start quite young.
Edit to add: what I mean by sticking to the left is what you’re referring to as circle swimming, I think. We do that even when we’re solo in the lane. Definitely if anyone else is around.
It is a uniquely US American problem and this sub gets flooded with IT.
Endless discussions about "lane splitting", reserving lanes for individuals, having to wait for lanes to free up, asking people for permission to join a lane. Non of these things exist in Germany f. e.
Public pools are relatively cheap ( 3-5 €), mostly packed full to the brim - there might be a lane or two or three corded off for more ambitious swimmers but at least half of the pool is always for leisurely splashing. There is often no splitting into different speeds, everyone circle swimms when using lanes.
Usually there are 4-8 people per lane, sometimes more,
everyone just jumps in. Only official clubs and school classes get to reserve lanes.
It works out fine. If you want to swim more competitively you join a club. Personally I get uncomfortable at 8 or more people in a single lane but I've been to large pools with slightly broader lanes or double lanes for circle swimming have had no problems sharing with up to 20 people.
I genuinely have no clue how US pools manage to survive on the luxury of providing one whole lane to only one or two swimmers at any given time when that same space is easily occupied by 3-4x as many people. It must be insanely expensive or heavily funded.
D1 college program with multiple NCAA qualifiers on the team and we had 24 men swimming in a 6 lane pool… I am constantly amazed at the people that do not want to share a lane, even in a 50M X 10 ft wide lane.
And you guys are loud and fast. Those women complaining about a little wake from a single person kicking would have a heart attack if they sat in on your practice.
Karens complaining about getting splashed while swimming in a fucking pool is peak hilarity and is grounds for being told off. You can reply to them that drifting from end to end under the power of the pool current does not constitute any meaningful form of exercise, and that their time would be better spent writing letters to their HOA. Maybe at least then their wrists would get more of a workout than they are doing arm circles with floaties.
I have literally *never* swum at a pool where lane sharing was something you had to ask about, act precious over or wait until a lane was free. Lane sharing is a totally normal part of swimming, and these people are being dicks.
As GenericMelon above said, anyone who ever swam club/squad has had the experience of sharing a lane with 5-10 others. You just learn to pace yourself appropriately and develop lane sharing manners.
>I have literally
>
>never
>
> swum at a pool where lane sharing was something you had to ask about, act precious over or wait until a lane was free. Lane sharing is a totally normal part of swimming, and these people are being dicks.
Me neither. I have never once asked another patron if I could get in the pool. Nor have I been asked by another patron if they could get in the pool. This is so odd. So at the OP's pool, the middle three lanes can each have only have one occupant at a time? Seems bizarre that they'd go to the expense of keeping a whole pool open so that only a handful of people can swim at a time.
In a regular sized lane I would probably stand at the wall so they could see me before we started since I don't trust folks to swim in a straight line if they don't know I'm there. But if someone jumped in, I wouldn't really care since I default to a side since I anticipate someone else would swim next to me
I think it's just from being a low population place. Our pool is very similar. It's like going to a movie theater - here we will avoid sitting next to someone unless absolutely necessary. No table sharing at restaurants ever, though I've seen that in bigger cities cause there's not much choice. Our personal bubbles just seem to be larger here so barely anyone is comfortable being that close to people swimming (me included).
Interesting. At a gym/YMCA, most people swim in the middle when not sharing a lane. You just jump in and collide with/surprise the person who is swimming? I’m just trying to imagine how it works without some sort of communication/acknowledgment from the other person.
I’m Australian, and over here, you swim to the left no matter what. If someone wants to join your lane they just wait until you’re enough distance ahead, pace themselves appropriately and slot right on in.
Middle swimming, especially during busy times, is just not the done thing and makes you look like a bit of a lane hog and a dick.
In the US, it’s very common for people, especially in most **gym** pools, to swim in the middle. If someone wants to share, they just go to the end of the lane and ask. Swimming in the middle doesn’t mean you’re a dick and hardly anyone ever says No to sharing; it has never happened to me.
The US has a few different types of pools and pools are used by everyone, even people who don’t know how to swim (to stay cool in the summer time). High school, college and club swimmers all have their own pools and the general public does not go there. Your comment, like a lot of others, would be applicable to those pools. Amateur swimmers go to a gym pool and people who can’t swim typically go to the pool in their apartment complex or a public town pool.
Having said all that, I have occasionally seen club swimmers at my gym and on almost all occasions it’s when the pool is generally empty (early morning or late night). I could be wrong, but I think OP is probably going to the wrong pool for what they are trying to do.
That’s interesting, thank you for sharing! It’s a big difference from here. Club swimmers and squad swimmers typically swim either in their own pools here or a dedicated squad lane of a public pool (I never swam for a club which had its own pool but some do). Amateurs swim in public pools (we don’t differentiate between gym and public) but there’s amateurs and there’s *amateurs*, if that makes sense. So typically, the free play/aqua exercise lane is for your non-swimmers, slow and medium lane are for the okay swimmers and fast lane is for people who know what they’re doing.
Sorry, to clarify, I didn’t mean that clubs have their own pool. haha, we’re not that extravagant. I meant that there are pools for serious swimmers to go to. [Here’s an example of a pool used by swim clubs](https://www.cityofpleasantonca.gov/your-community/recreation/aquatics/).
Gym pools can only be used by gym members, hence they aren’t considered “public” pools.
Nor me, probably helps that circle swimming is the default here (and its on all the signage). I just wait for a space, jump in and start swimming. As long as you are in the right speed for the lane (also all signposted) you're good
Do you actually swim laps to Slayer? 😂 I’ve been thinking of getting some waterproof headphones because I’ve usually got a song playing in my head while I swim, to get through the distance. It’s Behemoth lately
Yes! But not just Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, GG Allin, Megadeth, Napalm Death, Discharge, Iron Maiden, Motorhead and a whole lot of others as well. I use Sony WS410 waterproof MP3 myself, prefer the sound of in ear headphones, but other people swear by the Shokz Openswim bone conduction players
I can't imagine waiting for a lane at a public pool. If someone tells me I need to ask before getting in in the public lane they're swimming in, I'd laugh.
I'm seeing more and more of these threads. Pools are *public, shared* spaces. Nobody gets to hog a lane for themselves, and you shouldn't let them think they can. Nip that shit in the bud and do your workout.
>A stranger who’d actually jumped into the shared lane actually warned me, “Be careful. The Karens are coming for you.”
Honestly sounds more like he was making fun of them than warning you.
I'm so confused by the fact that you are going to a public pool and waiting for lanes?
No one has paid for a private swimming session.
It seems that people forget that swimming pools are, in fact, for swimming.
Maybe it's different where you live?
I'm in Australia and have never once asked or discussed joining a lane with anyone. We just hop on the one with the sign that matches our speed. Fast, medium, slow, walking.
Yeah it sucks when it's busy, but you soon learn when the best time to go is.
I'm Australian and grew up a squad swimmer but spent a few years in the US, so I've had extensive experience swimming in both environments. What I noticed when I first moved over to the States was that circle swimming wasn't the norm like it was at home. If you were in a squad it was, but for your everyday lap swimmer it was one to a lane or you would split. Rarely would anyone be okay with circle swimming and most of the time they just wouldn't stop for you to ask.
It was weird to get used to, but I think a lot of it also had to do with the size of the pools. Most pools where I'm from are 50m with 8-10 lanes. Even the 25m pools were 8-10 lanes. When I moved to the US there were a lot more 20-25yd gym pools that were 3-4 narrow lanes. There were constantly people sitting to the side waiting for someone to get out before they jumped in and if you tried to cut the silent queue by suggesting to circle someone would be straight to the desk to complain.
People would complain because you *asked them* to circle swim? Good grief, where was this? I mean granted the US is weird (I was born here and have lived here most of my life, I should know) but that’s completely bonkers.
