# Unwritten swimming pool etiquette.



## Chris Hobson (Jan 23, 2022)

*Unwritten swimming pool etiquette.*

The main pool at my gym is 25 metres long and fifteen metres wide. The pool is divided by ropes into three five metre wide lanes, each of which is headed by a marker board that instructs the swimmers to swim clockwise or anti clockwise depending on the lane and also marks the lanes as being for slow, medium or fast swimmers. As you approach the pool from the locker rooms, the slow lane is on the left, fast lane to the right, medium is in the middle. Generally the fast lane is populated by those that I refer to as proper swimmers, people with a professional looking crawl technique who can also do tumble turns and butterfly stroke. The slow lane contains those who tend to do a style of head up breast stroke, not always slowly but, in some cases, extremely slowly. Then there is the medium lane where I tend to spend most of my time. For a bunch of people who don’t really know each other, apart from our regular encounters at the pool, we all seem to make quite a reasonable job of getting our swimming done without getting in each other’s way. I find it interesting that a kind of etiquette has developed naturally that facilitates this.

One factor that affects how we interact is how busy it is. If there are only two people in the lane, there is usually a brief conversation and a quick agreement to abandon the circular swimming and just swim up and down side by side. This is good because it doesn’t matter if the two of you are swimming at a different pace. While doing this the two swimmers have to keep an eye out for any newcomers, an extra swimmer means quickly swapping back to swimming in circles again. This then brings us the problem that not everyone swims at the same pace, and so between us we have found various work arounds. First, if you are a little slower than the others you can keep an eye out for swimmers catching you up and just move aside and let them in front. Not all slower swimmers are so considerate however, so the second solution is that the quicker swimmers put on a spurt and barrel down the middle of the lane and reach the turn ahead of the slower swimmers that way. The third solution is that the slower swimmers get a bit more competitive and try to keep up. This is where it gets interesting as pace and stamina are put to the test. Because, since the start of the year, I have been regularly swimming sessions of four kilometres or a hundred and sixty lengths, I have started to develop some fairly impressive staying power and so twice recently I’ve been able to test rival swimmers until they have had to stop for a rest. This is quite satisfying for a sixty something old git. Getting tested by other swimmers has also meant that my times for my 4k swims have reduced from two hours to inside one hour and forty four minutes. I shouldn’t get too full of myself though, I’m still not ready for the fast lane yet.

I'm currently attempting to swim 500 miles in a year for the guide dogs charity. 
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-hobson9


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## helli (Jan 23, 2022)

It is sometime since I went lane swimming and, when I did, I was either one of those head out of the water front crawlers or a back striker which, I felt put me in the slow lane.
As a back stroker, it is a little more challenging to keep an eye out for other swimmers ahead but I usual did a fair job.
However, some of the really slow swimmers would sometimes just stop. Not at the end but in the middle of pool at a point where they could just get their feet to reach the bottom.
I confess to accidentally (and it was always pure accident), whacking one or two of them with my back stroke. I may not have been the most alert as looking over my shoulder every other stroke whilst on my back is uncomfortable and slowed me down further but, surely, not stopping in the middle of a length is an unwritten rule and, if you have to, being alert to those who continue to swim is another.

Well done on your swimming and pool etiquette navigation, @Chris Hobson


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## Leadinglights (Jan 23, 2022)

One problem if you wear glasses is you either swim with your head out of the water or take your glasses off and can't even see where the pool is let along the other swimmers.


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## Chris Hobson (Jan 23, 2022)

The Total Fitness pools don't have a deep end or shallow end, the water is chest deep everywhere.

You can get prescription swimming goggles if you wear glasses. I think that they are quite expensive but, if you do a lot of swimming, I imagine they must be worth it. I only need glasses for reading, I did have to get a combination lock with big numbers for my locker.


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## Chris Hobson (Feb 4, 2022)

In the fast lane I have encountered a new dimension, that of swimming three abreast rather than in circles. Space is a little tight and requires that everyone has a tidy crawl technique and can swim in a straight line. I seem to be working my way a little higher up the pecking order in the pool as my fairly rigorous swimming regime is improving my ability. My time for the 4k swims has gradually come down from two hours to around one hour forty-five.


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## Lucyr (Feb 4, 2022)

I haven’t been yet this year but the standard etiquette at my pool is to identify who is a faster swimmer than you in your lane and stop to let them pass whenever the gap is narrowing between you. If you’re the faster swimmer and someone hasn’t noticed you approaching (because you’re behind them) you just catch up enough to tap them on the foot and that should be a signal to them to pull over and let you pass. 

Of course though there’s the slow swimmers who think they’re faster than they are and refuse to let you pass! 

