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.
Originally posted by thisgirl13
What about the US swimmers that spend time abroad, swimming in places like Australia? Isn't that sort of the same thing?
NO IT'S NOT THE SAME THING. Michael Phelps training for a couple of weeks in AUS is not the same thing. I'm sure that he paid his own way.
I'd like for you to name one member of our national team or even one of our Olympic medalists in years past who trained in a foreign country at a university on a full scholarship...
I think foreign athletes training here on US scholarships is WRONG. If they want to train here then they should either pay for it themselves or become a US citizen. I especially have a problem with the state schools because that means that it's my tax dollars going to support this...
Originally posted by thisgirl13
What about the US swimmers that spend time abroad, swimming in places like Australia? Isn't that sort of the same thing?
NO IT'S NOT THE SAME THING. Michael Phelps training for a couple of weeks in AUS is not the same thing. I'm sure that he paid his own way.
I'd like for you to name one member of our national team or even one of our Olympic medalists in years past who trained in a foreign country at a university on a full scholarship...
I think foreign athletes training here on US scholarships is WRONG. If they want to train here then they should either pay for it themselves or become a US citizen. I especially have a problem with the state schools because that means that it's my tax dollars going to support this...