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.
So odd that by helping other nations improve the educational status by educating a few people you consider this charity. Ultimately, US educated folks worldwide benefits us much more that the few thousand dollars we spend on a 4 year degree. Time to look at the big picture. There are many world leaders and dignitaries educated in the US. If you don't think there's a benefit from that, then you are wrong.
It continues to amaze me that people want to close the doors of this country like we are still in the 1800s. You don't go through a single day without tangible benefits from US education being applied to goods and services produced abroad and consumed here. And, yet, you consider this charity, and not a benefit. We live in a global economy. For us to maintain our supremecy in it we have to be willing to be the most active participant and that includes educating a few folks.
So odd that by helping other nations improve the educational status by educating a few people you consider this charity. Ultimately, US educated folks worldwide benefits us much more that the few thousand dollars we spend on a 4 year degree. Time to look at the big picture. There are many world leaders and dignitaries educated in the US. If you don't think there's a benefit from that, then you are wrong.
It continues to amaze me that people want to close the doors of this country like we are still in the 1800s. You don't go through a single day without tangible benefits from US education being applied to goods and services produced abroad and consumed here. And, yet, you consider this charity, and not a benefit. We live in a global economy. For us to maintain our supremecy in it we have to be willing to be the most active participant and that includes educating a few folks.
