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.
Tom:
How can you now claim you aren't an isolationist when you have stated in big bold caps to close the border on this thread? That's like saying you are a vegetarian after eating the big juicy steak.
And just because someone wants to go to the Olympics doesn't mean they have the talent. Most swimming talent is developed by the time you get to college with those 4 years just improving it. Any American who is good enough to go to the Olympics is not going to be wanting for a scholarship. Other than Phelps and some of the teenies on our team, every US Olympian is at a US university or relatively recent grad.
Why are you so interested in reducing the competition at US schools when having the best with our best is not only a compliment to our programs but also very valuable in training?
Tom:
How can you now claim you aren't an isolationist when you have stated in big bold caps to close the border on this thread? That's like saying you are a vegetarian after eating the big juicy steak.
And just because someone wants to go to the Olympics doesn't mean they have the talent. Most swimming talent is developed by the time you get to college with those 4 years just improving it. Any American who is good enough to go to the Olympics is not going to be wanting for a scholarship. Other than Phelps and some of the teenies on our team, every US Olympian is at a US university or relatively recent grad.
Why are you so interested in reducing the competition at US schools when having the best with our best is not only a compliment to our programs but also very valuable in training?
