Rude Noodlers!

[Karen Duggan]

I remember the noodler thread of a long time ago, and I just kinda laughed at the idea of how annoyed some swimmers were with the "noodling". Today, I had a particularly ugly encounter with some noodlers.

I haven't swam since my unfortunate exit, after the 200 IM, at Nationals. Tuesday and Wednesday I had really bad food poisoning that had me laid out the entire time (when I wasn't yakking my guts out!), and on top of it all, I'm one month pregnant with number 4. (Happy about pregnancy, not so much about the other things).

So, my first day back swimming was today at the gym, on this beautiful, sunny 75 degree day. Ahhh. There's a 5 lane 25m pool. Albeit too warm because of the charming noodlers!

I got in, swam an easy 1000, and then the noodler class started. I was in lane 2 as lane 1 is really narrow. I knew that the noodlers get lanes 3-5. I went to push off the wall and a noodler was about 7 meters out right in front of me. Good thing I looked, or she would have had some owies. I stopped and looked at her (she couldn't see the glare in my eyes because I had my goggles on). She just stood there looking at me. A "friend" of hers said, "Do you want to move over?" She asked. I said, "No. I don't." To which she replied, "We get three lanes." I said, "You HAVE three lanes." Apparently, when a lane line isn't in, that counts as one! Long and short of it is I moved over.

It gets better. The "lady" (blue suit) who told me about how many lanes they get started chipping on me as I was swimming/kicking. I held my tongue for awhile and then suggested that she "grow up."

I finished 2,000m which was just right for me, now, and was sitting on the deck, while a guy who was obviously waiting for our ONE lane, got in. I was watching the noodlers noticing that of the 25 of them or so, they were all much older ladies or younger, MUCH heavier "ladies". I'm guessing over 300 pounds, which might account for their ill temper. Blue suit was probably pushing 350. As I was sitting their I saw her turn around, look right at me, and clear as day, say to her friend, "The b!t@h got out!" I couldn't believe my ears, was she kidding me?!

I walked over to her and from the side said, "Do you have a problem with me?" She said, "No. Why?" And I said, "I have a problem being called a b!t#h for no good reason." She didn't answer again, but her friend said, "She didn't say that." I told her that I clearly heard her. She said, "She doesn't even use words like that. She said, 'You got out.' " (Oh, they sound so similar! Plus it doesn't even make sense, she wasn't talking to me! Anyway...)

I said again, "If you have a problem I think you should talk to me." She still didn't answer. Her friend said, "If you have a problem, maybe you should go to the front desk." I said, "I'd rather work it out with you." So, I hadn't thought of going to the front desk, but it sounded good.

The manager came over and I pointed them out and he said he'd give me a call... we'll see.

I couldn't believe the rudeness. I'm sure not all noodlers are that rude, but she was over the top.

[3strokes]

................ I'm one month pregnant with number 4. (Happy about pregnancy, .........

Congratulations...

....... a noodler was about 7 meters out right in front of me. Good thing I looked, or she would have had some owies.

Now that you know what she looks like and what kind of person she (and probably some of her friends too) is, next time do push off, professionally, SDK (or SFK............."F" fo flutter) all out and do give her some "Ouchies"!

Blue suit was probably pushing 350. As I was sitting their I saw her turn around, look right at me, and clear as day, say to her friend, "The b!t@h got out!"

If she ever utters that expression again, use it as if she was introducing herself or talking about herself (depending on the sentence she uses) and then thank her for announcing her name and either announce your own name or, haughtily, say that you prefer not to mention your own name in exchange.

Cheers and -again- Congrats.

[SwimStud]

...and on top of it all, I'm one month pregnant with number 4.

Wow...get a TV or Swim more hehe congratulations

Good thing I looked, or she would have had some owies.

Next time don't look.

I couldn't believe the rudeness

I can...society is pretty rude these days.

I had somebody just jump in my lane in the middle of a 500, the othen night...I was going up and down the middle and some kid (under 10) get's in. he was swimming but he didn't wait in the corner for me to at least spot him and then adjust my lane position. Luckily he was small and fit through the gap between me and the line or he would have got the equivalent of a punch from my arm coming over and into the water.

What makes it worse is he is there with his dad ("coaching" lol) but they didn't do anything to get my attention. I don't look forward really when I'm in a lane alone...thankfully I missed him but it could have been pretty bad.

[CreamPuff]

Congrats Karen on your fourth!!

What an awful experience! Although it made for a great story.

Aren't noodlers typically annoyed when they, (gasp!) get wet above the chest/ neck area? Strange when they are in a pool, but I've seen the mentality of, "I don't want to get wet!"

I will reinact for you.

