Foreign swimmers training in the U.S.

I've read everyone else's posts with great interest. Here are my thoughts... I have no problem with foreign swimmers training in the U.S., with U.S. coaches, and even attending U.S. Universities and competing at NCAA's. I don't believe, however, that we as U.S. citizens should be financially supporting them in these endeavors at the expense of other U.S. swimmers. The way I see it, this support happens in two ways: 1) U.S. tax dollars that support public institutions end up supporting athletic departments and hence, athletic scholarships; 2) other students who pay tuition at these schools (mostly U.S. citizens) end up supporting athletic scholarships for foreigners because tuition is part of the university's budget and makes its way into the athletic budget. It is extremely rare for an athletic department to be completely self-supporting by way of donations and athletic revenue. U.S taxpayers and those paying college tuition have no choice (they are forced) to support these foreign athletes. That's not right. Here are a couple examples. Arizona has a men's roster of 24, 6 of whom are foreigners. That's 25% of the roster! I have no way of knowing who is receiving scholarships, but I think it's a safe assumption that more of the U.S. swimmers are walk-ons than the foreigners...the foreign swimmers wouldn't be there if they hadn't been recruited and put on scholarship? So, they're likely taking up close to 1/2 the athletic scholarships in that program. California-Berkely has a men's roster of 33, 9 of whom are foreigners (if you count Milorad Cavic, whose hometown is listed as Anaheim, CA, but who represents another country in international competition). That's 27% of the roster. Again, they're likely taking up around 1/2 the athletic scholarships. The idealistic solution, as stated by others, is to eliminate athletic scholarships all together. That way, those who simply want an education will still attend. Those who don't, won't. Foreigners who want to come here to train will pay their own way. I understand the arguments about diversity, global economy, helping countries with less developed swimming programs, etc. But, we're not talking about charity here. Charity is voluntary. We're talking about providing opportunity for an education AND athletic competition. It makes no sense to me that U.S. citizens are forced to provide financial support for the training, coaching, etc. for athletes who intend to compete for another country in international competition. I doubt any other country in the world would consider doing this for a U.S. swimmer, unless he/she intended to compete for their country. I would prefer that all tax- and tuition-supported athletic scholarships go to U.S. citizens. As this is probably unrealistic, I would support some cap (perhaps 10%), as Rob suggested. To see the rosters I referred to, check out calbears.collegesports.com/.../cal-m-swim-mtt.html and www.arizonaathletics.com/SportSelect.dbml

I've read everyone else's posts with great interest. Here are my thoughts... I have no problem with foreign swimmers training in the U.S., with U.S. coaches, and even attending U.S. Universities and competing at NCAA's. I don't believe, however, that we as U.S. citizens should be financially supporting them in these endeavors at the expense of other U.S. swimmers. The way I see it, this support happens in two ways: 1) U.S. tax dollars that support public institutions end up supporting athletic departments and hence, athletic scholarships; 2) other students who pay tuition at these schools (mostly U.S. citizens) end up supporting athletic scholarships for foreigners because tuition is part of the university's budget and makes its way into the athletic budget. It is extremely rare for an athletic department to be completely self-supporting by way of donations and athletic revenue. U.S taxpayers and those paying college tuition have no choice (they are forced) to support these foreign athletes. That's not right. Here are a couple examples. Arizona has a men's roster of 24, 6 of whom are foreigners. That's 25% of the roster! I have no way of knowing who is receiving scholarships, but I think it's a safe assumption that more of the U.S. swimmers are walk-ons than the foreigners...the foreign swimmers wouldn't be there if they hadn't been recruited and put on scholarship? So, they're likely taking up close to 1/2 the athletic scholarships in that program. California-Berkely has a men's roster of 33, 9 of whom are foreigners (if you count Milorad Cavic, whose hometown is listed as Anaheim, CA, but who represents another country in international competition). That's 27% of the roster. Again, they're likely taking up around 1/2 the athletic scholarships. The idealistic solution, as stated by others, is to eliminate athletic scholarships all together. That way, those who simply want an education will still attend. Those who don't, won't. Foreigners who want to come here to train will pay their own way. I understand the arguments about diversity, global economy, helping countries with less developed swimming programs, etc. But, we're not talking about charity here. Charity is voluntary. We're talking about providing opportunity for an education AND athletic competition. It makes no sense to me that U.S. citizens are forced to provide financial support for the training, coaching, etc. for athletes who intend to compete for another country in international competition. I doubt any other country in the world would consider doing this for a U.S. swimmer, unless he/she intended to compete for their country. I would prefer that all tax- and tuition-supported athletic scholarships go to U.S. citizens. As this is probably unrealistic, I would support some cap (perhaps 10%), as Rob suggested. To see the rosters I referred to, check out calbears.collegesports.com/.../cal-m-swim-mtt.html and www.arizonaathletics.com/SportSelect.dbml