Courtesy of Claire Forrest
It’s the time of year when many people choose to make a fresh commitment to their fitness. For some, this means stepping up their swimming to a new level. For others, this means starting to swim for the first time. Regardless, if you’ve noticed a spike in the amount of swimmers at your pool during open swim, you’re not alone. Here are my five simple rules that swimmers of all abilities can follow to make open lap swim a more enjoyable experience for everyone:
5) Come to the pool expecting to circle swim.
Circle swimming is standard when lap swimming. In most places, that means staying to the right of the black line, switching sides when you make your turn. Yes, having a lane to yourself is awesome, but if you show up to the pool on a Saturday morning, expect that you will be circle swimming. If there are fewer than three people to your lane, you will probably split a lane, which is also a lucky break. Holding a grudge over not having your own lane won’t make other swimmers go away, in fact, they’ll still swim around you if you refuse to cooperate.
4) When it comes to claiming an empty lane, first come first serve!
A swimmer placing their equipment bag and water bottle in front of a lane is ancient swimmer code for marking territory. To the other swimmers, it says, “Hey, I intend to swim here!” So you can imagine it’s annoying to see your once empty lane snapped up before you’ve even put your goggles on. If you see someone who looks like they clearly intend to enter an empty lane, ask politely if you can please swim with them before jumping in. And if you lose out on an empty lane because you weren’t there first, remember the previous rule: circle swim rules the pool.
3) There is no shame in the slow lane.
This is coming from a swimmer that spent most of her competitive career training in the slow lane. Some lap pools divide their lanes into fast, medium, and slow lanes during open swim. Please select the lane for your ability honestly. Being in the slow lane does not mean you are a poor swimmer, and anyone who tries to make you feel otherwise is probably overcompensating in the fast lane. Most lap swimmers simply want to get a good workout in without making it more difficult for the other swimmers. Putting yourself in the correct lane for your speed makes this goal easier for everyone to achieve.
2) It doesn’t matter what you’ve swum before, we’re all at open swim.
If your lap pool isn’t divided into separate speed lanes, open swim can feel a bit like a crazy free for all. You might be an NCAA champion, but you still have to share a lane with anyone who shows up to the pool at the same time as you. Leave lots of room to be passed if need be, and be a polite passer. If you’re stopping at the wall, move as far to the side of the wall as possible. Remember, it’s just as scary to have a fast swimmer whip past you swimming butterfly as it is frustrating to be stuck behind a sidestroker. Be polite and do the best you can. It’s not the end of the world.
1) Treat others as you would like to be treated.
The golden rule applies to everything, even open swim! Be the lane mate you would like to swim with. Be patient, courteous, and acknowledge the other swimmers as they enter your lane and as they swim. It’s such a simple thing, but it will make swimming a good experience for us all.
Claire Forrest is a recent graduate of Grinnell College with a degree in English. She is currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota as a freelance writer. The only competitive swimmer in her family, Claire went to her first swim meet at the age of eleven on a whim without even knowing what a swim cap was. She fell in love with the sport and never looked back. A S6 classified disabled swimmer for US Paralympics, Claire specialized in mid-distance freestyle and backstroke and made national and world rankings throughout her career. She was a 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Trials participant. Claire is passionate about integrating disability swimming into the larger swim community, having swum for able-bodied club teams and her college’s DIII team. She enjoyed both Paralympic and prominent integrated able-bodied meets equally for the many commonalities they share. Over 13 years after her first meet, she’s happy to report she now owns more swim caps than she can count.
Great article. There is another topic that should be addressed. I have access to just 2 pools in my entire town after one club closed. The facility I use places a lot of emphasis on swim lessons, classes, and children;s swim events. Lap swimmers always seem to be at the end of the list. We are lucky to get one lap lane for the morning. Have other swimmers experienced this situation with their pools and how have you handled it.
It’s the lifeguard’s job to keep everyone safe, which includes asking swimmers to change lanes. If you want an uninterrupted workout, join a Master’s workout group.
I can almost always expect only one other person, since most lap swimmers at the pools I frequent are averse to circle swimming. If each lane has two people, they sit and wait for someone to leave. As someone who doesn’t have time to just wait for a convenient lane, I just hop in and let the people in my lane know that it would be best if we circle swam. They have to either agree or get out, but either way, I’m gonna swim.
The only rule I’d add is warn people before you do butterfly. Growing up in the fly lane, I’ve gotten pretty good at lane awareness and knowing when to do one arm, or when to… Read more »
I’m lucky since I lap swim in the late mornings or early afternoons, my kicking alone is not that fast anymore and I don’t use fins. At the worst I just have to split a lane with another swimmer.
I mean kicking only.
Just informed this week at my YMCA (that does not post “fast or slow” lane markings) that it is their policy to allow ANYONE to use a lap lane. Family wants to play? No problem. Woman wants to do H20 aerobics? No problem (and she did last week). Even told if someone wants to do handstands in lap lanes – no problem. YMCA doesn’t know that 86 is NOT a healthy temp. for lap swimmers. H20 instructor takes pace clock to face HER on deck and leaves lap swimmers w/nothing – no problem! I asked lifeguards if they could synchronize pace clocks and they did – their MINUTE HANDS! If they weren’t so inept, I’d LMAO!
The only thing I disagree with in most lane swimming articles is choosing an empty lane. Sure, if you KNOW with certainty that you’re swimming in a very dead time of day, take that empty lane. Otherwise, choose the lane that is signed for your speed. If you have four lanes, SLOW, MED, MED, FAST, and there is one person in the fast and two in each medium and you’re going to swim 90s/100m or faster, get in the FAST lane with the other fast swimmer. Don’t get in the slow lane. Because now if someone else comes in that’s going to do “albatross” backstroke taking 90s to do 25m, and the person in the fast lane has gotten out… Read more »
Nice list! #2 is my favorite.
Um, did the editor change your text? Or is Grinnell’s English program a little weak? 😉
“… what you’ve swam before…” should be “… what you’ve swum before…”
“…comes to a claiming an empty lane…” should be “…comes to claiming an empty lane…”
“… are less than three people…” should be “…are fewer than three people…”
Cheers,
IronMike
Someone link this man a typo and grammar correction etiquette article!
Rule #1: If their point is made clearly, nitpicking is NOT polite or helpful! Mistakes that muddy the point being made should be corrected, otherwise it is the needless corrections that muddy and distract from the point made in the article
My best was when I was asked by someone if they could join me. After agreeing to who was obviously going to be a much slower swimmer – we’d work it out. I was informed that I had better not splash since they didn’t want their hair to get wet. It’s my favorite.
I would immediately have responded, “perhaps you should try the dry water pool?”