Karen invites USMS board members including (S)he-Man, Fortress, Swmr4Life, FlyQueen, and others who gleefully accept the "wall" lane which happens to be right next to said noodlers. After a monstrous, lengthy, all-out kick set led by Swmr4Life upon which all noodler hair-do's (or don'ts) collapse into a sticky mass of hair spray under the massive waves (not to mention their pancake make up sliding off their faces), we all switch to either distance free with paddles or butterfly led by FlyQueen and Fort. Blue Suit Noodler tries to complain about being wacked in the face by said paddler (S)he-Man, but no action is taken against the (S)he-Man as she was within her lane and obviously she would never do anything like that on purpose. Afterall, blue suit is wider than the one lane.

While the noodlers have the more than obvious weight advantage thing going on, they are no match for the agile, quick FAF's and friends. Our swimming wakes overpower the noodler waves and noodlers are forced to shamefully exit the pool and adjourn to an area that is more their speed - the snack bar.

Seriously though, sorry that happened. Do I see your doing some kick/ fly/ paddle sets in the future with some reinforcement (other swimmers)?

[Slowswim]

Looks like (S)he-man, Swim4Life, and the FAFs are the new swimming Fantastic Four+!

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[SwimStud]

Looks like (S)he-man, Swim4Life, and the FAFs are the new swimming Fantastic Four+!

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Yeah and for the guys "it's slobbering time!"

[globuggie]

Yikes! I haven't had to deal with rude noodlers, but I've had to deal with plenty of kids (and parents). They'll accidentally throw a torpedo or something into the lap lanes and swim under the lane line to get it, and often get accidentally smacked when I swim by (I've never actually injured anyone, other than maybe bruises). The worst is when the parents blame ME for not watching out for their kids, since their kids are so spoiled and could never do anything wrong. So many parents don't understand that punishing their kids appropriately can be a good thing!

[Karen Duggan]

I must admit, I did have some hand entry issues today when I was swimming fly. I did 16 x 25 reverse IM order, and some fly drills. Dag gum if my hands didn't enter incorrectly, my pinkies kept doing this "we go in first thing" and my hands not knowing what to do, just went sideways. I do see how it could have appeared I splashed them as I went by. I really oughtta work on my hand entry. Too bad I was so tired, I would've loved to try to work on that particular fly issue!

Haven't heard from the manager yet...

[USMSarah]

Congrats on the pregnancy!

But, I was in shock to read your story about the cranky noodler! I'm so glad you told the manager. Maybe she's been rude before and if she gets enough complaints, they can kick her 350 lb butt outta there. You didn't deserve that! When I was reading your story, I could feel the anxiety building up and I wanted to yell at the too!

If she's there again, keep on splashin!

[aquaFeisty]

hey, congrats on #4!

can't believe your noodler story. how obnoxious! since you said it was a noodler class, I'm assuming there was a teacher? if so, it should have also been the teacher's responsibility to get the noodler out of lane 2. when I teach the aqua classes at the fitness center, there are strict rules of how much of the pool my class can occupy and how much has to be available for lap swimmers. the teacher should have pulled that large lady (was going to write another word here, but not a good idea) over to lane 3.

I would work on a kicking set too... one with lots of splashing. not a good day for breaststroke! I have to say, it cracks me up when the ladies in those classes get splashed really good by the swimmers... of course, if I am teaching I commiserate on the outside.

[FindingMyInnerFish]

I've had my own experience with

--kids tossing pool toys into the lap lanes (grrr... stopped swimming during the period they had kdis sharing the pool w/ lap swimmers)
--people telling me I was "splashing" them. Hmmm... water=wet. How do you stay dry there?
--people with heavy perfume coming into the pool (um... you need directions to the cocktail lounge?)

But I also talked to a woman while sitting in the sauna who told me she'd lost over a hundred pounds. She was swimming earlier in the wall lane, very, very slowly, and it would be easy to dismiss her efforts, but as we chatted, I realized just what it took for her simply to be in the pool and do her slow swimming. I remembered her then from a year earlier... very worn suit almost to see-through. And I recognized that a lot of people who come into water exercise (swimming, "noodling") as adults have brought their land issues with them, including their fears of water, fears about their weight, etc. The woman told me that at first she couldn't swim the whole length of the pool without stopping to hold on to the side. For her, simply swimming as she was represented progress. She knew that it would take a lot of work to get from being afraid of water to being able to make it through a single lap. Her joints could not take a lot of exercise on land so it was water exercise or no exercise. She said now that she'd shed the weight, she was going to start walking.

I remember coming back into the locker room after a workout where I was getting discouraged about inability to do flip turns, and thinking "I'm not a real swimmer," and then hearing some women talk about their adult swim class and fear of putting their face in the water. And then I realized I'd been given a lot in terms of having had a chance to learn to swim as a kid and had gotten past a lot of my fears (not all.. I'm still afraid of flip turns), which these women had not.

