Amen to all of this. Unfortunately, I doubt the people that need to read this (aka the slow, seemingly unaware of their surroundings swimmers) check trifuel regularly. Almost every time I go to the pool, I get frustrated with people. Which at times motivates me to swim faster, and at other times I literally just get out and leave. If people would get in the appropriate "fast, medium, or slow" lane, 50% of problems could be avoided.

totally agree!! i just returned from the pool and am constantly annoyed by people who are more or less dog paddling in the medium lane! argh! to make matters worse the main pool on campus is closed for locker room renovation.

can you print and post this at your pool (and then take a pic and post it at http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/)?

awesome...when your picture is famous and published (in the passive aggressive book) i can say i knew you!

(i'm feeling a little punchy this afternoon...i think i'm a little high from the chlorine....)

Seriously? Are you kidding me? I'd take a swimmer or triathlete out for trying to talk that BS. Have you ever had an injury where you can't run. MOST aqua runners don't do it for fun they do it because that is their last option. Shame on you!

the ladies in the aqua aerobic/ dance section of the pool complained the other day because my butterfly stroke (granted, it sucks) splashed their hair

The aqua aerobics class starts at 1115 at my pool but believe me, those ladies will have you out by 1100 at the latest. It drives me crazy. They start coming in to the pool area at about 1030, I can usually taste the perfume in the air about that time and know without even stopping. Some get in and do a few laps, no biggie. The rest line the walls, flood into the pool and stand over the lane lines so that they can take them down at the first hint of a swimmer stopping. I never thought I'd get strong armed by the elderly but alas, its not the size of the dog in the fight. I now try to get there earlier and out by the time they start to migrate in, its not worth the cirty looks and mean mugs.

aaaaaa mmmmmmmeeeeeeeennnnnnnn......

how about pools putting up the slow, mid, fast lanes signs? would help.. mine refuses to do so.

At one pool we don't have lanes where you circle swim except at certain hours, and then they are marked as circle swim at those times. But never by speed. The other pool I swim at never has any marked lanes at all, or any need for it as it's rarely a space issue in that pool. There are never lanes marked for speed. Speed is so relative -- at one time, I might be the fastest person in the pool. But if Mike shows up with me then there is someone crazy faster than me. So do I switch what lane I'm in when he arrives?

I do like that even the aquajoggers are given equal treatment. They are doing the workout they can and/or want to do. Sure, it can be frustrating, but at the same time, who are we to say what workouts are and aren't valid?

Sure, I'm exaggerating the "real" swimmers kicking out the slower ones. But I've seen aqua joggers moving faster than some swimmers. And the way some people swim their legs are basically in an aqua jog position ;)

I guess I don't see a need for such strict rules in the pool, as I don't see some workouts as having a higher priority than others. I see a need for respecting other swimmers, and adapting to get more people in a lane when it is busy (and then following some standard rules for it). But the ones listed aren't how I've done passing, and it bugs me when a feeling of "my working is more important than yours" comes into play.

So a part devil's advocate, but also just a bit tired of people forgetting that others are there to improve as well, it just might be a different standard than their own.

Ex. If you swim a lap in the right side of the lane you touch the wall and return on the opposite side of the lane. The times I have done it we agreed to go counterclockwise. It works. The only drawback is I couldn't relax and daydream. You must be aware of ech swimmer's position and keep your speed up.

Interesting topic. Being a YMCA pool user I rarely have to deal with a large number of swimmers in the lanes. Senior citizens like to use them to walk slowly or use kickboards, floaties etc. I have no problem with any of it. What I do have a problem with are lane users that think it is their right to not share the lane. It happens on a regular basis. The pool is not as wide as most, therefore the lanes are a little snug. Not enough to make sharing a problem though. People get pissed when I stand there waiting for them to acknowledge my presence.

I couldn't agree more with this. Especially the part about having more disagreements at the pool than on the road.

I wish I had a laminated copy of this for the a$$h°le I had the pleasure of meeting in the pool Friday morning. I was sharing the lane with another guy when all of a sudden during a lap I see a hand a few feet away coming at me. I popped up real quick in complete surprise to be asked "do mind of we rotate?". Rather passive aggressive to 'ask' 25 meters into the lane. Quite a few laps later he tried to pass me, unbeknownst to me (no foot tap) at the wall right as we were rotating. Now I was peeved. I shot up and yelled at him if he'd heard of the word "etiquette".

circle swim is pretty simple, but up to five or six in a 25yd pool?!? the ONLY way this works is if the group is all doing the same workout AND comparably paced...this is not for drop-in swimmers with different agendas...think about three 8' long objects (6' person with arms over head plus some wiggle room) laid out in one half of the lane...that's 8 of 25 yards filled up with swimming bodies (on each half of the lane)! [...much easier in a 50m pool!]

sooner, this is a valuable post for all... +1 for the etiquette rules
thanks!

I get circle swimming, but the original post suggested that you could "split" the lane. Splitting ("you take the right side lane, I'll take the left side of the lane") is quite different than circling.

Anyway, should you ever find yourself training in New Zealand (I was fortunate to do so for 6 months) just remember to circle in the opposite direction (clockwise)! No idea if that's true for the rest of the Southern Hemisphere or perhaps countries where you drive on the right? Now whenever I get in a pool with a group I have to think about which way I'm supposed to circle instead of just being automatic.