Hello all lengths swimmers,

As many of you will have noticed, we have a huge demand for lane swimming currently and nearly all the swims are becoming fully booked 7 days in advance; leaving many swimmers unable to get their workouts in. 

We are aware of the extremely high demand for lane swimming currently and from 27^th February we are going to make some changes to get more swimmers through the pool especially in the morning slots. 

At the end of February, we see the return of school swimming lessons all the way up to the summer holidays.  This also will reduce the number of lane swims in a day which will add increased pressure on the demand for lane swimming. 

We are well aware that many of you really enjoy our current lane swimming system and we have tried every way we can possibly think of to justify keeping the numbers as low as 8 in the pool per swim, but we simply need to increase the capacity of the swims.  However…do not panic, we are only increasing the capacity of the swims, initially to 10 swimmers (increase of 2), and in time once everyone settles into the new system we will increase to 12.  We want to keep the lane swims a pleasant environment for everyone.

We are going to be running the lane swimming with 3 lanes. Fast, Medium and Slow lanes.

The Fast & Medium lanes will be single lanes incorporating a circular swim direction, the slow lane will be a large double lane that will not have a direction of travel and people will be able to swim up and down freely.  Speaking with our friends at Wadebridge and other local leisure centres this is a model they use successfully. See the infographic below that demonstrates the new lane layout 😊

 

 

Sharing lanes with 3 or more swimmers can require a certain amount of etiquette.  We do not want to teach you all how to suck eggs but here is a really useful video and some info we’ve written on lane etiquette.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zuxvCTQ_u8

 

Camelford Leisure Centre Lane Etiquette – this applies to the fast and medium lanes only

Swim in the right direction

This might sound pretty simple but it’s super important.  The fast and medium lane will have a board at each end indicating whether or not you should be swimming in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. Make sure you stick to this, even if the lane’s quiet as it just makes it easier for everyone, including you, other swimmers and the lifeguards.  In the larger slow lane, you will be able to swim up and down at will without directed travel.

 

Let faster swimmers past

If there’s a faster swimmer behind you, then it’s really important you let them past. Keeping faster swimmers behind you, can cause a tailback behind you, clogging up the lane for other swimmers. If you want to let swimmers past, wait until you reach the end of the lane, pull to the side and let all the faster swimmers behind past before continuing to swim. It’s also really important you also don’t start swimming in front of faster swimmers, let them all past before you begin. If you are being regularly passed, then you might want to consider moving into a slower lane.

 

How to let slower swimmers know you want to pass

If you’re being held up by a slightly slower swimmer in front of you, then the commonly accepted thing to do is to give their feet a little tap. Remember, not all swimmers will be able to sense your presence, and may not even feel a tap, so be patient. If they’re following this guide, they’ll pull aside at the end of the lane and let you past.

 

Stay out of the way if you’re resting

If you need to take a rest after swimming a few lengths, we completely understand. Swimming is hard work and it’s important you don’t push yourself too hard, especially if you’re just starting on your exercise journey. When you do rest, however, it’s important you stay out of the way of those swimmers that are continuing. So, stop at the end of the lane and move as far to the side of the lane as possible to make sure you don’t get in the way of other swimmers turning.

 

Don’t push off right before a swimmer comes in to turn

Pushing off right when another swimmer is coming in to turn means that this swimmer will push off either, a) right beside you, or b) on top or below you. 

 

Choose a lane according to your speed

Each time you visit the pool the lane you choose will be dictated by the swimmers around you.  For example, one day you may be the fastest swimmer in the pool, on another day you may be slower than other swimmers and need to choose a slower lane.  Let the pace of the session decide which lane you feel most comfortable.

 

Choose a lane that matches up with how quickly (or slowly) you are planning on swimming. In other words, the lane in which the swimmers are the least likely to impede your swimming, and vice versa.