Foreign swimmers training in the U.S.

Former Member
Former Member
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
  • Citizenship is a heck of a lot more than paperwork. It's very difficult to follow this thread. We start talking about foreign swimmers in the US, which was enjoyable. I was trying to point out that foreign skilled (read white collar) labor is substantially cheaper than US labor. I also know there are many companies that offer foreign labor in the US for much cheaper than standard US labor rates. I have no expertise in the area of Russian swimmers in the UK or foreign dishwashers, nor what that has to do with US college scholarships. You are awfully tough on America, which is the best thing going.
Reply
  • Citizenship is a heck of a lot more than paperwork. It's very difficult to follow this thread. We start talking about foreign swimmers in the US, which was enjoyable. I was trying to point out that foreign skilled (read white collar) labor is substantially cheaper than US labor. I also know there are many companies that offer foreign labor in the US for much cheaper than standard US labor rates. I have no expertise in the area of Russian swimmers in the UK or foreign dishwashers, nor what that has to do with US college scholarships. You are awfully tough on America, which is the best thing going.
Children
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