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 justforfun
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?
It'
s not just aboutthe swimmers, it;s about the coaches and their careers, and it;s about the athletic programs who have a better chance of surviving witg more quality swimmers, even if they came from abroad.
In most cases, these swimmers represent their schools in almost all competitions, withthe exception of certain international events... But even then, it is usually well known where they've gotten the training that took them to the top...So that benefits the coaches and the schools. And eventually, a *few* of those foreign athletes will end up getting the US citizenship, and end uo representing the US. I think it's important for the coaches to work with the top talent, regardless of what country that talent came from. That will only benefit our own talent.
As for Duje Draganja... Well, he came from my old country, and is swimming in my new country (US), so I'm especially biased in his case ;)
Originally posted by justforfun
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?
It'
s not just aboutthe swimmers, it;s about the coaches and their careers, and it;s about the athletic programs who have a better chance of surviving witg more quality swimmers, even if they came from abroad.
In most cases, these swimmers represent their schools in almost all competitions, withthe exception of certain international events... But even then, it is usually well known where they've gotten the training that took them to the top...So that benefits the coaches and the schools. And eventually, a *few* of those foreign athletes will end up getting the US citizenship, and end uo representing the US. I think it's important for the coaches to work with the top talent, regardless of what country that talent came from. That will only benefit our own talent.
As for Duje Draganja... Well, he came from my old country, and is swimming in my new country (US), so I'm especially biased in his case ;)
