I remember P Mulins the author maybe I missed spelled his name talking about swimming being a white upper-middle class sport and the country club set. I guess he had not met Shirley Bashashoff that came from a blue collar background. Anyway, swimmers in elite circles tend to be more from upper-middle families than the non-elite. In high school programs, their are plenty of them from the barrio and the ghetto. Also, he seems to think swimming is divided between whites and blacks. In his state, both Latinos and Asians outnumber blacks. And Latinos are the group lowest on the income level in that state and Arizona mainly done to immirgation. I think the swimming world is seeing that in the states, its not a black and white world anymore,even in the south asians and latins have increase.
Parents
Former Member
This is certainly an interesting thread, and not without controversy. Any issues of race and socio-economic disparity will undoubtedly bring about some sensitivities. But there's a hard cold reality that swimming is indeed a sport that not only requires water as the main ingredient, but financing as well.
Some communities may not have the resources to even consider building a pool. It's a lot easier to lay down some pavement for a basketball or tennis court. And if a pool is available to the general public, it doesn't mean that they will come. Not everyone has the money to fork over for a year round membership. It's a sad truth in this great country that many families struggle just to get by. That reason alone may prohibit youngsters from showing up at an early age irregardless of racial backgrounds. By the time kids get into high school, they may have no interest in joining their swim team for their mere lack of experience in the sport.
I would like to think that it's not so much a matter of race, as it is a matter of having access to a facility. YMCA's are abundant across this country, and there's no reason that kids from all ages and backgrounds can't find some pool time. Perhaps this sport is too young to make a comment that it's made up of a more white middle-to-upper class part of the population. Maybe there just haven't been enough swimming pools built to ensure that everyone gets their "feet wet" so to speak.
It's interesting to note as someone pointed out, that sports minded kids these days have dreams of making big cake. Professional baseball, basketball, and football offer a much greater allure because of the insane amounts of money that these athletes take home. Maybe that's why the "underpriviledged" inner city kid is shooting hoops or working on their curve ball. Could swimming be on par with cricket???? Let's hope not.
This is certainly an interesting thread, and not without controversy. Any issues of race and socio-economic disparity will undoubtedly bring about some sensitivities. But there's a hard cold reality that swimming is indeed a sport that not only requires water as the main ingredient, but financing as well.
Some communities may not have the resources to even consider building a pool. It's a lot easier to lay down some pavement for a basketball or tennis court. And if a pool is available to the general public, it doesn't mean that they will come. Not everyone has the money to fork over for a year round membership. It's a sad truth in this great country that many families struggle just to get by. That reason alone may prohibit youngsters from showing up at an early age irregardless of racial backgrounds. By the time kids get into high school, they may have no interest in joining their swim team for their mere lack of experience in the sport.
I would like to think that it's not so much a matter of race, as it is a matter of having access to a facility. YMCA's are abundant across this country, and there's no reason that kids from all ages and backgrounds can't find some pool time. Perhaps this sport is too young to make a comment that it's made up of a more white middle-to-upper class part of the population. Maybe there just haven't been enough swimming pools built to ensure that everyone gets their "feet wet" so to speak.
It's interesting to note as someone pointed out, that sports minded kids these days have dreams of making big cake. Professional baseball, basketball, and football offer a much greater allure because of the insane amounts of money that these athletes take home. Maybe that's why the "underpriviledged" inner city kid is shooting hoops or working on their curve ball. Could swimming be on par with cricket???? Let's hope not.
