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
Does this delineate the two arguments?
One group believes that resources are scarce, and therefore giving them to non-Americans is unjust.
Another group believes that resources are scarce, but values what foreigners contribute to the educational experience and thereby believes that giving resources to non-Americans improves the academic/athletic climate for everyone.
IT seems to me that both arguments have validity. It seems to me that having a different opinion is a great example OF Americanism. Is it a coincidence that the same people who make accusations of anti-Americanism (IE they do not value others beliefs) are the same people who do not see the value of foreigners to Americans.
Does this delineate the two arguments?
One group believes that resources are scarce, and therefore giving them to non-Americans is unjust.
Another group believes that resources are scarce, but values what foreigners contribute to the educational experience and thereby believes that giving resources to non-Americans improves the academic/athletic climate for everyone.
IT seems to me that both arguments have validity. It seems to me that having a different opinion is a great example OF Americanism. Is it a coincidence that the same people who make accusations of anti-Americanism (IE they do not value others beliefs) are the same people who do not see the value of foreigners to Americans.