There has been a lot of discussion since Athens about foreign swimmers training in the United States. Most of them attend U.S. Universities, receive athletic scholarships, and compete at NCAA's. Some notable examples include Duje Draganja (Cal), Fred Bousquet and Kirsty Coventry (Auburn), Markus Rogan (Stanford), and the South African sprinters (Arizona). Some train in the U.S., but don't compete for a university (Inge de Bruijn). All of these athletes benefit from U.S. coaching, from training with U.S. swimmers, and in some cases, from financial support provided by U.S. entities (athletic scholarships). They all turn around and then win medals for other countries.
A couple questions: 1) What do you think about this arrangement generally? 2) Is it of benefit or detriment to U.S. swimming to have these foreign athletes training and competing here? 3) Should we be giving athletic scholarships, which are a scarce resource in swimming, to foreign athletes who will represent their own countries internationally instead of U.S.-born swimmers who will represent us internationally?
I'm sure there are other issues, but these come directly to mind.
Parents
Former Member
I kind of have to side with Tom on this one! I have a son in HS right now that swims, can't imagine him not being able to go to college because somebody from another country gets his scholarship. If they want to move here permanently and become citizens of the USA and represent us...that's a different story. But, to come here, use our money, coaches and everything else, then go back and represent the country they came from....to me that is way more selfish.
I kind of have to side with Tom on this one! I have a son in HS right now that swims, can't imagine him not being able to go to college because somebody from another country gets his scholarship. If they want to move here permanently and become citizens of the USA and represent us...that's a different story. But, to come here, use our money, coaches and everything else, then go back and represent the country they came from....to me that is way more selfish.