OK, so last Sunday at our 11am swim session, I was unfortunately given some grief from a member of the public about our lane usage. He then gave the Lido staff the same earful. The pool was busy, as it always is on a Sunday morning at 11am. We only had four athletes in the 11am session and a whole double width lane. Every other lane probably had twenty plus people struggling for space. The only justification we have for taking up so much space is that as a club we had paid for it in advance.
I could see his point. Apart from the fact that we had paid for the double width lane, there is little reason to have so much lane space and only four people in it when the rest of the Lido is jammed. Of course this particular person, who complained about our lane use, could choose to swim at a less busy time but c’est la vie. We did move the lane rope so we had just a single width lane in the end giving the public a bit more space. While the Lido staff were very grateful for the gesture, we got no thanks from the complainant.
Our 8am session had eighteen people in it. Given the comments people made during the session about how busy it seemed that morning, I am quite sure they also felt a little cramped in the lane. The session plan for the 11am swim is the same as the 8am swim. So, what I would ask is that if you have no intention of participating in the run, why not show the 11am swim a little love? If we can spread the numbers more evenly between the swim sessions then it is better for everyone.
See you this weekend, Tim (LFTC Coach)