To the miserable beyach at a certain pool today: Learn some lane etiquette! When all the lanes are full and someone politely asks if they can share a lane with you, telling that person in a really bitchy tone that you’d “really rather not share a lane and isn’t there any other free ones available?” is NOT the appropriate response! I was shocked, most people are super friendly at this pool and always happily oblige to sharing a lane. I feel sorry for you and your life, it must suck if you have to be that unfriendly to a complete stranger. —JP
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2012.
When people just won’t listen to reason…
http://www.arcticwebsite.com/WhaleHarpGun1…
I’m reasonably confident I’m the bitch in question, and I do apologize for my tone. But as for the question of ettiquette, I think it’s rude to demand to share a lane and doubly rude to get in a huff when someone answers your fake question honestly. (I note you omitted the part where I told you–admittedly grudgingly– to go on ahead) I don’t ask to share lanes. I wait patiently until a lane opens up, or someone in a lane offers to share it. It’s called waiting your turn, and the fact that you don’t seem to feel that nicety applies to you accounts for a good deal of my unfriendliness.
Wow Justwannabackstroke, you are totally out to lunch! For someone to ask to share a lane is mere courtesy – they have every right to get into whichever lane they wish, as no one “owns” a lane nor are there any rules formal or otherwise that suggest that one should wait for an open lane before swimming.
Naturally, you choose an open lane, if it exists. Otherwise you pick the lane with the fewest swimmers and get right in. I believe that once you get to four swimmers per lane, it is courtesy to wait for a spot to open up, though having swam at busier pools for a couple of years in the past, it is a courtesy that few people respect. At such pools, no one asks to get into a lane – they just get in. In fact, that happens quite often here too. But most of us are so nice here on the East Coast – we like to ask first.
Anyway, you have no right to a lane to yourself and no right to turn others away. The person you turned away had every right to be aggravated by such poor etiquette.
If you didn’t want her to answer the question, you shouldn’t have asked and just went in.
Sounds like someone should have gotten to the pool, ummmmmm, bout a half hour earlier. If someone had only skipped their skinny, double espresso, mocha, tripple non fat, latte, whatever the fuck coffee used to be, then they would have been swimming away in their own lane too.
OUCH!!! for anyone who has spent many hours training in a pool swimming, will know that there are “unwritten rules” in lane swimming. One of which is; NEVER Stop or interrupt someone during their laps, allow at least a half lap prior to following the lead swimmer, if you find yourself needing to pass… tap the foot of the lead swimmer then sprint by, never stop at the wall were people flip turn, etc. Plain and simple. When you’ll have enough hours logged in the pool you’ll understand these rules and abide by them… be patient young grasshopper
How do you share a swimming lane? Isn’t there a good chance of a collison? Not a swimmer. Just asking.
Erm, Justwannabackstroke, you’re absolutely positively fucking out to lunch. That is not how swimming pools operate. I live in a big city now, and if everyone “waited for a lane to open up” nobody would get to swim! It’s not that hard to split the lane, if there’s two of you, or to swim in circles if there’s more than two swimmers.
I am truly flabbergasted anyone would be that delusional to think they’re supposed to be entitled to their own lane.
One more time: you’re an idiot
Try the ocean next time, plenty of lanes there.
If it’s an open swim you really didn’t even have to ask. By the sounds of it there was only two of you in the lane. Try training when there’s 8+ people going back and forth. And Troodon, it works like a highway, stick to the right side of the lane and there’s enough room for two people to swim by each other.
Like the other swimmers said above; Leave room behind her before you start swimming, don’t stop in the middle of a wall, and don’t take shit from some SET.
No one is going to sit on the pool deck during time that they paid for, just because you can’t share a little water. That’s something I taught to 6-8 year olds and they understood the concept perfectly fine.
LOL maltesehamster, Calvin and Darth Captain.. I couldn’t agree more!! I should have mentioned in my post that I’m a former competitive swimmer (just trying to stay in shape now!) and so am pretty well versed in lane etiquette. I used to swim in larger cities and having 6+ people per lane was normal and you NEVER asked anyone to get in a lane, you just got in at the appropriate spacing (i.e. don’t jump in front of someone!). So I finally got used to politely asking someone if I could share a lane in NS (never stop the person, just stand at their lane and wait until they come around and if they happen to stop I will ask them, if not just get in). For someone to tell me no was just so shocking.
justwannabackstroke.. I do appreciate your apology, but I still don’t think you understand lane etiquette. I noticed this pool just put up new signs about asking the lifeguards about lane etiquette.. maybe you should review this with them, so next time someone asks you to share a lane, you won’t rudely turn them down and hog a lane all to yourself.
imo, there is more than enough room in a lane for 3 maybe 4 people, if everyone agrees to swim clockwise and stay to the edge.
Swimming the backstroke and hogging the entire lane is just plain ignorant.
This is one of those situations where the opinion of the rude person (justwannabackstroke?) does not matter. Pools have rules and if you don’t like them get your own pool. Any pool I have ever swum laps in has a share the lane rule – pick a lane with someone swimming your speed and join in at a respectful distance on the right.
I swam in a small-town pool for a number of years and there were very limited hours for lap swimming, with usually only two lanes: slow and fast. If you didn’t want to share a lane you didn’t swim. Now I swim at a pool where there are hours a day of lap swimming and I rarely have to share a lane – a great luxury but not an entitlement. I am happy to share a lane when necessary and have done so an numerous occasions. Maybe the cranky lady is an elected member of government?
Just get your own TV network and you can afford your own pool, like me. Eat the bitches!!