Quote:
Originally Posted by Mushkie
I used to be on a Olympic prep swim team and learned:
1). One can swim WITHOUT swim lanes and we typically had MULTIPLE swimmers in each lane, self divided by speed. If one is in the fastest lane and gets swam over, they automatically moved to the next lane that was for swimmers that are a little slower.
2). Put the lane lines in yourself. It’s not hard and you can consider it your “volunteer opportunity” to give back!
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Good for you, back in the day I swam in the Junior Olympics and was projected to represent our country in backstroke and the Individual Melody when I was old enough. I ultimately gave it up because my passions at the time were basketball and skiing and they conflicted with swimming (plus there was this guy named Mark Spitz who was way better than me). I know a little bit about swimming.
Responding to your above points:
1) Your suggestion partially works for an organized and well coached swim team, but not for senior citizens swimming in a free for all. First, swimming without lanes is very difficult for a backstroker who can’t follow the lines on the bottom of the pool, especially in an outdoor pool (you can’t follow a line created by the ceiling panels). Also, without lanes swimmers would be colliding with the water walkers that use any portion of the pool that is lane less (and sometimes invade the lanes). Many seniors refuse to share a lane with a single swimmer, let alone multiple swimmers. I always invite someone waiting to share the lane I am in (notice I don’t say my lane), but the favor is rarely reciprocated. Some older and more frail seniors are afraid to share a lane with someone like me, who is long and strong and occasionally makes contact swimming backstroke, so I understand their need for space.
2) If I got paid for all the times I have volunteered to put in the lanes and swim flags (or volunteered to help a recreation department employee), current gas and food prices wouldn’t bother me nearly as much. I even keep my own properly sized ratcheting tool in my swim bag so I can tighten the lanes once installed. Last winter I got reprimanded twice by recreation department staff for installing the lanes myself and was told it is not allowed. So now when the pool schedule says “lap swim”, I have no option but to call the recreation center when they are not installed.