Sometimes this is expressed in arrogant behavior, and while that doesn't excuse the behavior, it can help to consider its source. The kids invading the lanes... sometimes I think the ppl managing these things need to work on at least scheduling compatible activities if they're going to split the pool in half for any reason. Maybe what they need to do is to have some sort of forum for those involved to voiice their concerns (online or in a meeting), then do the scheduling, tho I suppose it's a challenge to accommodate everyone.

[FindingMyInnerFish]

And... oops, got so caught up in my reply that I forgot something important: to congratulate you on your pregnancy... Hope all goes well and wishing you a safe delivery and healthy baby.

Also sorry to hear you weren't feeling well during the meet! Sounds harrowing!

[swim4me]

I must admit, I did have some hand entry issues today when I was swimming fly. I did 16 x 25 reverse IM order, and some fly drills. Dag gum if my hands didn't enter incorrectly, my pinkies kept doing this "we go in first thing" and my hands not knowing what to do, just went sideways. I do see how it could have appeared I splashed them as I went by. I really oughtta work on my hand entry. Too bad I was so tired, I would've loved to try to work on that particular fly issue!

Haven't heard from the manager yet...

Congratultions on the baby Karen!

As I was reading the posts above this, I was thinking fly and kick sets would have been more than appropriate!!!! Sorry about your poor form while passing the noodlers . I hope their hair did not get wet . Try not to get too stressed, not good for baby!

[nkfrench]

The health club I frequent simply closes their 4-lane pool for "lap swimmers" when noodle class is in order. And I have to admit, if they didn't have the noodle class (probably 50 people) they wouldn't have even built the pool. Happily the noodle class is just one hour a day a couple of days a week. While I'm not happy with the solution it does minimize my stress level trying to share space with a group that doesn't understand what a swimmer needs or having to share lanespace with others who aren't noodling but aren't swimming laps either (What's the term for this ? Floaters ? Bathers ?)

In an ideal world I would be able to consistently make it to my coached Masters workout instead of dealing with the public, but our group works out earlier than I can make without sneaking out of work early.

[Allen Stark]

Generally I respect the noodlers as it is one of the best exercises for the overweight and I think it takes courage in that situation to even get into a swimsuit. That doesn't excuse rude behavior and a few can be amazingly inconsiderate. I guess every group can have it's bad apples(except Masters Swimming of course.) Mega-congrats on the pregnancy ,I have been told by friends"4 is no harder than 3" "4 is easier than 3" and "4 is much harder than 3." I hope you find it easier.

[MichiganHusker]

Oooooh - count me in with (S)he-man's plan!

I actually switched from the Y to another health club for this reason where I was assured the lap swimming areas are for lap swimming only and the noodle classes are in the "family fun zone" area. (The two areas are separated by a bulk head).

Everything was great until one week when people in the lap swimming area weren't swimming, they were either playing or (and I'm not kidding) walking up and down the lane.

Long story short, I complained to the Aquatic's Director. When the situation did not change, I complained to the head life guard.

Karen - keep complaining, in an assertive, yet calm and controlled manner, in addition make a suggestion or two of how to resolve the situation.

At my club, I pointed out that the rules are strictly enforced everywhere but the pool and that the same type of rule breaking would never be allowed on a treadmill or other gym equipment. I suggested that at a minimum when the lap lanes are full, have those who are "playing" and not actually attempting to swim laps go into the family fun zone and I have noticed that the life guards now enforce this rule.

Good luck & Congrats on #4!

BTW, when I win the lottery or become extremely rich and famous, I am going to build a state of the art swimming facility. One pool for those who like it warm, another pool set at the usual competitive swimming temp as well as a bunch of individual endless pools for OW swimmings who can't get outside.

[Allen Stark]

Soory I double clicked send.

[scyfreestyler]

Congrats on the pregnancy...you are a brave woman!

As for the noodler issue, yes people can be rude. However, I am sure there are just as many rude noodlers as there are rude Masters swimmers. Let's not kid ourselves here.

[geochuck]

I have never met a rude noodler. Noodlers have rights to swim and play. I just make sure that I do not run them over.

I had more trouble with people on air mattresses. A friend of ours blew up her mattress in her hotel room. When she went to go out it was shredded by the overhead fan. I wish that happened to every one with an air mattress.

[TRYM_Swimmer]

...having to share lanespace with others who aren't noodling but aren't swimming laps either (What's the term for this ? Floaters ? Bathers ?)

My wife and I fondly refer to them as TWs (Turtles and Whales), although I have to admit there are a lot of good swimmers in the whale category!