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
Here is a quote from Chuck Wielgus:
USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus is familiar with both sides.
"From a selfish, narrow, USA Swimming-how-do-we-do-in-international-competition perspective, there's reason to be concerned," he said. "For purely selfish reasons, I would love to see 100 percent of scholarship money go to American kids. I think, though, that the most realistic approach would be to recognize the value of diversity in athletics, yet have some sort of governor on how much scholarship money could be allocated to foreign athletes.
Well - he pretty much says it all -- selfish, narrow, but would still like to see a cap.
Here is a quote from Chuck Wielgus:
USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus is familiar with both sides.
"From a selfish, narrow, USA Swimming-how-do-we-do-in-international-competition perspective, there's reason to be concerned," he said. "For purely selfish reasons, I would love to see 100 percent of scholarship money go to American kids. I think, though, that the most realistic approach would be to recognize the value of diversity in athletics, yet have some sort of governor on how much scholarship money could be allocated to foreign athletes.
Well - he pretty much says it all -- selfish, narrow, but would still like to see a cap.
