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
Originally posted by Paul Smith
some thoughts/opinions:
- John & Sam, you sound like a couple of cranky old ladies and have seriously hijacked this thread; settle it in the pool, may I suggest you two go for cumulative time for the 50, 100 & 200 back in Coral Springs?!
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Not about to settle anything in the pool these days. I have gotten so d*&% slow since last years surgery, that I have even started wondering if I should start wearing fins to keep up. Shamful, but true.
JS - let's agree to disagree and not be accused of hijacking a thread, I love the debate, and look for the dialogue in good fun/discussion.
PS - as far as me and Killeen "wearing the same hat", I can assure you my head is nowhere near the size of his. (Literally and figuratively)
Originally posted by Paul Smith
some thoughts/opinions:
- John & Sam, you sound like a couple of cranky old ladies and have seriously hijacked this thread; settle it in the pool, may I suggest you two go for cumulative time for the 50, 100 & 200 back in Coral Springs?!
-
Not about to settle anything in the pool these days. I have gotten so d*&% slow since last years surgery, that I have even started wondering if I should start wearing fins to keep up. Shamful, but true.
JS - let's agree to disagree and not be accused of hijacking a thread, I love the debate, and look for the dialogue in good fun/discussion.
PS - as far as me and Killeen "wearing the same hat", I can assure you my head is nowhere near the size of his. (Literally and figuratively)