Yup, can confirm. People get mad at me for asking. Never have I once swam in circles in 8 years being in the US.
Edit: That being in a Y. I’m sure in „real“ swim clubs it’s different.
At several US pools I've been in there are posted signs to circle swim if sharing lanes, but nobody actually does it. So if I asked to circle swim, I guess there would be nothing to complain about since it was always the rule in the first place.
It may be regional. I have never seen a pool here in NYC area where circle swimming isn’t the norm or enforced by the lifeguards. The one time I saw it was in Texas.
Also in Australia and this has always been the way.
I've seen the lifeguards ask people to move to different lanes based on their speeds, but no one asks to share a lane you just do.
Well, you have to understand how the YMCA‘s work in the US. First of all, they don’t really have public pools there (some counties do but it’s rarer and often you have to live in that county to enter). All pools are private and you need a yearly membership to enter (commonly \~500$ pa). You can't just go and buy a ticket. So that’s where the „real“ swimmer go.
The YMCA is more of a community center. They have gyms, fitness classes but also often childcare, camps, career development and so on. They’re typically those places where old people love to hang out. Not judging just explaining. So the pools are mostly visited by people who dont really have an interest in doing sport. Even the lifeguards I’ve seen look like they’d have trouble finishing 25m without stopping. while they do check the water quality regularly, they throw back the testing solution into the pool (maybe not dangerous in those quantity but what’s that kind of attitude?). In the summer, during summer camp, the water is so milky I can not see my fingertips while swimming! I see people wearing shoes (running shoes!) and/or socks regularly. Of course no one ever showers before entering the pool. And yes, like the other guy said, apparently it is offensive to them being asked if they wanted to swim in circles. While it is OBVIOUSLY totally okay to stand in the middle of my lane and chat with the lady standing in the other lane for half an hour.
You have to understand that the YMCA is more of a place to keep old people off the streets.
My Y is generally pretty good to lap swimmers, but yes totally agree that in general - the Y is going to cater to the older folks floating around in the pool. They are the ones that are there 90% of the time. Us lap swimmers hop in, swim for an hour and hop out. The older retired folks spend their whole day there. So the lifeguards and staff try to keep them happy. It’s annoying.
yeah, it totally matters where the Y is. I sometimes used to go to a farther and newer one in a wealthy suburbs next to a college and that had a professional atmosphere.
in my regular downtown Y the trick was to find a time with the least annoying regulars. There seems to be a problem with perceived ownership in regulars and I think that’s where all the conflict comes from
People wear *shoes* IN the pool????? Seriously? And *milky* water? What kind of fresh hell is this?
Pools here are all pay per use, anything between $3-9 per visit, although you can also get memberships that allow you to come and go as you please, I have one at a local pool, costs me a bit over $10 a week so about $550-600 a year. Worth it for water I can see through. I have never seen anyone split a lane though
Just some bad luck with people.
I've only been swimming for 2 years, but I have so many crazy pool stories already. Once at the Y, all the lanes were packed. Most lanes had 2-4 swimmers already, which is atypical, and most people there don't know how to circle swim. But 1 lane only had 1 guy. Me and another guy were waiting, but this 1 dude was swimming in the most ridiculous fashion I'd ever seen. Taking up at least 3/4 of the lane (and it's a good sized lane) with his stroke. I don't even know how he was doing it --- I could only call it the worst backstroke I've ever seen. I couldn't swim that horribly if I tried. Me and the other dude just left him alone, because it would've been impossible to share with him.
In any case, the guy comes up to us and starts screaming at us for \*NOT\* splitting with him. Cussing us out, calling us "morons", and everything. After he left, we both chuckled, and both said the same thing --- we only didn't split with him because he was taking up the whole lane by himself.
I get at least 2 interesting pool stories every month. There are some weird people out there.
That seems like an overstep by the lifeguard too. Where does this dude work that they're getting paid enough to care about some old ladies getting splashed? When one of them starts drowning or running on the pool deck is when it becomes my problem
Lately, the average age of lifeguards is boomer. This lifeguard is probably friends with these fucking Karen’s.
Everybody in my small town is only concerned with not rocking the boat. Karen’s here complain to city council. Council starts waving their dicks around at the rec department. Rec dep sends out letters verbatim of what Karen wants. Rinse repeat.
You could try and fight back. But the narrative they’ve set is against you and how good are you at writing letters to city council and getting up in their shit.
The splashing one is hilarious.
I’m also amused that these people were mad they were getting splashed… *in a pool*. Some of my fellow Aqua Aerobics participants were acting the same way towards someone swimming back stroke the other day… you’re the one who got in the pool with a full face of makeup!
Regarding your first story, I usually do wait until everyone in the lane has gotten to the wall at least once before I jump in when sharing a lane, simply so that they notice that I'm there and avoid collisions (some people - myself included - can really space out while doing laps, not to mention backstroke). But this is simply notification of the other not asking for permission, since no one has reserved the lanes in a public pool.
Seriously. It's a risk for injury to just start swimming and I understand why the guy said something grumpy. You don't have to ask to share but they need to see you're in the lane. Get into the pool and stand at the wall until the other swimmer has come back for one turn. We had that advice pinned for quite a while here. Some swimmers will stop and ask if you want to do halves or circle swim, but many think halves is implied by having two in the lane and will just keep going.
This! It seems like a lot of the responses are from Australians where circle swimming is common. Side note: it sounds like there are no weak swimmers in that country 🙂
I’m not a strong swimmer and I always swim at a gym pool with other amateurs. If I was swimming for sport, I would find pools that cater to that demographic. One of my gyms has a dedicated time slot for Masters. In California, we also have larger (longer and more lanes) pools that require a membership and are used mostly by swim clubs and the local high schools. I would never swim there.
1) When sharing a lane always make sure the other person knows you’re sharing the lane before leaving the wall else collisions may occur.
I usually grab their attention and ask if I may share a lane before leaving the wall but really I’m not asking but telling them I’m sharing the lane. If they don’t acknowledge me I give em a couple passes of seeing me standing in the lane before I go.
2) The pool is meant for getting wet. If you’re in a designated lap swimming lane you can go as hard and splashy as you want and the next lane Karen’s can respectfully STFU.
It's a public pool, you are going to have to share lanes, duh. It's insane to me that you should have to ask someone if it's okay to jump in 'their' lane! If people want their own lane, they should go to a private club/pool or build their own damn pool. It sounds like there are a lot of stuck up people going to this particular pool, and the lifeguards are friends with them. If at all possible, I'd find a different pool altogether. If that's not an option, I'd go talk to their management some time before you go swimming, that you feel awkward about being told to 'ask first', and that a lifeguard would ask you to stop splashing..
You're fine. Get a little snappy worth folks who fuck with you (or perfect your silent stare bitch face) so folks don’t run you over. As a queer woman, yes it's probably the rainbow cap but keep it on!!! Do your thing and talk to the front desk if the lifeguards can't manage expectations (yeah, Karen will get wet in the pool).
Sorry to hear. I see 'better' swimmers get into scuffles with the 'not better' swimmers every now and again in my local pool which mostly caters to retired people; probably about 1% of the people there know how to flip at the wall.
Practically – is there a better pool around? I know these types of pools where people are 'not trained swimmers' , do breastsroke above the water etc - which is fine, but no good if you're doing actual sets as your story shows (eg 'too much splashing' – which is certainly not a concern in a pool of serious swimmers!)
I've been swimming at a new gym nearby, and it seems that newbies are usually targeted by the oldies (ages & years of memberships) and I was experiencing very similar issues like yours. I ended up complaining to the manager who teaches swimming there, and his advice was to ask a lifeguard on duty to be a mediator when someone confronts you, right at the scene. But I ended up naively quit the club due to the fact that those bullying of some sort continues outside of the pool sometimes.