I mean to get some prescription goggles, does anyone use some that are good leak proof etc? I can see the outline of the pool but not things like the clock / details of people in my lane etc.


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## Docb (Feb 5, 2022)

Dunno about swimming pools but when anybody complains about the selfishness of modern youth I recommend they go down to a skate park when it is a bit busy.  What they will most likely see is a load of scruffy skate boarding/BMXing oft complained about apparently antisocial and degenerate kids working together in a way based entirely on etiquette. The awareness of all and consideration shown to others is immense and for that reason on the rare occasion you see a collision you get apologies and not arguments.  They love a trier and will encourage and help rather than complain about the learners cluttering up the park.  The big ones will give way to the little uns so they can have a go.  Can be amazing and gratifying to watch.

Yup, some adults could learn from them.


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## Windy (Feb 5, 2022)

Lucyr said:


> I mean to get some prescription goggles, does anyone use some that are good leak proof etc?


I bought some a few years back from speedo's website. They do them in half diopters (spelling uncertain!) strengths, and have a lens stuck inside a regular pair of goggles. I think they were £40ish. You can also get them for your actual prescription through an optician, but they were v expensive. I only need to be able to find my way to the ladies' changing room (and not the mens, as that would give everyone a shock) and read the clock and the signs saying to swim clockwise. They're not as good as my glasses, but really good when I'm swimming, and don't leak.
I recommend them. I went swimming with a friend the first time I used them, I kept saying: has that sign/clock/whatever always been there?! They all had, but I hadn't seen them pre goggles.


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## AnnSebastian (Feb 8, 2022)

Leadinglights said:


> One problem if you wear glasses is you either swim with your head out of the water or take your glasses off and can't even see where the pool is let along the other swimmers.



I used to have that problem. But if you vaguely know your prescription you can get ‘prescription’ swimming goggles on Ebay. They are only generic - both eyes are roughly the same - but what a difference it makes being able to see the side of the pool if you’re not a good swimmer to start with.


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## Chris Hobson (Feb 25, 2022)

Further observations on pool etiquette. I have noticed that people in the slow lane seem to lack the confidence to swim anywhere else. The other day there were two swimmers in the fast lane, I was swimming alone in the medium lane, and then there were six or seven swimmers crammed into the slow lane. The converse of this is that there are some of those previously referred to as proper swimmers who seem to be a bit up themselves and so they seem to consider it beneath them to swim in a lane below the status that their swimming ability requires. I have also encountered the odd swimmer who insists on following the arrows and going round and round no matter what. Usually these are among the slightly older demographic, presumably having flashbacks to being at school and getting the slipper if you didn't follow the rules.


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## Chris Hobson (Mar 7, 2022)

I've just set a new best time for swimming 4k/160 lengths at 1:33:31. I then went on to swim another 1k/40 lengths in 24:09. This adds up to a total of 5k/200 lengths in 1:57:40.


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## Chris Hobson (Mar 22, 2022)

I just discovered some written pool etiquette that I found slightly surprising. I have started taking 121 swimming lessons  and found myself hanging around on the poolside waiting for my time to start. So I'm reading the signs that they have on the wall with the various rules of conduct for users of the pool. There is a picture of a razor in a red circle with a diagonal red line through it, and a specific instruction not to get shaved in the pools. Mind is slightly boggled that there has to be a sign up about this.


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## SB2015 (Mar 22, 2022)

Enjoyed reading this thread @Chris Hobson 

i remember moments when we were swimming too win a lane, just as you described.  Abandoned the circling rule, and you watch the swimmer emerge from the changing room at the centre of the pool, and trying to assess whether they would be joining our lane.

brilliant progress  with your times.  Well done Chris.


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## Windy (Mar 22, 2022)

Chris Hobson said:


> a specific instruction not to get shaved in the pools


Oh that's grim Chris! I'm trying not to imagine swimming though a cloud of waterbourne leg hair shavings. 
Well done on the 1 to 1 swimming lessons - I did group "improver" lessons a few years ago and they were helpful, though I didn't improve particularly (my poor coordination, rather than the teaching, was the issue), but I was much more confident in the water afterwards.


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## helli (Mar 22, 2022)

Chris Hobson said:


> So I'm reading the signs that they have on the wall with the various rules of conduct for users of the pool.


I just remember the "No Petting" and "No Bombing" rules from my tie in swimming pools.
Do they still call it "bombing" or is that now considered an "unfortunate term"?


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## Chris Hobson (Mar 22, 2022)

Ah yes, "No Petting" with the cartoon couple in a clinch with a little cloud of hearts around them. What were the other ones? Bombing, running, spitting, diving in the swimming area, each accompanied by a little cartoon illustration.


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