swim incident at the pool (Page 2)

Not me! I'd rather be in the ladies (unless they're way faster than me, thus shaming me).

Big difference between swim meet warmups where everyone knows from the time they get in the lane that they are sharing with several other swimmers and know it from beginning.

I think the OP's issue is not being unable to share a lane, just that when there is a ONE person swimming with his face pointing down, it's common pool courtesy to at least attempt to alert that person before getting in. The "offending" guy could have gotten in and started swimming in appropriate manner without saying anything and OP would have got the point and adjusted. But the goober just swam under him- out of all options, this was not a good option. Nothing like warmups in meet.

The key to that picture working (in Left Brain's post) is swimmers swimming at relatively similar and consistent speeds. It works great and is solid peer pressure to keep up and not let the person behind you start tapping your toes. Ahhhh, the good old days of youth summer swim team.

The problem I run into is trying to share a lane with people swimming different speeds who also can't circle swim their way out of a paper bag.

Reminds me of the horror of back when the Olympics were on tv you would have 4 people in a lane trying to be Phelps and Lochte going balls to the wall for 50 yards and then loitering for a few minutes to where you could not flip turn without donkey kicking someone. Thankfully that ended with the closing ceremonies.

incident sounds serious

seriously HTFU

I don't see it as a big deal but that is just me. I kind of prefer people not to stop me to ask, especially since I could be on an interval or in the middle of a timed set.

If I see someone I get over to the side and hope they know to just get in.

Then again, I swam in high school with 6-8 people per lane and we'd always goof off and swim underneath each other so I am desensitized.

That was the first thing I thought, too.
#UnnecessaryPoolDrama 

he swam under that was announcing his presence

I once had a guy announce his presence by colliding with me. There are safer and more effective ways of announcing one's presence. Ways that include some bilateral acknowledgement.

Yes, he could have waited for you to come back to the other end and you would have seen him standing in your lane. I wouldn't deny that he could of been more courteous

As a swimmer i accept that i don't own a lane no matter how early i got in. Circle swim all the time (even just slightly off center) and accept that someone will eventually join in.

You could have joked when you saw him and just said "boy ya scared the crap out of me!" there's ways of approaching conflict without being a jerk. I automatically do not like anyone who has ever told me "look buddy".

swimming under is a way of AVOIDING collision - not equivalent in the least

Nor is it as safe as simply waiting at the wall for some acknowledgement. Of course, the pool I swim in is 4ft deep and I would not appreciate someone swimming under me.

I was thinking either that.....or a kid pooped.  At my pool they call those "incidents" too.

Did you overreact asking the guy to find a more polite way to share next time?  No.

Did you overreact by then going home miffed and creating this post?  Probably.

Is there a chance that he had been dangling his feet/trying to get your attention and you never saw him?  You were 900 into your MS.  Just a thought.

In regards to the swimming under part. When I jump into a pool, I go feet first and swim about 15 meters underwater before breaking the surface.  If someone is coming the other way, they might see it as swimming under them.

If you were to one side, he could not have swam 'under' you.  But in the end, I think it was a non-issue.

No, he didn't have his feet dangling.  And the end of the pool that everyone gets in is 3.5 feet deep.  So it's not like he was 10' below me.  He was inches.

Ah...different issue then.

I didn't read most of the posts.  For MY personality, it's over reacting.  I'm just not a confrontational guy.  I don't let people walk over me, but at the same time, I don't say much if it's just a bit of bad etiquette.  Maybe an eye roll and move one.  It depends on the severity of course, and obviously, if it's repetitive.

If someone did a cannonball onto my back or when I was turning, I might say something.  Of if they guys was swimming under me back and forth, yep.  But one time?  Nope.

I'm the same with driving.  Someone cuts me off or runs a light?  I don't like it, but I don't use the horn or yell or flip the bird.  I just keep going.  If they KEEP doing it or are they going to hit me if I DON'T honk?  Then yes.  Not a big horn guy or yeller. 

I'm pretty much a "let it go" type and not someone who feels like they have to do/say something any time someone does something I don't care for or causes me minor issue (whether they did it on accident or just being a D-bag).  It's not worth what it typically builds into.

Just an FYI to those who think swimmer under another swimmer unexpectedly is "no big deal": 

Please assume it's a big deal to them unless you know them.  There are plenty of new/nervous swimmers, as we read about all the time here on BT.  There was a time a few years ago and someone swimming under me in my lane caused me to almost drown myself from being startled.  I asked him to please not do that and he balked.  He explained (in an entitled whiny tone) he was basically freediving and figured I wasn't using the bottom 75% of my lane. 

The thing is that someone swimming under you may be startling.  When you have your face in water and you're in the zone, being startled is even more annoying than just startling someone in the hallway.   Then, my reaction might not be totally cool.

So, to those who say HTFU I say GTFO!  Be polite and think that MAYBE someone else has feelings.  Sorry I'm not sorry.

I don't think you over reacted...I just think it sounds like you were a little condescending without a need to be. Anyone who addresses me with "Look buddy..." is automatically going to get ignored after those two words. I wasn't there so I don't really know what your tone was like with the guy, but it sounds like it wasn't exactly cordial.

Hmmmm.  There's one line of folks saying get over it, HTFU (whatever that means here, etc).  There's another saying you didn't overreact.

Here's the deal, in a pool there are rules of etiquette.  Swimming below someone in a 3.5 foot pool - my arns are approximately 3 feet long, they're obviously not on the bottom, I would be nearly touching them - is poor etiquette, and you were right on saying something to him.  How you said it may be another issue.  I probably would have said it similarly, but then established, are we circling?  splitting?  etc.

You stand at the edge and wait for the swmmer to come to that end, or dangle your feet.  You don't have to get acknolwedgement or necessarily permission, but you do have to make your presence known. 

I am a little confused as to whether you would be splitting a lane or circling, which adds the other issue, which is how is the workout going to go forward.  Someone swims next to me, OK, we're splitting.  There's a few people in the lane, OK, we're circling.  Swimming under me, I have no idea where you are going.

I have literally run into people that did not know how to swim in a pool, once very painfully.  That's something we're trying to avoid here, and there is nothing wrong with saying something to someone. 

ETA this isn't about how to or whether he shold share a lane, so those posts don't make sense to me.  The issue here is what is the common sense, reasonable and accepted method of joining a lane.  And swimming under is giving notice of joinging a lane?  On what freeaking planet does that occur?  Not in my 20 years of swimming    LOL.... too much