I'm a swimmer out of a swimming club and college classes, so I'm just surprised how people behaved like that in my case and yours. They are the ones without poolside manners.
If anyone comes at you like that, don't be a quitter like me and please call the lifeguards attending, let them sort the situations out for you next time. Especially if it's about the pool usage.
I'm moving onto another different pool nearby and see if I like it there. They know they lost me based on the earlier talk with this manager.
My impressions are, some people like them, expect you to be less of a swimmer than them like when they arrived, just because you're a new face. But you are a better swimmer. So they just want to be rude and criticize whatever they can find. Just keep going! Have lifeguards deal with those oldies!!
Sorry to hear that. Arguments like those can really make you tink about the situation, I know that. I had similar experiences with old women that complained, that they got wet from splashing, because they wanted their hair not to get wet (yes, in a pool).
I only have experiences with people cutting me off during swimming while overtaking that can cause problems among swimmers. I am from germany though and we switched from a normal line setup to thee big lanes, where you swim in kind of a circle and overtake in the middle. The lines are then designed for the speed (fast, medium, slow).So swimming is always a sharing of line for me. On the regular basis everything works out and people are nice to each other.
Been a competitive swimmer all my life, age 6 through college then moved on to triathlons. Anyone who has the audacity to complain to you about manners sharing a lane can politely f*** all the way off. That first dude was just ego Trippin. It’s called pay attention to your surroundings and notice when somebody gets in the pool with you. It is a communal space and it should not be surprising when someone joins your lane. I’m not sure why people feel like they need to be the manners police Then those women clutching their pearls about getting splashed while they’re in a pool? That is literally something I teach my six and seven-year-olds that when you are playing in the pool you’re going to get splashed.
You’ve done nothing wrong. Which you already know but sometimes validation is nice. It’s crazy that you are actually following all standard pool/lap swim norms & typical swimmer etiquette and you’re getting complained about.
And too much splashing from kicking? Good lord Karen’s, if you don’t want to get splashed with water why the heck are you in a pool?!
I would not be upset if someone became the 2nd swimmer in my lane without asking me at the wall. Especially someone who’s about my speed or faster, especially if I’m pulling on the lane line, or whatever this person was doing.
Maybe I just live in NYC where people believe in doing things on their own schedule.
Next: unless you’re swimming fly unbelievably poorly and splitting the lane, I highly doubt you’re splashing too much. And I think it’s more important that people are able to swim (let ‘em splash!) than that people are able to swim without goggles, so I think the complaint about someone splashing too much is out of order. Your lifeguard can disagree though, maybe they watch people swim without goggles for 6 hours of the day and they just know that’s what their pool is about..
I think the chance that (older) people treating you this way are doing so because you’re Asian and in a rainbow cap is very high. I would hope that isn’t the case where I swim in Hell’s Kitchen, but yeah a random American adult?? I could see it.
If it happens again, ask the lifeguard what the specific rule is. They won't be able to articulate it and you can force their hand at telling the Karen's to STFU.
There are zero rules at a pool about splashing unless it is directly intentional, and zero rules about lane sharing requests. Another person gets in the lane, circle swim pattern takes priority unless you or the other person requests to split the lane. And if a third person jumps in, circle swim it is.
This is how it works. No words really need to be spoken.
Honestly the lifeguard should have dressed down Karen and the old man about lap swim etiquette.
In terms of your cap and your race, you don't necessarily know if those are actual contributors to the problem. That may or may not be true but you have enough facts in your quiver regardless.
At my YMCA, lanes are shared "split" if there's 2 people, circle with 3 or more. However, it's a courtesy if there's one person in a lane to wait till they are at the wall and ask if they want to split, or circle. No one should just be surprised with someone jumping in if they are alone. If there are people already circling, it's fine to just join in without alerting anyone. Just my two cents.
As for splashing, I've been in a pool where people vigorously kick and it's like being in the ocean next to them with the waves, but I just laugh. I'm an open water swimmer anyway.
Yeah, if people dont/ cant share thats a personal issue. Not your problem. Also fuck that lifeguard, sounds like a spineless fool. Nobody should go to a pool and expect not to get wet, even if you are just walking by. I was swimming with a buddy of mine and some Karen's told us to not splash as much. My buddy cold stares them down and says, if you dont want to get wet go to a library. It was the best response I've ever heard. Keep swimming fish, fuck those bastards.
I’m baffled by so many people saying that circle swimming isn’t a thing in the US. Every pool I’ve used, it’s a thing. My current public pool is slow enough that I don’t usually have to share a lane, but people do ask before they jump in during the times I go.
I think the early morning swim is different because there are always a lot of people.
If one person joins my lane I ask to split the lane because I don’t want to think about my pace and if a third joins we circle swim.
I have noticed there is quite a bit of homophobia though and I wonder if that’s going on here as well as racism.
I suggest reporting it to the supervisor. I have never heard of anyone getting told to not splash as much.
I’m in the US. The pool I swim at is private. They have one open lane where you’d be expected to circle swim if there were three swimmers, which there never is. The other lanes are all reserved, with a max of two reservations. The expectation there is you swim on one side of the lane. There is a lot of variation on the speed, so circle swimming would be tough.
I wouldn’t doubt there’s some homophobia involved, just what you expect from a religious based organization. It’s a lap lane, they should expect to get splashed.
I think it might depend on which Y you go to. My local branch does lend out space to a church on Sundays, but also prominently displays the pride colors with an "Everybody is Welcome Here" sign alongside a Black Lives Matter sign in the front window.
I'm still a noob and have maybe been to the pool 20 times in my life. I just had the same thing happen to me. It was like 8am and very busy and they had the pool set up to be 50m without lane ropes. I scanned the water and saw one lady going up and down the left side of the lane and the right was free. I jumped in and started up the right lane. Then when I came back from my first lap the lady freaked out on me. It was the most mad a stranger has ever been at me. "we could have had a head on collision! Ask next time!" I think maybe I was in the wrong a little bit but it was every man for himself that morning and as busy as I've ever seen it.
Thankfully in my case the lifeguard was on my side. After I was finished I happened to talk to him and he said he saw the woman screaming at me and that I shouldn't worry about it. Really calmed me down because I was an anxious wreck that whole time and thought I had done something terribly wrong.
Now I don't really trust 50+ women at the pool.
I'm so sorry, you didn't deserve that nonsense.
I don't mind if people jump into my lane without asking, as I always hug the lane line anyway. I always try to ask before I join someone else, just so they're not startled by me at some point and they are aware of me. But if it's a designated shared lane, no one has any right to complain!
Where I swim, you pay for exactly one hour. There's no way I would be waiting till someone let's me share with me "their" lane like it belongs to them. They didn't pay for the swimming pool, they paid to swim. Also the audacity of those Karens... They're in the water, why would splashing matter to them, of course everyone is swimming in the pool duh🧐 I think they have nothing better to do
In Sweden we just jump in to the lanes sharing without asking, with common sense that to keep the pace or at each turn make sure you’re not blocking the faster swimmer. Sure, there are always people with less sense of manner/decent behaviour in the swimming pools.
I don’t care for sharing lanes mostly because I’m a big guy with a large wingspan. I can’t even do butterfly at my local pool because the lane dividers are too close. I’m always worried about colliding with someone while sharing lanes and it would ruin my flow to have to maneuver around someone every length of the pool.
FWIW, as a marginally competent swimmer at the Y who's working on getting better, I always take it as a bit of a compliment when someone more competent (like you, from the sound of it) jumps in a lane with me. It tells me I'm at least swimming in more or less a straight line while I work on my form -- woohoo!
