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
Just so I understand this--state universities have an obligation to the residents of that state, except when it comes to athletics, because fielding a winning team trumps all else?
As for the concept of a trade, I assumed swimming was something you wanted to do, not just a job (like dorm crew), and having the opportunity to train for four years with a great coach was a pretty big perk.
Just so I understand this--state universities have an obligation to the residents of that state, except when it comes to athletics, because fielding a winning team trumps all else?
As for the concept of a trade, I assumed swimming was something you wanted to do, not just a job (like dorm crew), and having the opportunity to train for four years with a great coach was a pretty big perk.
