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
Former Member
One could argue that our society long ago lost any sense of perspective when it comes to sports. So how can we fault our college and universities for recruiting foreign athletes in an effort to assemble championship teams? Personally, I do believe that a state university has a reponsibility to the tax paying citizens of that state (which is why in-state tuition is much lower and there are quotas for out-of-state students). Private institutions are another matter.
One could argue that our society long ago lost any sense of perspective when it comes to sports. So how can we fault our college and universities for recruiting foreign athletes in an effort to assemble championship teams? Personally, I do believe that a state university has a reponsibility to the tax paying citizens of that state (which is why in-state tuition is much lower and there are quotas for out-of-state students). Private institutions are another matter.