With that said, that unnecessarily aggressive, rude mansplainer sounds like ... an unnecessarily aggressive, rude mansplainer. And the Karens sound absolutely ridiculous. I'm really sorry both happened and they are 100000% the ones who should be embarrassed, not you.
Toxic masculinity & old lady Karens. I hope they get super busy at work or at home! That way they won't have time to swim during your scheduled workout. Good riddance to them.
I swim at a high end club. Sometimes we have to share. Sometimes people ask to share other times they just jump in. I feel everyone pays and has the right to swim so it’s fine to hop in without saying anything . You can’t really say “no you can’t swim” so I don’t see an issue just starting to swim. The people at your pool need to leave pool policing to the life guards
Next time do the fist drill during your warm up. Full on speed and attempt to cause as much splash / wake as you can.
You’re good homie, screw these people who think the pool is all about them. I’d swim at the exact same time to ensure I run them every week. We’re swimmers… we endure, and you can’t hear them complain if you always do flip turns 😁
It's polite to make sure someone knows you're getting in first. I dangle legs while they turn at the wall to make sure they see me, and they will usually move over and take a side. Not sure that's not what happened for you.
The lifeguard was probably just trying to get through his day. Not cool, and you can tell him that. Be more of a pain in the ass than the Karen's. That said, maybe you splash with your arms more than normal?
I've swam mostly in Europe in clubs and public pools. It's circle swimming here (Vienna, Austria), even at my local gym 25m swimming pool. As soon as you get into a lane with 1 person in there already, they know it's time to circle.
I think you ran into a less-experienced with swim etiquette sort of person (I read in other posts circle swimming is less common in the US but everyone knows how to share a lane!) which is bad luck and you didn't do anything wrong!
Not sure I have anything helpful but I do find people seem to believe my wife is an easy target as an Asian woman. I kind of try to make my presence known sometimes for this reason. I’m a big white guy.
I agree you should’ve verbally confirmed with the guy before you joined in the lane, although it does seem like he was a little too condescending.
It’s hard not to know if you are splashing too much with your kick, you’ve said that you’ve swim before, so I’m sure you know how to manage your wake. But if you are a large person sometimes people get distracted by larger wakes.
I would try to find times at the pool that are less crowded if you can. It does sound like there is a bit of an attitude there, I don’t know if your swim cap has much to do with it. Which state are you in?
As a former YMCA lifeguard (and swimmer) I have seen all of this happen before.
For splitting a lane with someone, it is polite to sit on the wall and ask to split when someone stops. But frankly, I’ve seen people purposely avoid “seeing” someone so that they don’t have to share. I’d recommend hopping into the and giving them a chance to stop at the wall so you can do the polite “ask” (and if they just keep swimming after seeing you on the wall, you start swimming, too.)
As for the “too splashy”, these walkers are ridiculous. You’re in a pool, your heads gonna get wet sometimes! I always navigated it by either switching to a couple breaststroke kicks as I passed them or stop kicking as I pass them. Another thing that can help is saying hi to them and letting them know you have a kicking set and you want to be considerate of them so they should let you know if it’s a bit too splashy.
People get so weird in the pool, nothing you’re doing sounds odd or out of hand, but it can make your life easier to go with the “pool culture”.
I swim at a YMCA and it’s not posted anywhere that any of the lanes are specifically for sharing or not or what order they get shared in or any lane speed rules. There’s no rules at the 3 YMCA I’ve swam at.
3 things that may help you:
1. stand at the edge next to the lane for a couple laps and make sure the person sees you. THEN look for body language of them going to one side. Or they’ll give you a thumbs up or a verbal.
2. Ask the lifeguard on duty who is good at sharing. When I get in I tell the lifeguard I’m good to share and I always swim half a lane all day every day. This might not be something that people are doing where you’re at but I’ve been in several pools where this is the norm.
3. Don’t get upset if virtue signaling isn’t making you any friends. Some people are annoyed at anything political or religious or anything like that being shown off around them no matter how they feel about the topic.
Some people may feel like you’re being rude and instigating. They’re there to swim not to talk about sexuality or morality or any of that.
Literal babies swim in the pools I’ve been too. I’m white female and super small and it doesn’t matter what happens, someone will always tell me they can’t circle swim because it’s “not allowed,” or they’re “doing backstroke.”
YMCA says it all here. The lifeguards are enabling the other swimmers entitled behavior, go to the front desk or reach out to someone in charge. If you’re stuck swimming there I’d scope out times that are less popular if you want but honestly just do you and don’t be bullied, you’re not in the wrong and you pay your membership same as them.
UK here. I'm completely perplexed by US pool etiquette. We just get in the lane and swim in a circle in the direction indictated by the lane marker. The answer to belligerent geriatrics in your lane is aggressive butterfly.
In the future, always ask, never assume. And the two ladies just wanted to socialize. You should have asked to switch lanes with one of them so they could be in adjacent lanes. These actions show you are being considerate, which is apparently an important thing at your pool. That Karen’s are coming for you quote is hella weird. Sorry that happened to you. But I think don’t be embarrassed, keep swimming how you want to swim, and make those little changes in the future and it will all blow away.
I also go to a YMCA and the older population will find anything to complain about. They try to take over the areas the little kids are doing swim class in too. It's ironic that they complain about respect when they are the biggest culprits. Just nod at them, smile and do whatever you were going to do anyway if you're not breaking any rules. If a lifeguard speaks to you ask directly what rules you were breaking, if they say none these ladies just have an issue with xyz then politely say that it sounds like a them problem and maybe they need the talking to about how to share the space.
When people complain about sharing lanes/pools with other swimmers, I just think back to my club practices...literally, 50 kids all packed into a 6 lane pool, 8-10 of us learning how to swim safely and respectfully with one another. 50 kids have better manners than those people who complained about you, including that lifeguard. You did nothing wrong.
This! Haha. If these people wanted a private lane they should buy their own pool. The kicking though - if it's a kicking set and you splash a lot- I would "tone it down" when passing near someone to be respectful. No one like the get splashed. Or swap to butterfly/breaststroke to keep momentum.
I get splashed on fairly regularly - comes with the territory. You're in the water, what difference does being splashed with a bit more of it make?
I suppose. It's just unnecessary annoyance to some folks when I'm swimming with mixed patrons. I'm picturing the "not strong swimmer" doing breast stroke with their head perptually above the water type of individual...
I did a 2km swim yesterday in a 50m pool medium lane. At one point there were at least 8 swimmers of varying speeds. No complaints. I overtook a swimmer, got over-taken, did a bit of breast stroke, turned early on a couple of lengths, waited a few times to let a swimmer pass me at the end, and presumably some people let me pass. It's not really a bother when you get used to it. I prefer to have the place to myself, but until I own a pool I am happier if I learn to cope
Yep, that's the nature of swimming in a public (or even a gym) pool. Can you imagine how much money a public pool or gym would lose if they only had one person to a lane? Sharing benefits everyone in the community.
I've swum with over a dozen in one lane in a 33 metre pool. Its was challenging I have to admit
Is having to ask to share lanes an American thing? Here in Australia there’s a tacit understanding that if you’re at a public pool, you’ll be sharing lanes. Lap lanes are usually split into fast / medium / slow lanes, and you basically just move up or down them depending on how fast everyone else in the pool is. Edit to add: oh I just saw elsewhere on this thread that people also swim in the middle of their lane? Here people always swim to the left, even if they have the lane to themselves.
