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
  • Originally posted by hooked-on-swimming And by saying that citizenship is paperwork I meant to say that there is a fine line between a foreigner and a citizen here, because today you can be a foreigner(still believing in America's ideas) and tomorrow a citizen... As long as you continue to believe citizenship is a piece of paper and the line between an foreigner and a citizen is a fine one, you will never be a true American or understand what being a citizen is all about. And, you don't have to support the war but our troops are there fighting for us. That's what you don't get about being a citizen.
Reply
  • Originally posted by hooked-on-swimming And by saying that citizenship is paperwork I meant to say that there is a fine line between a foreigner and a citizen here, because today you can be a foreigner(still believing in America's ideas) and tomorrow a citizen... As long as you continue to believe citizenship is a piece of paper and the line between an foreigner and a citizen is a fine one, you will never be a true American or understand what being a citizen is all about. And, you don't have to support the war but our troops are there fighting for us. That's what you don't get about being a citizen.
Children
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