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
As a foreigner it sounds selfish when I hear people here whining about foreign swimmers.That is how the world is set up - the best will get the contract, pretty simple!They have something to offer and they will be offered a scholarship in exchange...I mean you want to be all fair but close your eyes on America "buying out" the best "brains" in different fields for its own economical growth.Heck, just from my home country Russia an estimated 100000 fine scientists(!!!) are working in the US contributing TONS to America!!!Are Russians whining about it?Well, actually, yes, because it is painfull to see your best to go and improve another country .But should they whine?Heck no!!!If those guys were provided with the living(money) US has to offer they would have never left...So America is using the rest of the world pretty darn well(which I have to admit is very smart!!!), so let's not talk about what's fair and what's not!And besides - NCAA would be nothing and would not draw as much attention if you couldn't recruit the best of the best!
P.S.Whining is for losers:if a US swimmer was better than his foreign counterpart he would have no problem getting a scholarship over that other guy!So keep on working rather than whining, that's what those guys who got scholarships did...
As a foreigner it sounds selfish when I hear people here whining about foreign swimmers.That is how the world is set up - the best will get the contract, pretty simple!They have something to offer and they will be offered a scholarship in exchange...I mean you want to be all fair but close your eyes on America "buying out" the best "brains" in different fields for its own economical growth.Heck, just from my home country Russia an estimated 100000 fine scientists(!!!) are working in the US contributing TONS to America!!!Are Russians whining about it?Well, actually, yes, because it is painfull to see your best to go and improve another country .But should they whine?Heck no!!!If those guys were provided with the living(money) US has to offer they would have never left...So America is using the rest of the world pretty darn well(which I have to admit is very smart!!!), so let's not talk about what's fair and what's not!And besides - NCAA would be nothing and would not draw as much attention if you couldn't recruit the best of the best!
P.S.Whining is for losers:if a US swimmer was better than his foreign counterpart he would have no problem getting a scholarship over that other guy!So keep on working rather than whining, that's what those guys who got scholarships did...