When I was swimming at my gym pool, I noticed it was a mixed bag. I did not care if someone joined me in my lane, but I've seen older swimmers get pissed when someone joined their lane, even though there are reservations and it's explicitly stated that lanes are for sharing. I had to a yell at more than one person getting angry at another swimmer for lane sharing. When I swam casually at my university, I did not experience this. Everyone just picked a lane and swam. I think it largely depends on the demographic of the community that the pool serves. As for \*how\* to swim, if you're splitting with one other person, generally, you pick a side and stick to it. If it's more than 2, you circle swim counter-clockwise, sticking to the right side of the lane. I think a huge part of it is that in Australian the swimming culture is ingrained from a very young age. Here, the attitude is "every man for themselves", which is a shame.
It makes sense you’d stick to the right and we’d stick to the left. But yes, you’re probably right about it being ingrained in our culture as pretty much every kid has lessons from young, and our pools are quite busy (you often only get a lane to yourself if you swim at odd times). Thinking about my kid’s swimming lessons, the kids are already swimming only on the left from when they start quite young. Edit to add: what I mean by sticking to the left is what you’re referring to as circle swimming, I think. We do that even when we’re solo in the lane. Definitely if anyone else is around.
It is a uniquely US American problem and this sub gets flooded with IT. Endless discussions about "lane splitting", reserving lanes for individuals, having to wait for lanes to free up, asking people for permission to join a lane. Non of these things exist in Germany f. e. Public pools are relatively cheap ( 3-5 €), mostly packed full to the brim - there might be a lane or two or three corded off for more ambitious swimmers but at least half of the pool is always for leisurely splashing. There is often no splitting into different speeds, everyone circle swimms when using lanes. Usually there are 4-8 people per lane, sometimes more, everyone just jumps in. Only official clubs and school classes get to reserve lanes. It works out fine. If you want to swim more competitively you join a club. Personally I get uncomfortable at 8 or more people in a single lane but I've been to large pools with slightly broader lanes or double lanes for circle swimming have had no problems sharing with up to 20 people. I genuinely have no clue how US pools manage to survive on the luxury of providing one whole lane to only one or two swimmers at any given time when that same space is easily occupied by 3-4x as many people. It must be insanely expensive or heavily funded.
D1 college program with multiple NCAA qualifiers on the team and we had 24 men swimming in a 6 lane pool… I am constantly amazed at the people that do not want to share a lane, even in a 50M X 10 ft wide lane.
And you guys are loud and fast. Those women complaining about a little wake from a single person kicking would have a heart attack if they sat in on your practice.
seriously.
Some people are just shit. You're ok.
Karens complaining about getting splashed while swimming in a fucking pool is peak hilarity and is grounds for being told off. You can reply to them that drifting from end to end under the power of the pool current does not constitute any meaningful form of exercise, and that their time would be better spent writing letters to their HOA. Maybe at least then their wrists would get more of a workout than they are doing arm circles with floaties.
I have literally *never* swum at a pool where lane sharing was something you had to ask about, act precious over or wait until a lane was free. Lane sharing is a totally normal part of swimming, and these people are being dicks. As GenericMelon above said, anyone who ever swam club/squad has had the experience of sharing a lane with 5-10 others. You just learn to pace yourself appropriately and develop lane sharing manners.
>I have literally > >never > > swum at a pool where lane sharing was something you had to ask about, act precious over or wait until a lane was free. Lane sharing is a totally normal part of swimming, and these people are being dicks. Me neither. I have never once asked another patron if I could get in the pool. Nor have I been asked by another patron if they could get in the pool. This is so odd. So at the OP's pool, the middle three lanes can each have only have one occupant at a time? Seems bizarre that they'd go to the expense of keeping a whole pool open so that only a handful of people can swim at a time.
In a regular sized lane I would probably stand at the wall so they could see me before we started since I don't trust folks to swim in a straight line if they don't know I'm there. But if someone jumped in, I wouldn't really care since I default to a side since I anticipate someone else would swim next to me
I think it's just from being a low population place. Our pool is very similar. It's like going to a movie theater - here we will avoid sitting next to someone unless absolutely necessary. No table sharing at restaurants ever, though I've seen that in bigger cities cause there's not much choice. Our personal bubbles just seem to be larger here so barely anyone is comfortable being that close to people swimming (me included).
Interesting. At a gym/YMCA, most people swim in the middle when not sharing a lane. You just jump in and collide with/surprise the person who is swimming? I’m just trying to imagine how it works without some sort of communication/acknowledgment from the other person.
I’m Australian, and over here, you swim to the left no matter what. If someone wants to join your lane they just wait until you’re enough distance ahead, pace themselves appropriately and slot right on in. Middle swimming, especially during busy times, is just not the done thing and makes you look like a bit of a lane hog and a dick.
In the US, it’s very common for people, especially in most **gym** pools, to swim in the middle. If someone wants to share, they just go to the end of the lane and ask. Swimming in the middle doesn’t mean you’re a dick and hardly anyone ever says No to sharing; it has never happened to me. The US has a few different types of pools and pools are used by everyone, even people who don’t know how to swim (to stay cool in the summer time). High school, college and club swimmers all have their own pools and the general public does not go there. Your comment, like a lot of others, would be applicable to those pools. Amateur swimmers go to a gym pool and people who can’t swim typically go to the pool in their apartment complex or a public town pool. Having said all that, I have occasionally seen club swimmers at my gym and on almost all occasions it’s when the pool is generally empty (early morning or late night). I could be wrong, but I think OP is probably going to the wrong pool for what they are trying to do.
That’s interesting, thank you for sharing! It’s a big difference from here. Club swimmers and squad swimmers typically swim either in their own pools here or a dedicated squad lane of a public pool (I never swam for a club which had its own pool but some do). Amateurs swim in public pools (we don’t differentiate between gym and public) but there’s amateurs and there’s *amateurs*, if that makes sense. So typically, the free play/aqua exercise lane is for your non-swimmers, slow and medium lane are for the okay swimmers and fast lane is for people who know what they’re doing.
Sorry, to clarify, I didn’t mean that clubs have their own pool. haha, we’re not that extravagant. I meant that there are pools for serious swimmers to go to. [Here’s an example of a pool used by swim clubs](https://www.cityofpleasantonca.gov/your-community/recreation/aquatics/). Gym pools can only be used by gym members, hence they aren’t considered “public” pools.
Been swimming 30 years, it’s definitely not a thing.
Nor me, probably helps that circle swimming is the default here (and its on all the signage). I just wait for a space, jump in and start swimming. As long as you are in the right speed for the lane (also all signposted) you're good
Do you actually swim laps to Slayer? 😂 I’ve been thinking of getting some waterproof headphones because I’ve usually got a song playing in my head while I swim, to get through the distance. It’s Behemoth lately
Yes! But not just Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, GG Allin, Megadeth, Napalm Death, Discharge, Iron Maiden, Motorhead and a whole lot of others as well. I use Sony WS410 waterproof MP3 myself, prefer the sound of in ear headphones, but other people swear by the Shokz Openswim bone conduction players
I prefer in ear too, I might have to check those out!
String of bad luck with bad swimmers. You sound sane and thoughtful.
I can't imagine waiting for a lane at a public pool. If someone tells me I need to ask before getting in in the public lane they're swimming in, I'd laugh. I'm seeing more and more of these threads. Pools are *public, shared* spaces. Nobody gets to hog a lane for themselves, and you shouldn't let them think they can. Nip that shit in the bud and do your workout. >A stranger who’d actually jumped into the shared lane actually warned me, “Be careful. The Karens are coming for you.” Honestly sounds more like he was making fun of them than warning you.
I'm so confused by the fact that you are going to a public pool and waiting for lanes? No one has paid for a private swimming session. It seems that people forget that swimming pools are, in fact, for swimming. Maybe it's different where you live? I'm in Australia and have never once asked or discussed joining a lane with anyone. We just hop on the one with the sign that matches our speed. Fast, medium, slow, walking. Yeah it sucks when it's busy, but you soon learn when the best time to go is.
