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
Originally posted by poolmonkey
Years ago, I worked with people who didn't care if they got fired, so they could get back on unemployment. And a number of people keep their hours down, so they get additional benefits from the government. I cannot condone the activities of these people that take advantage of the system.
Maybe it's the rampant liberal in me, but all this means to me is that perhaps, as a country, we should do something to make sure that if ARE working, you can afford to provide for yourself and your family. This doesn't mean subsistence living, either - it means decent food, permanent shelter, clothing, health care (preventative and curative), reliable transportation (maybe not a car, but public transport costs money, too), and the ability to save something in case of emergency. I know in my current state of residence as well as in my home state of Missouri, making minimum wage does not cover these things and yet is considered too high of an income to qualify for state aid. I heard a report not too long ago that in Missouri you have to be making less than somthing like $8,000/ year to qualify for public assistance. How many of you could afford a place to live, food to eat and feed your kids, costs for education, transportation, health insurance, etc. on that?
To get this back to swimming scholarships, my theory is that if you're good enough to get 'em, you should get 'em, regardless of where you were born. After all, aren't foreigners educated in the US more likely to stay in the US after graduation? And therefore contribute to our country? What REALLY sticks in my craw is the schools that lower their ACADEMIC standards to get athletes.
That should be enough to get me lynched if I ever get to one of the big meets :D
Kae
Originally posted by poolmonkey
Years ago, I worked with people who didn't care if they got fired, so they could get back on unemployment. And a number of people keep their hours down, so they get additional benefits from the government. I cannot condone the activities of these people that take advantage of the system.
Maybe it's the rampant liberal in me, but all this means to me is that perhaps, as a country, we should do something to make sure that if ARE working, you can afford to provide for yourself and your family. This doesn't mean subsistence living, either - it means decent food, permanent shelter, clothing, health care (preventative and curative), reliable transportation (maybe not a car, but public transport costs money, too), and the ability to save something in case of emergency. I know in my current state of residence as well as in my home state of Missouri, making minimum wage does not cover these things and yet is considered too high of an income to qualify for state aid. I heard a report not too long ago that in Missouri you have to be making less than somthing like $8,000/ year to qualify for public assistance. How many of you could afford a place to live, food to eat and feed your kids, costs for education, transportation, health insurance, etc. on that?
To get this back to swimming scholarships, my theory is that if you're good enough to get 'em, you should get 'em, regardless of where you were born. After all, aren't foreigners educated in the US more likely to stay in the US after graduation? And therefore contribute to our country? What REALLY sticks in my craw is the schools that lower their ACADEMIC standards to get athletes.
That should be enough to get me lynched if I ever get to one of the big meets :D
Kae
