Road Rules for Safe Swimming

By Anita Kilmier

Swimming in a lane is just like driving on the road. In Australia we drive on the left-hand side, hence when we train in a lane with others, we swim to the left of the black line. This is commonly known as ‘circle’ swimming. In the USA, cars drive on the right hand side or anti-clockwise, therefore the swimmers do too. This allows a maximum number of swimmers to train together, with the least amount of interference. Swimming directly in the middle of the lane, directly above the black line is a luxury for the add occasions you may have a lane to yourself, or, during a race. At all other times, you should ‘hug’ the lane rope by swimming as close to it as you can. This will allow some space for overtaking if and when needed.

Just as there are road rules for driving, so too there are common sense courtesies for swimming. If everyone abides by them, accidents will be minimal and everyone will get a ‘fair go’.

Follow these simple tips to become a safe and courteous swimmer.

1. Before entering the pool find the lane of swimmers that roughly equates to your swimming speed. Some pools have signs indicating ‘Slow’, ‘Medium’, and ‘Fast’ lanes. Unfortunately, this is all relative. What is ‘fast’ to a novice may be ‘slow’ to an Olympian, so use your common sense when choosing a lane. (A slowly moving car on a fast freeway is often more dangerous than speeding cars.)
2. Do not dive into the pool unless there is clear water, appropriate depth and no incoming swimmers who can be swamped.
3. If you are resting at the wall, always give way to any incoming swimmer and allow them to finish the length or make their turn unimpeded. Stand to the side of the lane close to the lane rope, to allow a space on the wall in the middle of the lane for swimmers to finish or turn and push off. (In a car park, always park out of the way of others to allow incoming and outgoing traffic to flow smoothly. Never double park.)
4. If everyone is swimming the same programme in a lane, work out a pecking order (fastest to slowest) and depart at exactly 5 or 10 second intervals as stipulated by your coach. If you are continually catching the person in front and are not prepared to exchange places, leave a greater gap between you. (When cars are all travelling at the same speed ensure adequate space is left between you and the car in front to give you adequate breaking time in an emergency.)
5. Drafting (swimming very close to the toes of the swimmer in front) is a way of catching a ‘free’ ride by swimming in the slipstream of the swimmer in front. In long distance open water events it is very common, but in pool swimming it is considered very rude as the front swimmer has to work extra hard to ‘carry’ the swimmer behind them. It also incurs an accident risk in much the same way as a car driving too close to the one in front. Usually the front swimmer will be forced to speed up to get some space between the 2, and the back swimmer will swim faster to keep up. If the coach has set a moderate or easy set, the swimmer in front will be training the wrong energy system and over a long period of time (e.g. weeks) could contribute to the swimmer ‘burning’ out. (Always leave more than 2 car spaces between you and the rear of the car in front of you. Tailgating is one of the most common causes of accidents.)
6. In a squad situation, the person who leads should be someone who can maintain a consistent speed throughout an entire set. In other words, they are good at pacing themselves. The fable of the Tortoise and the Hare teaches us an important lesson about pacing.  Slow swimming is often more important than fast swimming. In order to train properly it is better to swim more easily at the start of the session or set, so that you have plenty of energy left at the finish. The type of person who swims very fast at the beginning, but gets slower and slower as the set progresses should never lead the lane. They will be very disruptive to the rest of the swimmers, dropping in and out of the line to rest and messing up the departure times of everyone else. They should go behind a slower, more consistent swimmer with the goal of maintaining the space between themselves and the swimmer in front. This will teach them to pace themselves better. (On the road, you will conserve fuel by driving steadily, and at less risk to those around you.)
7. If you do have to miss a repetition always tell the swimmer immediately behind you and whether they should save your ‘space’ for your return. Otherwise, the swimmer can take over your departure time by leaving 5 seconds earlier. (When pulling out into a lane you would use your indicator and move when there was a natural break in the traffic – rather than forcing your way in with speeding cars)
8. If you want to overtake a swimmer during a lap, simply tap the swimmers toes in front (once only – any more is really annoying!) to signal your intention. Lift your head for a couple of strokes to see if it is safe to pass, then accelerate past. Once you have overtaken, move back in front of the swimmer, but take care that you don’t cut them off. The swimmer who is being overtaken should NOT stop, but swim a little slower to allow a safe passage, and swim really close to the lane rope. If they feel the tap on the feet near the end of a lap, they should swim into the wall and pause long enough for the faster swimmer to turn and go ahead. (In a dual carriageway, the slower car should always be in the lane closest to the verge, to allow faster cars safe passage.)
9. Always swim as close as possible to the lane rope. Look at where the black line is in relation to the lane rope and use that as a guide to swimming next to the rope. Swimmers who swing their arms wide on Freestyle tend to swim in the middle of the lane to avoid hitting the lane rope. They should be taught correct biomechanics to recover the hand above the water in a straight line from the back of the stroke to the entry point. This will bring the hand close to the body with a high elbow. (Drive in the lane closest to the footpath, unless overtaking). Breathing bi-laterally will help you, particularly as you can see how far away you are from the lanerope.  A good swimmer will swim so close to the lane on Freestyle that they will practicaly eye-ball it.  Backstrokers in indoor pools should look for points of reference above them, to swim straight and off to one side. In outdoor pools, or where no reference points can be found, stay in touch with the rope by brushing or grazing it on a regular basis, and use your peripheral vision to see the lane rope.  You should not need to turn your head to see it.
10. Swimmers who swim strokes other than Freestyle need to swim evasively. In other words, you need to modify your stroke to avoid hitting or kicking other swimmers, particularly if you are overtaking, or being overtaken. (Drivers also need to be aware of vehicles other than cars that pose additional dangers e.g when opening doors, watch that cyclists aren’t about to pass.)
    