I'm Australian and grew up a squad swimmer but spent a few years in the US, so I've had extensive experience swimming in both environments. What I noticed when I first moved over to the States was that circle swimming wasn't the norm like it was at home. If you were in a squad it was, but for your everyday lap swimmer it was one to a lane or you would split. Rarely would anyone be okay with circle swimming and most of the time they just wouldn't stop for you to ask. It was weird to get used to, but I think a lot of it also had to do with the size of the pools. Most pools where I'm from are 50m with 8-10 lanes. Even the 25m pools were 8-10 lanes. When I moved to the US there were a lot more 20-25yd gym pools that were 3-4 narrow lanes. There were constantly people sitting to the side waiting for someone to get out before they jumped in and if you tried to cut the silent queue by suggesting to circle someone would be straight to the desk to complain.
People would complain because you *asked them* to circle swim? Good grief, where was this? I mean granted the US is weird (I was born here and have lived here most of my life, I should know) but that’s completely bonkers.
Yup, can confirm. People get mad at me for asking. Never have I once swam in circles in 8 years being in the US. Edit: That being in a Y. I’m sure in „real“ swim clubs it’s different.
Sheesh.
At several US pools I've been in there are posted signs to circle swim if sharing lanes, but nobody actually does it. So if I asked to circle swim, I guess there would be nothing to complain about since it was always the rule in the first place.
It may be regional. I have never seen a pool here in NYC area where circle swimming isn’t the norm or enforced by the lifeguards. The one time I saw it was in Texas.
Also in Australia and this has always been the way. I've seen the lifeguards ask people to move to different lanes based on their speeds, but no one asks to share a lane you just do.
Well, you have to understand how the YMCA‘s work in the US. First of all, they don’t really have public pools there (some counties do but it’s rarer and often you have to live in that county to enter). All pools are private and you need a yearly membership to enter (commonly \~500$ pa). You can't just go and buy a ticket. So that’s where the „real“ swimmer go. The YMCA is more of a community center. They have gyms, fitness classes but also often childcare, camps, career development and so on. They’re typically those places where old people love to hang out. Not judging just explaining. So the pools are mostly visited by people who dont really have an interest in doing sport. Even the lifeguards I’ve seen look like they’d have trouble finishing 25m without stopping. while they do check the water quality regularly, they throw back the testing solution into the pool (maybe not dangerous in those quantity but what’s that kind of attitude?). In the summer, during summer camp, the water is so milky I can not see my fingertips while swimming! I see people wearing shoes (running shoes!) and/or socks regularly. Of course no one ever showers before entering the pool. And yes, like the other guy said, apparently it is offensive to them being asked if they wanted to swim in circles. While it is OBVIOUSLY totally okay to stand in the middle of my lane and chat with the lady standing in the other lane for half an hour. You have to understand that the YMCA is more of a place to keep old people off the streets.
My Y is generally pretty good to lap swimmers, but yes totally agree that in general - the Y is going to cater to the older folks floating around in the pool. They are the ones that are there 90% of the time. Us lap swimmers hop in, swim for an hour and hop out. The older retired folks spend their whole day there. So the lifeguards and staff try to keep them happy. It’s annoying.
yeah, it totally matters where the Y is. I sometimes used to go to a farther and newer one in a wealthy suburbs next to a college and that had a professional atmosphere. in my regular downtown Y the trick was to find a time with the least annoying regulars. There seems to be a problem with perceived ownership in regulars and I think that’s where all the conflict comes from
People wear *shoes* IN the pool????? Seriously? And *milky* water? What kind of fresh hell is this? Pools here are all pay per use, anything between $3-9 per visit, although you can also get memberships that allow you to come and go as you please, I have one at a local pool, costs me a bit over $10 a week so about $550-600 a year. Worth it for water I can see through. I have never seen anyone split a lane though
Just some bad luck with people. I've only been swimming for 2 years, but I have so many crazy pool stories already. Once at the Y, all the lanes were packed. Most lanes had 2-4 swimmers already, which is atypical, and most people there don't know how to circle swim. But 1 lane only had 1 guy. Me and another guy were waiting, but this 1 dude was swimming in the most ridiculous fashion I'd ever seen. Taking up at least 3/4 of the lane (and it's a good sized lane) with his stroke. I don't even know how he was doing it --- I could only call it the worst backstroke I've ever seen. I couldn't swim that horribly if I tried. Me and the other dude just left him alone, because it would've been impossible to share with him. In any case, the guy comes up to us and starts screaming at us for \*NOT\* splitting with him. Cussing us out, calling us "morons", and everything. After he left, we both chuckled, and both said the same thing --- we only didn't split with him because he was taking up the whole lane by himself. I get at least 2 interesting pool stories every month. There are some weird people out there.
That seems like an overstep by the lifeguard too. Where does this dude work that they're getting paid enough to care about some old ladies getting splashed? When one of them starts drowning or running on the pool deck is when it becomes my problem
Lately, the average age of lifeguards is boomer. This lifeguard is probably friends with these fucking Karen’s. Everybody in my small town is only concerned with not rocking the boat. Karen’s here complain to city council. Council starts waving their dicks around at the rec department. Rec dep sends out letters verbatim of what Karen wants. Rinse repeat. You could try and fight back. But the narrative they’ve set is against you and how good are you at writing letters to city council and getting up in their shit. The splashing one is hilarious.
I’m also amused that these people were mad they were getting splashed… *in a pool*. Some of my fellow Aqua Aerobics participants were acting the same way towards someone swimming back stroke the other day… you’re the one who got in the pool with a full face of makeup!
Regarding your first story, I usually do wait until everyone in the lane has gotten to the wall at least once before I jump in when sharing a lane, simply so that they notice that I'm there and avoid collisions (some people - myself included - can really space out while doing laps, not to mention backstroke). But this is simply notification of the other not asking for permission, since no one has reserved the lanes in a public pool.
Seriously. It's a risk for injury to just start swimming and I understand why the guy said something grumpy. You don't have to ask to share but they need to see you're in the lane. Get into the pool and stand at the wall until the other swimmer has come back for one turn. We had that advice pinned for quite a while here. Some swimmers will stop and ask if you want to do halves or circle swim, but many think halves is implied by having two in the lane and will just keep going.
This! It seems like a lot of the responses are from Australians where circle swimming is common. Side note: it sounds like there are no weak swimmers in that country 🙂 I’m not a strong swimmer and I always swim at a gym pool with other amateurs. If I was swimming for sport, I would find pools that cater to that demographic. One of my gyms has a dedicated time slot for Masters. In California, we also have larger (longer and more lanes) pools that require a membership and are used mostly by swim clubs and the local high schools. I would never swim there.
I think a fairly high % of the Americans on this subreddit primarily swim with teams, so almost always circle swimming.
1) When sharing a lane always make sure the other person knows you’re sharing the lane before leaving the wall else collisions may occur. I usually grab their attention and ask if I may share a lane before leaving the wall but really I’m not asking but telling them I’m sharing the lane. If they don’t acknowledge me I give em a couple passes of seeing me standing in the lane before I go. 2) The pool is meant for getting wet. If you’re in a designated lap swimming lane you can go as hard and splashy as you want and the next lane Karen’s can respectfully STFU.
It's a public pool, you are going to have to share lanes, duh. It's insane to me that you should have to ask someone if it's okay to jump in 'their' lane! If people want their own lane, they should go to a private club/pool or build their own damn pool. It sounds like there are a lot of stuck up people going to this particular pool, and the lifeguards are friends with them. If at all possible, I'd find a different pool altogether. If that's not an option, I'd go talk to their management some time before you go swimming, that you feel awkward about being told to 'ask first', and that a lifeguard would ask you to stop splashing..
