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.
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Former Member
botterud--I'm not saying Cal or Arizona has broken any rules...they're doing exactly what you say, which is going out and getting the best talent regardless of the country of origin. They've been very successful doing it. I would rather see those coaches recuit promising U.S. athletes and develop them into elite swimmers! I think the rules should change.
nkace--I'm not sure if you're referring to anything I've said, but I don't think people have forgotten that the country is made up of immigrants. But, the immigrants became U.S. citizens! With a few exceptions, the foreign swimmers we're talking about here have not done that.
I don't think it's a holier-than-thou attitude to recognize that we've got some of the best facilities and coaches in the world and that others in the world want to take advantage of it.
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Former Member
botterud--I'm not saying Cal or Arizona has broken any rules...they're doing exactly what you say, which is going out and getting the best talent regardless of the country of origin. They've been very successful doing it. I would rather see those coaches recuit promising U.S. athletes and develop them into elite swimmers! I think the rules should change.
nkace--I'm not sure if you're referring to anything I've said, but I don't think people have forgotten that the country is made up of immigrants. But, the immigrants became U.S. citizens! With a few exceptions, the foreign swimmers we're talking about here have not done that.
I don't think it's a holier-than-thou attitude to recognize that we've got some of the best facilities and coaches in the world and that others in the world want to take advantage of it.
