10 Things the Non-Swimmer Will Never Understand

By Suzie Ryan, Swimming World Intern

As swimmers, we spend hours upon hours in the water. When our friends are hanging out after school or on the weekend, we are swimming up and down the black line at practice or at a meet. As swimmers, we have our own idiosyncrasies, language and looks that can be difficult for outsiders to understand, no matter how hard we try to explain.

Here are 10 things that can be tough for the outsider to understand:

1. Whiteboard Language

Swimmers have their own language. Every session, our coach scribbles our session on the whiteboard and we understand what is expected. But most non-swimmers will have no idea what all that writing means. Our training sessions are filled with codes, shorthand and dialect that only swimmers and coaches understand.

2. Taper

Taper is a swimmer’s joy but something that makes no sense to non-swimmers. For swimmers, we can go from feeling slow, tired and crappy to feeling light in the water and on top of the world. We suddenly are blessed with super speed and energy coming out of our ears. For coaches, taper is a special art or science, a skill that takes time to master to bring out the best in every swimmer.

3. We Complain About Swimming; But We Love It

Every swimmer has done it at some point throughout their career and will probably do it again. We complain and cry to our non-swimmer friends about the long hours of staring at the black line, the early mornings, the lack of a social life and the hard sets that swimming puts us through. But we keep plugging away because we ultimately love what we do.

4. Race Suits vs. Practice Suits

To any non-swimmer, a bathing suit is a bathing suit. But swimmers have our race suits, our practice suits and, of course, our bathing suits for the beach.

Our practice suits are full of fun colors, prints and different designs from open backs, to crossy straps to tie backs. But then you have our race suits, or as many swimmer’s like to describe them, our torture suits. These suits take at least 20 minutes to get into, all while getting stuck halfway through because it’s so tight. Of course, there are also the friction blisters covering your fingers from pulling the suit up.

5. Tan Lines

Tan lines are a way for any non-swimmer to spot a swimmer from a mile away during the summer. You can always spot a swimmer from their tog tan lines to the permanent cap and goggles tan lines. Swimmers will always have tan lines, no matter what time of year or how hard we try to get rid of them.

Our tan lines are not something to be embarrassed about, but moreso to be proud of because they show the long hours we dedicate to a sport we love.

6. Smelling Like Chlorine 24/7

As swimmers, we smell like chlorine all the time. No matter how many times we shower, the lingering smell of chlorine is always there. We shower after every practice and lather ourselves in body wash. Once dressed, we spray ourselves with body spray to somehow always be told by someone at least once a day: “You smell like chlorine.”

The funny thing is, most of us have become so immune to the smell of chlorine that we can’t even smell it anymore. It’s only others who can.

7. Never Getting Bored Of the Black Line

We stare at a black line for hours a day, but somehow never get bored of it, much to the confusion of our non-swimmer counterparts. We get asked all the time if swimming up and down a black line is boring but to us it is the furthest thing. Many swimmers may even go as far as saying it is therapeutic and helps clear their heads.

8. Carb Loading

Every swimmer loves the night before a meet. We get to eat as much pasta and carbs as we like. As swimmers, carbs/pasta is the most important food group for a swimmer, as they provide a source of stored energy.

9. The Pain of Hitting the Lane Line

If you’re not a swimmer, you will never understand the pain of hitting your finger in the lane rope. It is excruciating, no matter how hard you hit it. The lane rope will always be an enemy to a swimmer.

10. Goggles Are Never Truly Anti-Fog

Every pair of goggles is always advertised as anti-fog, but every swimmer knows that is the biggest lie. Most of the time, a brand new pair of goggles fogs up by the end of our first session and we are back to seeing the black line through a cloudy lens.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

Name*

Email*

2 Comments

Oldest

Newest Most Voted

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Terry Watts

2 years ago

Guys shaving their legs…

Morgan

4 months ago

True