I’ve been doing my swim training for my first tri at my local public pool. It’s a great facility, but it can get very crowded in the late afternoons when I typically can get there to train. So I thought I’d come at 6pm, after most of the obnoxious prepubecents leave for dinner. I never thought I would have to ask a lifeguard to kick an adult (actually several adults) out of the lap lane, but it happened today.
After I grazed this guy with my foot (they had been standing around in the lane while I was attempting to swim), I politely stated the obvious by telling him this was a lap lane and I did not want to kick him or the child he was holding…could he please move to the regular swim area? He promptly told me that he had paid his money like everyone else and that I should move; his lovely wife proceeded to agree. To make a long story short, I told him I will have to tell the guard and he said “go right ahead”. Which I did (I felt like a tattling 3 year old) and of course they told him to go somewhere else to swim. There were two lap lanes and this family was lounging in both of them. They proceeded to go into the other lap lane and lounge in there. Can you believe these ##$(#!^@%!^#$#^@ people??
Thanks for letting me vent. I told my husband, who is 100% couch potato, and his response pretty much was “whatever”.
I think that we have all experienced this sort of thing at public pools. I hope just airing your grievance helps you. Unfortunately, these sorts of people are forever going to be in our way.
I wish I would have been in your position. I don’t know what I would have done to those people, but it would not have been pretty. I actually enjoy scaring little kids when they get in the lane…I know its pretty sick, but its true.
Some ways I handle situations like this:
-If there is a toy in the lane it gets thrown to the other end of the 50 m pool.( or outside of the pool fence if it can be thrown that far)
-If there is a kid in the lane(especially a fat kid) I act like I can’t see them and make a fist and “swim my fist” right into them.
-If the kid is still in the lane when I come back by, then I stop and splash them in the face with water.
-If the kid is small enough then he gets flipped over the lane line into the swim area…or another lane.
-When adults are either standing or “doing something that doesn’t resemble swimming” in the lane, then they get a nice hard kick of water in their face as I go by.
-If the adults fail to the leave the lane after being splashed with water then there are two options…swim into them with the fist “oh sorry I didn’t see you there in the middle of the lane”…or try and get the old bladder ready and stop and give them an underwater golden shower as you ask them to get out of the way.
I hope that your ID does not stand for University of Wisconsin Milwaukee swimmer and you do not swim at the Marquette University gym where I swim. Ooh, gross
“Hey man…I don’t want to freak you out but I’ve got this skin condition “down there” which the doctors aren’t sure what it is but it seems pretty contagious. I’m sure the chlorine will kill the little parasites pretty quickly but you may want to get your kids to move over a bit. Do me a favor and don’t mention this to the lifeguards.”
I thought I would get some great answers from you guys! I never did think about a strange rash…I think he would have flown out of the pool on that one. I figured it was pointless to argue with someone who was so belligerent about a rule created for his own safety. Chances are I probably won’t run (or should I say swim?) into him again. Oddly enough, the kids have been the most polite about moving out of the lap lanes.