A Beginner"s Guide To Lap Swimming Etiquette
So you've signed up for your first triathlon, and now you've got to do some swim training. But swimming in a pool with other people might seem a little intimidating.
Maybe you're wondering: Is there a right way to swim?
Of course there is.
In this article, we'll discuss some of the basics of lap swimming and swimming etiquette.
The first and most important thing to realize about lap swimming is that swimming is naturally inconvenient for almost everyone.
Fact is, even if you have a pool in your backyard, that pool is almost certainly not adequate for competition training, which means that all but the very wealthiest folks have to go somewhere besides their house to swim.
Swimming is therefore one of those "social melting pot" experiences where you are as likely to see millionaires as regular folks. This situation is complicated by the fact that you almost always have to pay something somehow in order to swim, so pretty much everyone who's in the pool feels totally entitled to be there.
And all of those folks have to share what is fundamentally a limited resource -- the pool -- with folks who, honestly, they'd rather not have around.
The moral of this story is that you have to share.
Swimming in a pool is not like running on a treadmill. You do not get your own lane until you're done, at which point the next person gets it. Instead, you are expected to share you lane, usually with complete strangers of roughly the same ability level.
To that, I'll add that one of my personal pet peeves is folks who either ask to share my lane or expect me to ask them if I can share.
These days, I usually do ask just to avoid arguments, but to be very clear, etiquette is not to have to ask.
The assumption among swimmers is that there is plenty of room, and that if we all swim correctly, we'll all fit without a problem.
If there is enough room in the pool, folks will usually divide the lane in half using the black line at the center of each lane, and each swimmer will take a side. This is good if two swimmers have radically different ability levels. However, if the pool is crowded, you will be expected to circle swim.
Circle swimming is like driving a car, only in a pool. You swim down on the right, and then you turn and swim back -- on the right. But since you've turned, your right is now the left for those swimming toward you.
In other words, you swim down on one side of the pool, turn, and then swim back on the other side. Which side? The right side.
Unfortunately, circle swimming can be a challenge when a given lane is occupied by swimmers of vastly different ability levels. The fast swimmers will tend to lap the slower swimmers with great regularity, often to the annoyance of both parties.
However, the problem is manageable if the slower swimmer is willing to pull over at the turns and the faster swimmer is patient enough to avoid tapping the person's feet who's trying to swim in front of them.
It's also worthwhile to try to circle swim with folks who are relatively close to your ability level. Unfortunately, many pools do not label their lanes as "fast" and/or "slow" lanes.
Still, if you have an idea of what your ability level is, typically expressed as your pace per one hundred yards of swimming, then you can make life easier on yourself by swimming with folks going the same pace as you.
Also, if you are planning to do a workout with a group, try to have everyone in the group do the same workout, separating different interval groups by lane. That is the way swim teams work, and the concept works very well.
Finally, if the sign says that a given lane is intended for swimming laps, then either swim laps or get out of that lane. How do you know if you're swimming laps?
Lap swimmers:
If this does not describe your activities in the pool, then you may not actually belong in the lap swimming lane; you may, in fact, simply be in the way.
All you really need to know about swimming etiquette is that you need to be ready to share. If there's room, then feel free to split the lane in half. But if the pool is crowded, be prepared to circle swim and just make the best of it.
And if you're in the swimming lane, please be there swimming laps.
Maybe you're wondering: Is there a right way to swim?
Of course there is.
In this article, we'll discuss some of the basics of lap swimming and swimming etiquette.
Swimming is Expensive; Pools can be Crowded
The first and most important thing to realize about lap swimming is that swimming is naturally inconvenient for almost everyone.
Fact is, even if you have a pool in your backyard, that pool is almost certainly not adequate for competition training, which means that all but the very wealthiest folks have to go somewhere besides their house to swim.
Swimming is therefore one of those "social melting pot" experiences where you are as likely to see millionaires as regular folks. This situation is complicated by the fact that you almost always have to pay something somehow in order to swim, so pretty much everyone who's in the pool feels totally entitled to be there.
And all of those folks have to share what is fundamentally a limited resource -- the pool -- with folks who, honestly, they'd rather not have around.
The moral of this story is that you have to share.
Swimming in a pool is not like running on a treadmill. You do not get your own lane until you're done, at which point the next person gets it. Instead, you are expected to share you lane, usually with complete strangers of roughly the same ability level.
To that, I'll add that one of my personal pet peeves is folks who either ask to share my lane or expect me to ask them if I can share.
These days, I usually do ask just to avoid arguments, but to be very clear, etiquette is not to have to ask.
The assumption among swimmers is that there is plenty of room, and that if we all swim correctly, we'll all fit without a problem.
Circle Swimming
If there is enough room in the pool, folks will usually divide the lane in half using the black line at the center of each lane, and each swimmer will take a side. This is good if two swimmers have radically different ability levels. However, if the pool is crowded, you will be expected to circle swim.
Circle swimming is like driving a car, only in a pool. You swim down on the right, and then you turn and swim back -- on the right. But since you've turned, your right is now the left for those swimming toward you.
In other words, you swim down on one side of the pool, turn, and then swim back on the other side. Which side? The right side.
Unfortunately, circle swimming can be a challenge when a given lane is occupied by swimmers of vastly different ability levels. The fast swimmers will tend to lap the slower swimmers with great regularity, often to the annoyance of both parties.
However, the problem is manageable if the slower swimmer is willing to pull over at the turns and the faster swimmer is patient enough to avoid tapping the person's feet who's trying to swim in front of them.
It's also worthwhile to try to circle swim with folks who are relatively close to your ability level. Unfortunately, many pools do not label their lanes as "fast" and/or "slow" lanes.
Still, if you have an idea of what your ability level is, typically expressed as your pace per one hundred yards of swimming, then you can make life easier on yourself by swimming with folks going the same pace as you.
Also, if you are planning to do a workout with a group, try to have everyone in the group do the same workout, separating different interval groups by lane. That is the way swim teams work, and the concept works very well.
Finally, if the sign says that a given lane is intended for swimming laps, then either swim laps or get out of that lane. How do you know if you're swimming laps?
Lap swimmers:
- Go back and forth multiple times with minimal rest.
- Wear goggles.
- Almost always measure their pace with a clock.
If this does not describe your activities in the pool, then you may not actually belong in the lap swimming lane; you may, in fact, simply be in the way.
Summary
All you really need to know about swimming etiquette is that you need to be ready to share. If there's room, then feel free to split the lane in half. But if the pool is crowded, be prepared to circle swim and just make the best of it.
And if you're in the swimming lane, please be there swimming laps.
