Pool rage

Comments

  • akswimakswim United StatesMember

    Unfortunately, it isn't just men who are "bullies" in the pool. I train in my neighborhood pool, 25-meters with two lap lanes, but no lane ropes. It's great because most of the time, I'm the only one in the pool. During one of my training swims, another resident brought 2 friends to train. They told me they were going to circle swim in the second lane while I was swimming in the first lane. They began swimming and the female in the group passed the two men, making them three abreast. She was coming right at me. Had I not stopped swimming and hugged the wall, she would have hit me head on. When I got back to the wall, I told them it wasn't safe swimming 3 in a lane, guests need to be considerate of residents swimming, and a few other observations on their lack of courtesy. One of the guys responded with "you know, she's an 11 time ironman champion..." Really? That makes it okay to bully others out of your way? I don't care if she was Michael Phelps. There's no room and need for anyone to be a bully in the pool.

    I know I sound petty, but the upside is they only swam for 45-minutes. My swims are usually around 3 hours. Bet she can't swim 9 miles at a time...

    miklcctOpenh2oandisswendyv34dpm50IronMikeMLamby
  • wendyv34wendyv34 Vashon, WASenior Member

    I'm sorry that the lifeguard/management didn't do anything to prevent this BS in the first place. As a pool manager, I do everything I can to make lap swimming a civil and enjoyable experience for everyone, but we still get jerks who can't peacefully coexist with others. I literally had to put up signs in the locker rooms that encourage civil conversations, stress following rules, sharing, courtesy and cooperative behavior, ending in threats to ban bullies and call police if behavior escalates. Some of the bullies have gone elsewhere, having been served notice, possibly embarrassed at being called out. :/ This is why we can't have nice things...

    akswimSolodpm50MLamby

    It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.

  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    @akswim said:
    Unfortunately, it isn't just men who are "bullies" in the pool., etc...

    I'm afraid you are right. I've had both tough guys and tough women try to push me around. Basically, I don't need the hassle. There is a reason for pool etiquette and sadly, many people either aren't aware or don't care. Usually, I will just ignore them unless they threaten to get physical, which has happened. At that point, I just move on. I am better in the water than I am on land, so I'm not too concerned with some slow moving land animal. I can just stay out of range.

    Bet she can't swim 9 miles at a time...

    I also take great satisfaction knowing that these bullies can't do what I can do, which might be why they are bullies and not swimmers in the first place.

    And yes @wendyv34 ,good pool management and staff is vital to keeping a good safe environment. It's a shame that some pools don't have the same level of competence that your pool does. Yay for all you do! :)

    akswimSolowendyv34MLamby
  • spooneyluv2spooneyluv2 Manhattan, KSNew Member

    Always two sides to every story. I was swimming in some crap LA fitness. Some lady swimming down the middle of her lane. People started arriving and I offered to share. Finally, only lane left is crazy lady swimming down the middle by herself pretending not to note others wanting to swim. People came and left without swimming, not wanting to force her to share or wait. I let one of the late comers take my half lane and went over to enforce the sharing (was I being a bully?). I hugged the lane and grazed her arm and she flipped out like she had been assaulted with a butcher knife. Anyway, that was pre-covid and now it's ok to be selfish.

  • We have a "share the lane" policy at my regular pool. There are people who will NOT share, under any circumstances..... the "curmudgeons", I call them. And, they will ONLY swim in the lane they prefer, not a single other one. That being said, with the workouts that I'm doing, I will usually start out alone in a lane, but be in the water long enough that people come and go throughout the session. So, to try and show that I'm open to sharing, I make sure to stay on one side of the lane while I swim... it's obvious that there's room for another swimmer. There are a few who will jump in and share..... but a large number of people will just wait on the bleachers and not join in for some reason. I figure that I'm doing what I can do, and if someone chooses not to take me up on sharing, that's on them.

    My personal "pool annoyance" (not quite rage, but sometimes getting there) are people who talk more than they swim, thereby taking up lane space for others....... OR, those who try to have lengthy conversations when I'm on a rest interval. Luckily, most of the regular morning people know better..... but, sometimes..... grrrrrr............ I want to say, "I've only got 15 seconds to get a drink and some oxygen, and I can't stop and give you detailed stroke analysis ques.............." (oh crap, my 15 seconds are up!). ;)

    @spooneyluv2 said:
    Always two sides to every story. I was swimming in some crap LA fitness. Some lady swimming down the middle of her lane. People started arriving and I offered to share. Finally, only lane left is crazy lady swimming down the middle by herself pretending not to note others wanting to swim. People came and left without swimming, not wanting to force her to share or wait. I let one of the late comers take my half lane and went over to enforce the sharing (was I being a bully?). I hugged the lane and grazed her arm and she flipped out like she had been assaulted with a butcher knife. Anyway, that was pre-covid and now it's ok to be selfish.

    LakeBaggerIronMikeMLamby
  • dc_in_sfdc_in_sf San FranciscoCharter Member

    @Sara_Wolf said:

    My personal "pool annoyance" (not quite rage, but sometimes getting there) are people who talk more than they swim, thereby taking up lane space for others.......

    My personal name for these folk are "gargoyles" because they spend more time hanging on the wall than actually swimming.

    KatieBunwendyv34Sara_WolfflystormsIronMikeMLambycurly

    http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer

  • Nick_PNick_P PAMember

    I hopped in with a buddy and tried to swim circles with him, we hit head on.
    I got schooled, with “if there are just two of us split the lane.”

    @spooneyluv2 said:
    I hugged the lane and grazed her arm and she flipped out like she had been assaulted with a butcher knife.

    I have found I like to give them the benefit of doubt so I sit on the side with my feet in the water for one turn after that I would have done the same thing.

  • swimmer25kswimmer25k Charter Member

    Years ago when I lived in Dallas I got to turn the tables on a triathlon group who would swarm a pool I used to train at after one of their group rides.

    I was in a lane by myself after work doing a set of something when three guys advised me that they were coming into the lane for an “organized workout”. Other tri-geeks were pulling the same crap in other lanes trying to muscle out the other rec swimmers.

    They were rec swimmers like me and their “organized workout” was pure BS. They just wanted the pool for their own.

    They advised me of what their workout was and how I would be in their way.

    Triathletes. Hahahaha. Suckers.

    I’m a former D1 swimmer and was was turning 1:05-1:10 base intervals into my late 30s. After a few minutes of blowing by them; they took their shaved legs, bad tan-lines, and “organized workout” into the diving well.

    KatieBunLakeBaggercurlyevmoAnthonyMcCarleyMLambyakswimSwimmersuzwendyv34
  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    There is nothing more glorious than blowing through a pile of triathletes. I'd never be able to run or ride like they do, but I don't pretend that I can push them around in their sport either.

    AnthonyMcCarleyKatieBunMLambyakswim
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