Proper way to signal "get the F out of the way"?

Proper etiquette calls for an underwater wedgie.

Or else you could do what Aaron said. Either way....

swimming is the hardest to pass without really pushing it ....but id say go right up against the ropes and wedge...not wedgie....him outta the way. He will get the idea once your side by side.

I have never done a tri with a pool swim and, until this thread, wouldn't know that someone tapping on my foot meant they wanted to pass me (good thing I read this so if I do a pool swim tri I won't be "that person.)   

Tris with pool swims probably have a lot of first timers so JeepFleeb's suggestion, to let people around you know what the foot tapping means, is great and will also help newer athletes learn the sport's etiquette.

One thing to add is this guy had a team racing jersey on, so I feel like he should have known I was wanting to pass. So I know (not really, but I know) he was being stubborn and would not move no matter what.

Also a pool swim Dash N Splash was diffucult, especially running first, then jumping in the pool.

First off, I didn't know there was such a thing as a Splash N Dash where you actually run and dive into the pool ... that would be so much fun!!

Second, my very first tri (a sprint tri a few weeks ago) was only 300m and in a pool.  Anyone who bothered to attend any of the pre-race meetings would have known what being tapped on the feet meant - it was repeated several times.  At the Saturday packet pickup and pre-race meeting, at another pre-race meeting put on my one of the major sponsors (who also put on a little Tri Transition 101 type of clinic), it was repeated again at the pre-race meeting that Sunday morning right before the race, and if I'm not mistaken the race volunteers that were lining up everyone at the pool start were reminding people of the rules - to include the foot-tapping business.

Apparently I either haven't learned to lie yet about my 100m swim times, or else I had an extremely good day, or everyone else in front of me was extremely slow - cause I ended up passing 4 or 5 people.

The first person I tapped, they waited at the wall, no problem.  The second person would not - I tapped him in 2 different straight-ways ... so I ended up passing right down the middle of the lane.  In order to be as courteous and thoughtful as possible to those behind me (who happened to be coming up the lefthand side of the lane as I and the slow guy in front of me were going down the righthand side )... I wedged over as close as possible to the slow guy and even rolled over onto my side and somehow managed to keep stroking a modified freestyle while on my side .. .until I passed him.

The next person would not wait at the wall either and actually practically stopped ... looked like the were basically doing a doggie paddle but not moving their legs ... their feet were dragging the bottom of the pool ... and there was a log-jam .. both her and the person in front were back to back and neither seemed in any hurry to move along or to wait at the next wall.

Solution, too much traffic coming down the other side of the lane, so I stopped, stood up, dived like crazy and swam UNDERNEATH both of these people ... I surfaced just barely ahead of this 2nd person ... was still kinda in the middle of the lane about 1/2 a body length ahead ... so I did the old rollover to the side manuever that I had just learned and perfected ... kicked and pulled like crazy and went on past ....

...it was pretty smooth sailing from there on out ... and I finished my 300m in 7:19 ... probably would have been under 7:00 mintues without the troubles ....

...but in all reality ... if you look at the 10, 15, or even 20-25 seconds earned in time ... was it really worth it ??? Did the extra energy slow me down by 20 seconds on the bike or run ... or cause me an extra 20 seconds in transition to catch my breath and be steady enough to slip on my socks and shoes ??/

I dunno ... I told myself I would relax and take it easy on the swim and not sweat it if I needed to pass ... but something happened to me that morning and I was unable to control it ... that old competitive spirit reared it's ugly head and I was unable to tame it ...

... as soon as the Starter yelled "Go!" and I took off ... all I could feel were my arms pulling as hard as they would go  ... and all I could see was the next person in front of me that I needed to get around ....!!!    

../

KSH - 2008-10-13 2:14 PM Next time you grab his ankle and pull him under the water and swim OVER him. That's what the boys did to me on the swim team. Yeah, most people are CLUELESS to what tapping on their foot means. They don't have a clue. Either you stay behind them or you take the risk and pass them.

Are you sure they were trying to swim over you?  How long were they "swimming" over you? I'm just saying, there shouldn't be any pepperoni pizza in a swim...

I would just keep swimming and hold my line.  Let them worry about how to get around you.

Not making excuses for them but, occasionally a faster swimmer in a later wave or start time will come up pretty fast on a slower swimmer and end up on their feet before they know it.  It gets even more difficult when the swimmer in front has trouble holding thier line very well.  You try to pass and next thing you know you have feet or arms in your face.  About all you can do is grab or push them away.  It's not malicious, you're just trying to keep your teeth in you mouth  

If you're in a USAT AG race and feel the urge to tell someone to "get the F out of the way," I follow these steps:

1. Take a deep breath.
2. Remember this is supposed to be fun.
3. Stop taking yourself and your race so seriously.