I was swimming laps at our community lap pool, and planned to do a 30 minute swim. About 20 minutes in to my swim, two people came up and told me they were jumping in and I could either circle with them or go to another lane if I only wanted to share with 1 other person. I was annoyed bc they told me instead of asking, and that they were both planning on getting in my lane instead of splitting up.
All lanes were being used at the time – none of the other lanes were sharing.
I am a new swimmer as far as swimming laps for exercise so I’m still learning (read: slow, a little uncoordinated in the water and overall uncomfortable with sharing a lane.)
Today, I just said I guess you guys can have it and got out.
I don’t want to hold up other people, which is also part of my hesitation in sharing to begin with. I got out, waited until another lane was done and got back in to finish my workout. I only had to wait a few minutes so it wasn’t a huge deal to me, but sometimes the waits can be much longer than that.
WIBTA If I said I’m sorry you’ll need to share with someone else or wait 10 more minutes, I don’t feel confident enough in my abilities to share a lane yet and continued with my workout?
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I was swimming laps at our community lap pool, and planned to do a 30 minute swim. About 20 minutes in to my swim, two people came up and told me they were jumping in and I could either circle with them or go to another lane if I only wanted to share with 1 other person. I was annoyed bc they told me instead of asking, and that they were both planning on getting in my lane instead of splitting up.
All lanes were being used at the time – none of the other lanes were sharing.
I am a new swimmer as far as swimming laps for exercise so I’m still learning (read: slow, a little uncoordinated in the water and overall uncomfortable with sharing a lane.)
Today, I just said I guess you guys can have it and got out.
I don’t want to hold up other people, which is also part of my hesitation in sharing to begin with. I got out, waited until another lane was done and got back in to finish my workout. I only had to wait a few minutes so it wasn’t a huge deal to me, but sometimes the waits can be much longer than that.
WIBTA If I said I’m sorry you’ll need to share with someone else or wait 10 more minutes, I don’t feel confident enough in my abilities to share a lane yet and continued with my workout?
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I may be the asshole because I don’t want to share a lane in a community lap pool.
It may make me an ahole because I might hold up other people from their swim.
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
>WIBTA If I said I’m sorry you’ll need to share with someone else or wait 10 minutes
YTA.
It’s a community pool – people share lanes. Which means you will sometimes have to share a lane. You don’t get to reserve one lane all for yourself while making others share.
If you do end up slowing them down, then they can decide if they want to put up with it or go share a lane with someone else. But you’re not entitled to have a lane all to yourself just because you’re uncomfortable.
Honestly, I’ve never heard of sharing a lane while swimming laps. Why not check at the front desk and ask what the protocol is.
ESH If all other lanes were full, but no one was sharing, they were trying to push you out so they could share together. There is no reason for 3 to be sharing when no other lane even has 2 in it. But you’re being new and uncomfortable sharing lanes – that’s not ever going to get better unless you practice it. Get comfortable sharing lanes, feel free to tell people you are new to lap swimming the next time you are asked to share but give it a go and stay in the water. The other two likely wouldn’t have wanted to deal with you and would have gone off to try to intimidate someone else out of the water. They suck far more than you, as they were pushing you off your lane while you were just being insecure about your abilities.
NTA. I thought you weren’t supposed to share lanes? I’m happy to be proven wrong. Maybe this is a poop by pool thing? I have to reserve lanes at mine.
It kind of depends on the pool policy. At my YMCA most people try and share just 2 to a lane so newcomers usually wait, BUT the policy is if they are all full, circle swim. One option might have been to say, I am really slow do you mind if I do a few more minutes on this side and offer half the lane. But truly we all HATE circle swim lol esp with vastly different speeds.
I swim 5 days a week at a YMCA. Common courtesy is to share lanes. If you are a slower swimmer, I would suggest telling them to go back and forth rather than in a circle. In other words, if you go down with the lane divider on your right, you will come back with the divider on your left. That way you don’t slow down the better swimmer. Keep to the side of the lane and there is plenty of room to pass each other.
ESH. You’re right, they were being kind of manipulative to try to get you to move so they could swim together.
But no isn’t an option. It’s not your personal pool. Sharing lanes and circle swimming if it gets busy is normal and expected. If they complained, the gym would tell you to share.
Yikes, the pools near me have many people per lane and lanes are set up with the slowest lane being the right lane all the way to the fastest being the left. Courtesy for passing is alerting the person in from of you by gently squeezing their ankle just before you get to the end of the lane. If you’re passing everyone, move to a faster lane. If everyone is passing you, move to a slower lane.
Every lane should be filled with 2 people before they ask you to share with 3 people in the lane.
NTA. They were trying to force you out so they could share a lane together, there is no other reason both of them needed to be in the same already occupied lane instead of splitting up.
Info: are the lanes marked for speed? The couple pools I swim at the lanes are marked. Lanes are always shared in a public pool during public swim/ lap swim.
YTA. You have to share lanes in a community pool.
Kind of depends on the pool policy. They’re TA either way, because even if sharing is expected, they should not be putting three in one lane rather than splitting up and having two in two different lanes. Whether you would be TA to ask not to share at all or whether sharing is expected would be something to ask the pool staff.
ESH but your TA for not wanting to share
It’s a community pool. A shared space. You have to share lanes.
They were likely asking for you to move to another lane so that they care have two people in their lane. And then you would be a lane with two people. They were likely planning to do the same workout and being in the same lane would be easiest for them.
They are kind of TA too because really they just should have jumped in separate lanes and not asked you to move.
You should learn to swim with people in your lane. With two people it’s common to “split” each person stays on one side. Three or more you “circle”, up and the right and down on the right.
Yes people should share, but it was very rude of these two to try and give you orders instead of asking you if you would mind splitting the lane. They could have each gone and shared with other people instead of bullying you.
NTA as long as you are willing to share with one of them. You have to share with both only if every other lane has at least two people.