    Evasive techniques include:
    
    Butterfly. Always watch when you breath and judge how many strokes it will take you to come level with the oncoming swimmer. If it is likely that your wide swinging arms could hit the oncoming swimmer, you can pause or delay the next stroke by remaining underwater and gliding a bit longer at the front of your stroke. Alternatively, give a smaller, narrower, crab like stroke to minimise risk to yourself and the other person. Butterfly is such a forceful, explosive stroke that a wide arm swing is capable of knocking out teeth and breaking noses. Take care! 
    
    Breaststroke. The kick in Breaststroke generates a huge amount of power behind it and like Butterfly, has the potential to seriously injure another swimmer. Always be aware of how wide you are kicking. When overtaking or being overtaken, either do a very tight narrow kick, or substitute the kick with a few dolphin kicks until the other swimmer is safely passed.
    
    Backstroke. Potentially very dangerous and head on collisions are common. Backstrokers must learn to swim straight and close to the lane rope. If overtaking another, they should switch to Freestyle until safely passed. One benefit of swimming backstroke is the swimmer can see another approaching from behind who may want to overtake. It is much safer therefore for the swimmer who is doing the overtaking. The backstroker can aid a safe passage by slowing down. As the backstroke pull pulls sideways (unlike Freestyle and Butterfly where the hands pull underneath the body), there is a risk of scratching swimmers as they swim pass. The Backstroker should be aware of this and again take evasive action.

Other Tips

1. Unless the coach tells you otherwise, NEVER stop and stand in the middle of the lane, or jump off the bottom of the pool. It can cause a chain reaction, stopping all the other swimmers behind. ( I would hope no readers would stop in the middle of the road!)
2. When making a turn, practice turning on the wall in the middle of the lane (particularly with tumble turns) to help avoid both outgoing and incoming swimmers. (When making a U-turn, always wait for a natural break so traffic is not interrupted in either direction.)

If you follow these common sense rules that are merely an extension of the road rules, everyone will have a safe, enjoyable swimming experience.