Shower etiquette at the swimming pool

coolcait

itsanne wrote: »

As I'm in Scotland my experience in a variety of pools is the same as coolcait's. However, having experienced communal single sex changing rooms elsewhere I have to confess that while rationally I can't think of any reason not to strip off I'm not very comfortable doing so. I will do if necessary, but much prefer the individual cubicle. Thinking about it, it's not so much the actual nudity which makes me uncomfortable but the overweight nudity - which is daft, considering that my weight is equally apparent in my swimming costume ......

Re BiB, I think that it may simply be down to what you're used to, and how long you have to adapt to something different.

My first few visits to the London swimming pool were excruciatingly embarrassing for me.

It was completely different to my usual experiences of swimming pool changing rooms. I wasn't comfortable with stripping off (oh how I wish I were still as 'fat' as I thought I was then! ); I worried that I was seen as being 'odd' by getting changed under my towel - although on later visits I saw other people using the same changing method; and I had the age-old worry about 'not knowing where to look'.

After a few visits I had become much more comfortable with the changing environment. My towel was still my friend, but a lot more skin was on display.

The London experience stood me in good stead when I moved on to Northern European swimming pools.

If I had only had my Scottish pool experience to draw on, I would probably have turned round at the sign outside the communal shower saying "All patrons must shower without swimming costume, using soap, before entering the pool" and never returned. Ever. :eek:

Savvy_Sue

Georgiegirl256 wrote: »

I haven't been swimming in years so don't know what most people wear. But do a lot of women wear bikinis? That actually surprises me as I thought most would feel more comfortable in a one piece costume. To me, bikinis are more for sunbathing on a beach,

At the pool I go to (hotel leisure club with a membership scheme and a very small pool) there's quite a few bikinis in evidence, but the serious swimmers wear proper cossies. I'm in a minority in a two piece tankini, but it makes nipping out of the pool to use the loo much quicker ...

The men mostly wear baggy shorts.

I haven't quite worked out why some women walk out of the changing room with a towel wrapped around them, over their cossie (usually a bikini), and then take it off before they shower and walk into the sauna etc. If I didn't feel comfortable in a bikini, I wouldn't wear one - possibly I wouldn't even swim.

mumps wrote: »

I've been in family loos, think it was at the services near Gloucester but not absolutely sure. There was an adult loo, small loo for a child probably under 7 and a changing table for babies. There were two sinks, again one at adult height and one lower for little ones. There was plenty of room to take a buggy in as well.

That's a bit different though. I've often heard mums trying to persuade children not to unlock the loo door before MUM has finished. I don't remember having that problem myself, but it would give mum a better chance of finishing before the children if they were all able to sit down together!

Apparently quite a few nightclubs have those double loos, I found an article online about it, and some ladies will even wait to use one of those in preference to a single loo! It takes all sorts ...

missbiggles1 wrote: »

I also spend a lot of time in France where only Speedos and short, tight trunks are allowed - no baggy trunks or longer swimming shorts.

Yes, and I once had to find the vocabulary to explain to a group of Americans about to visit France what was required. Trunks are that big space you get at the back of a car; they have nothing to do with swimming. We settled on 'racing briefs' in the end.

Homeownertobe

coolcait wrote: »

I don't think that anyone here has said that they "want to make others cover up because that's what they like for themselves".

The message I'm getting is that some people will simply not use a swimming pool, or other facility, if they feel that they may find themselves in a situation which will make them feel uncomfortable.

Against that background, it could be said that those who like to go naked in the changing room are expecting other to abide by what they like for themselves...

As an aside, this is another thread where I wonder if there may be some geographical differences in people's experiences.

I've only ever used public swimming pools - not gym clubs or anything like that. My experience of changing room etiquette has varied depending on where I lived.

In Scotland, all of the pools I've used (small towns, biggish towns, big city) have had a communal shower area - part of which may be visible from the pool. They've all had cubicles for changing, and people only get changed if they have a cubicle. It's costumes on for showering.

In London, there were individual shower cubicles, and communal changing areas. The approaches to getting changed ran the gamut from creating a tent out of a bath towel and changing underneath, to stripping to the skin, drying off and getting dressed.

Elsewhere in the world, I found a combination of attitudes towards changing - and a wide variety of requirements before you were even allowed access to the pool!

I will say, however, that anyone who is prefers the costumes on while showering/changing in a cubicle approach should probably avoid visiting swimming pools in Northern Europe!

Nothing, not even school PE, comes close to curing shyness like a fortnight in a French holiday camp.

Homeownertobe

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

At the pool I go to (hotel leisure club with a membership scheme and a very small pool) there's quite a few bikinis in evidence, but the serious swimmers wear proper cossies. I'm in a minority in a two piece tankini, but it makes nipping out of the pool to use the loo much quicker ...

The men mostly wear baggy shorts.

I go to an aquatic centre and it's mostly women in one-piece, sporty style pieces and men in tight trunks/speedos.

Though this has just reminded of the most sobering swimming experience of my life there a few years back, when some professional divers were using the deep pool. Nothing quite makes you feel inadequate like getting change surrounded by actual Olympians.:rotfl:

TBagpuss

Georgiegirl256 wrote: »

I haven't been swimming in years so don't know what most people wear. But do a lot of women wear bikinis? That actually surprises me as I thought most would feel more comfortable in a one piece costume. To me, bikinis are more for sunbathing on a beach,

I think it depends - personally I prefer a one piece for swimming, but might wear a bikini if I were at a health club or spa where I was ging to be swimming but might also be using a sauna / hot tub / steam room.

166million

I wear a dressing gown to and from the shower. Shower has cubicles with door. Then usually there is a small curtained area to get changed. Other people have their bits out sometimes but Id rather not