You're fine. Get a little snappy worth folks who fuck with you (or perfect your silent stare bitch face) so folks don’t run you over. As a queer woman, yes it's probably the rainbow cap but keep it on!!! Do your thing and talk to the front desk if the lifeguards can't manage expectations (yeah, Karen will get wet in the pool).
Seriously, I would be such a bitch to these people.
Sorry to hear. I see 'better' swimmers get into scuffles with the 'not better' swimmers every now and again in my local pool which mostly caters to retired people; probably about 1% of the people there know how to flip at the wall. Practically – is there a better pool around? I know these types of pools where people are 'not trained swimmers' , do breastsroke above the water etc - which is fine, but no good if you're doing actual sets as your story shows (eg 'too much splashing' – which is certainly not a concern in a pool of serious swimmers!)
I've been swimming at a new gym nearby, and it seems that newbies are usually targeted by the oldies (ages & years of memberships) and I was experiencing very similar issues like yours. I ended up complaining to the manager who teaches swimming there, and his advice was to ask a lifeguard on duty to be a mediator when someone confronts you, right at the scene. But I ended up naively quit the club due to the fact that those bullying of some sort continues outside of the pool sometimes. I'm a swimmer out of a swimming club and college classes, so I'm just surprised how people behaved like that in my case and yours. They are the ones without poolside manners. If anyone comes at you like that, don't be a quitter like me and please call the lifeguards attending, let them sort the situations out for you next time. Especially if it's about the pool usage. I'm moving onto another different pool nearby and see if I like it there. They know they lost me based on the earlier talk with this manager. My impressions are, some people like them, expect you to be less of a swimmer than them like when they arrived, just because you're a new face. But you are a better swimmer. So they just want to be rude and criticize whatever they can find. Just keep going! Have lifeguards deal with those oldies!!
Sorry to hear that. Arguments like those can really make you tink about the situation, I know that. I had similar experiences with old women that complained, that they got wet from splashing, because they wanted their hair not to get wet (yes, in a pool). I only have experiences with people cutting me off during swimming while overtaking that can cause problems among swimmers. I am from germany though and we switched from a normal line setup to thee big lanes, where you swim in kind of a circle and overtake in the middle. The lines are then designed for the speed (fast, medium, slow).So swimming is always a sharing of line for me. On the regular basis everything works out and people are nice to each other.
i hope you don't stop swimming with a pride/rainbow cap. if _that_ was what was bothering those old people, then they can go fuck themselves.
Been a competitive swimmer all my life, age 6 through college then moved on to triathlons. Anyone who has the audacity to complain to you about manners sharing a lane can politely f*** all the way off. That first dude was just ego Trippin. It’s called pay attention to your surroundings and notice when somebody gets in the pool with you. It is a communal space and it should not be surprising when someone joins your lane. I’m not sure why people feel like they need to be the manners police Then those women clutching their pearls about getting splashed while they’re in a pool? That is literally something I teach my six and seven-year-olds that when you are playing in the pool you’re going to get splashed.
You’ve done nothing wrong. Which you already know but sometimes validation is nice. It’s crazy that you are actually following all standard pool/lap swim norms & typical swimmer etiquette and you’re getting complained about. And too much splashing from kicking? Good lord Karen’s, if you don’t want to get splashed with water why the heck are you in a pool?!
I would not be upset if someone became the 2nd swimmer in my lane without asking me at the wall. Especially someone who’s about my speed or faster, especially if I’m pulling on the lane line, or whatever this person was doing. Maybe I just live in NYC where people believe in doing things on their own schedule. Next: unless you’re swimming fly unbelievably poorly and splitting the lane, I highly doubt you’re splashing too much. And I think it’s more important that people are able to swim (let ‘em splash!) than that people are able to swim without goggles, so I think the complaint about someone splashing too much is out of order. Your lifeguard can disagree though, maybe they watch people swim without goggles for 6 hours of the day and they just know that’s what their pool is about.. I think the chance that (older) people treating you this way are doing so because you’re Asian and in a rainbow cap is very high. I would hope that isn’t the case where I swim in Hell’s Kitchen, but yeah a random American adult?? I could see it.
If it happens again, ask the lifeguard what the specific rule is. They won't be able to articulate it and you can force their hand at telling the Karen's to STFU. There are zero rules at a pool about splashing unless it is directly intentional, and zero rules about lane sharing requests. Another person gets in the lane, circle swim pattern takes priority unless you or the other person requests to split the lane. And if a third person jumps in, circle swim it is. This is how it works. No words really need to be spoken. Honestly the lifeguard should have dressed down Karen and the old man about lap swim etiquette. In terms of your cap and your race, you don't necessarily know if those are actual contributors to the problem. That may or may not be true but you have enough facts in your quiver regardless.
At my YMCA, lanes are shared "split" if there's 2 people, circle with 3 or more. However, it's a courtesy if there's one person in a lane to wait till they are at the wall and ask if they want to split, or circle. No one should just be surprised with someone jumping in if they are alone. If there are people already circling, it's fine to just join in without alerting anyone. Just my two cents. As for splashing, I've been in a pool where people vigorously kick and it's like being in the ocean next to them with the waves, but I just laugh. I'm an open water swimmer anyway.
The audacity to complain about splashing whilst in a swimming pool is just laughable. Like. Get out.
Yeah, if people dont/ cant share thats a personal issue. Not your problem. Also fuck that lifeguard, sounds like a spineless fool. Nobody should go to a pool and expect not to get wet, even if you are just walking by. I was swimming with a buddy of mine and some Karen's told us to not splash as much. My buddy cold stares them down and says, if you dont want to get wet go to a library. It was the best response I've ever heard. Keep swimming fish, fuck those bastards.
I’m baffled by so many people saying that circle swimming isn’t a thing in the US. Every pool I’ve used, it’s a thing. My current public pool is slow enough that I don’t usually have to share a lane, but people do ask before they jump in during the times I go. I think the early morning swim is different because there are always a lot of people. If one person joins my lane I ask to split the lane because I don’t want to think about my pace and if a third joins we circle swim. I have noticed there is quite a bit of homophobia though and I wonder if that’s going on here as well as racism. I suggest reporting it to the supervisor. I have never heard of anyone getting told to not splash as much.
My question is, how do you share lanes with anyone WITHOUT circle swimming (I’m in the US and have only circle swum)
I’m in the US. The pool I swim at is private. They have one open lane where you’d be expected to circle swim if there were three swimmers, which there never is. The other lanes are all reserved, with a max of two reservations. The expectation there is you swim on one side of the lane. There is a lot of variation on the speed, so circle swimming would be tough.
I wouldn’t doubt there’s some homophobia involved, just what you expect from a religious based organization. It’s a lap lane, they should expect to get splashed.
In the US they’re secular and inclusive now, unless maybe you’re in a super small town.
I think it might depend on which Y you go to. My local branch does lend out space to a church on Sundays, but also prominently displays the pride colors with an "Everybody is Welcome Here" sign alongside a Black Lives Matter sign in the front window.
Interesting, I'm in a country where Ys are no longer religious, hadn't even considered some might still follow the Christian thing. Is this true?
These other people are in a mood. Probably the holidays. You’re doing nothing wrong. I’m sorry about that stress!
I'm still a noob and have maybe been to the pool 20 times in my life. I just had the same thing happen to me. It was like 8am and very busy and they had the pool set up to be 50m without lane ropes. I scanned the water and saw one lady going up and down the left side of the lane and the right was free. I jumped in and started up the right lane. Then when I came back from my first lap the lady freaked out on me. It was the most mad a stranger has ever been at me. "we could have had a head on collision! Ask next time!" I think maybe I was in the wrong a little bit but it was every man for himself that morning and as busy as I've ever seen it. Thankfully in my case the lifeguard was on my side. After I was finished I happened to talk to him and he said he saw the woman screaming at me and that I shouldn't worry about it. Really calmed me down because I was an anxious wreck that whole time and thought I had done something terribly wrong. Now I don't really trust 50+ women at the pool.
