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.
Originally posted by Tom Ellison
I simply do not think it is wise to give foreign swimmers our hard earned money to go onto the WORLD STAGE to swim against the USA. It boils down to a competition issue with me....PROMOTE AMERICA....and that does NOT make me an isolationist or nationalist....and I damn sure am NOT a racist....
No, I don't mean to imply that you're a racist, but I'll stick to my guns that you're a xenophobe. I think every exceptionally talented swimmer in the world deserves the best coaching and best competition they can get, regardless of their country of origin. My take is that you do not, if that means they might beat U.S. swimmers.
Originally posted by Tom Ellison
I simply do not think it is wise to give foreign swimmers our hard earned money to go onto the WORLD STAGE to swim against the USA. It boils down to a competition issue with me....PROMOTE AMERICA....and that does NOT make me an isolationist or nationalist....and I damn sure am NOT a racist....
No, I don't mean to imply that you're a racist, but I'll stick to my guns that you're a xenophobe. I think every exceptionally talented swimmer in the world deserves the best coaching and best competition they can get, regardless of their country of origin. My take is that you do not, if that means they might beat U.S. swimmers.