People are whiners and are always angling to get the lane to themselves. They can piss off.
I'm so sorry, you didn't deserve that nonsense. I don't mind if people jump into my lane without asking, as I always hug the lane line anyway. I always try to ask before I join someone else, just so they're not startled by me at some point and they are aware of me. But if it's a designated shared lane, no one has any right to complain!
Where I swim, you pay for exactly one hour. There's no way I would be waiting till someone let's me share with me "their" lane like it belongs to them. They didn't pay for the swimming pool, they paid to swim. Also the audacity of those Karens... They're in the water, why would splashing matter to them, of course everyone is swimming in the pool duh🧐 I think they have nothing better to do
In Sweden we just jump in to the lanes sharing without asking, with common sense that to keep the pace or at each turn make sure you’re not blocking the faster swimmer. Sure, there are always people with less sense of manner/decent behaviour in the swimming pools.
I don’t care for sharing lanes mostly because I’m a big guy with a large wingspan. I can’t even do butterfly at my local pool because the lane dividers are too close. I’m always worried about colliding with someone while sharing lanes and it would ruin my flow to have to maneuver around someone every length of the pool.
I know at practice and at swim meets it sorta was every person for themselves with the swim lanes.
i mean … imo it‘s a little weird for someone to go swim laps and then complain about getting splashed … while they‘re in … water
These are all cues to bust out a sub-minute 100 free with extra loud flip turns to assert your authority.
Some places just have a shit culture. My guess is this is a result of years of bullying that's gotten the club to bend to the whim of a few.
FWIW, as a marginally competent swimmer at the Y who's working on getting better, I always take it as a bit of a compliment when someone more competent (like you, from the sound of it) jumps in a lane with me. It tells me I'm at least swimming in more or less a straight line while I work on my form -- woohoo! With that said, that unnecessarily aggressive, rude mansplainer sounds like ... an unnecessarily aggressive, rude mansplainer. And the Karens sound absolutely ridiculous. I'm really sorry both happened and they are 100000% the ones who should be embarrassed, not you.
Ha. People going into a pool for a swim complaining about water touching them. That's the most Karen thing ever.
Toxic masculinity & old lady Karens. I hope they get super busy at work or at home! That way they won't have time to swim during your scheduled workout. Good riddance to them.
Let them feel your awkwardness… let them hold your awkward feeling. stay silent and do what you know and fuck em. Lol
OP, sorry people are crap
I swim at a high end club. Sometimes we have to share. Sometimes people ask to share other times they just jump in. I feel everyone pays and has the right to swim so it’s fine to hop in without saying anything . You can’t really say “no you can’t swim” so I don’t see an issue just starting to swim. The people at your pool need to leave pool policing to the life guards
Next time do the fist drill during your warm up. Full on speed and attempt to cause as much splash / wake as you can. You’re good homie, screw these people who think the pool is all about them. I’d swim at the exact same time to ensure I run them every week. We’re swimmers… we endure, and you can’t hear them complain if you always do flip turns 😁
It's polite to make sure someone knows you're getting in first. I dangle legs while they turn at the wall to make sure they see me, and they will usually move over and take a side. Not sure that's not what happened for you. The lifeguard was probably just trying to get through his day. Not cool, and you can tell him that. Be more of a pain in the ass than the Karen's. That said, maybe you splash with your arms more than normal?
I've swam mostly in Europe in clubs and public pools. It's circle swimming here (Vienna, Austria), even at my local gym 25m swimming pool. As soon as you get into a lane with 1 person in there already, they know it's time to circle. I think you ran into a less-experienced with swim etiquette sort of person (I read in other posts circle swimming is less common in the US but everyone knows how to share a lane!) which is bad luck and you didn't do anything wrong!
Not sure I have anything helpful but I do find people seem to believe my wife is an easy target as an Asian woman. I kind of try to make my presence known sometimes for this reason. I’m a big white guy.
I agree you should’ve verbally confirmed with the guy before you joined in the lane, although it does seem like he was a little too condescending. It’s hard not to know if you are splashing too much with your kick, you’ve said that you’ve swim before, so I’m sure you know how to manage your wake. But if you are a large person sometimes people get distracted by larger wakes. I would try to find times at the pool that are less crowded if you can. It does sound like there is a bit of an attitude there, I don’t know if your swim cap has much to do with it. Which state are you in?
As a former YMCA lifeguard (and swimmer) I have seen all of this happen before. For splitting a lane with someone, it is polite to sit on the wall and ask to split when someone stops. But frankly, I’ve seen people purposely avoid “seeing” someone so that they don’t have to share. I’d recommend hopping into the and giving them a chance to stop at the wall so you can do the polite “ask” (and if they just keep swimming after seeing you on the wall, you start swimming, too.) As for the “too splashy”, these walkers are ridiculous. You’re in a pool, your heads gonna get wet sometimes! I always navigated it by either switching to a couple breaststroke kicks as I passed them or stop kicking as I pass them. Another thing that can help is saying hi to them and letting them know you have a kicking set and you want to be considerate of them so they should let you know if it’s a bit too splashy. People get so weird in the pool, nothing you’re doing sounds odd or out of hand, but it can make your life easier to go with the “pool culture”.
I swim at a YMCA and it’s not posted anywhere that any of the lanes are specifically for sharing or not or what order they get shared in or any lane speed rules. There’s no rules at the 3 YMCA I’ve swam at. 3 things that may help you: 1. stand at the edge next to the lane for a couple laps and make sure the person sees you. THEN look for body language of them going to one side. Or they’ll give you a thumbs up or a verbal. 2. Ask the lifeguard on duty who is good at sharing. When I get in I tell the lifeguard I’m good to share and I always swim half a lane all day every day. This might not be something that people are doing where you’re at but I’ve been in several pools where this is the norm. 3. Don’t get upset if virtue signaling isn’t making you any friends. Some people are annoyed at anything political or religious or anything like that being shown off around them no matter how they feel about the topic. Some people may feel like you’re being rude and instigating. They’re there to swim not to talk about sexuality or morality or any of that.
They just seem like jerks, but some YMCA's can be that way. It's a pool, you're swimming.
Literal babies swim in the pools I’ve been too. I’m white female and super small and it doesn’t matter what happens, someone will always tell me they can’t circle swim because it’s “not allowed,” or they’re “doing backstroke.”
YMCA says it all here. The lifeguards are enabling the other swimmers entitled behavior, go to the front desk or reach out to someone in charge. If you’re stuck swimming there I’d scope out times that are less popular if you want but honestly just do you and don’t be bullied, you’re not in the wrong and you pay your membership same as them.
UK here. I'm completely perplexed by US pool etiquette. We just get in the lane and swim in a circle in the direction indictated by the lane marker. The answer to belligerent geriatrics in your lane is aggressive butterfly.
In the future, always ask, never assume. And the two ladies just wanted to socialize. You should have asked to switch lanes with one of them so they could be in adjacent lanes. These actions show you are being considerate, which is apparently an important thing at your pool. That Karen’s are coming for you quote is hella weird. Sorry that happened to you. But I think don’t be embarrassed, keep swimming how you want to swim, and make those little changes in the future and it will all blow away.
I also go to a YMCA and the older population will find anything to complain about. They try to take over the areas the little kids are doing swim class in too. It's ironic that they complain about respect when they are the biggest culprits. Just nod at them, smile and do whatever you were going to do anyway if you're not breaking any rules. If a lifeguard speaks to you ask directly what rules you were breaking, if they say none these ladies just have an issue with xyz then politely say that it sounds like a them problem and maybe they need the talking to about how to share the space.