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
Where does this money come from?
Many who are not involved on a daily basis may have the misconception that: athletic departments who offer scholarships are using state tax dollars to pay for them; or that athletic departments do not actually pay the university the cost of each scholarship and instead that the university merely waives the fee. However, both assumptions are untrue for most institutions.
From Open letter from Bill Wadley, ASCA President
www.usaswimming.org/.../ViewNewsArticle.aspx
Where does this money come from?
Many who are not involved on a daily basis may have the misconception that: athletic departments who offer scholarships are using state tax dollars to pay for them; or that athletic departments do not actually pay the university the cost of each scholarship and instead that the university merely waives the fee. However, both assumptions are untrue for most institutions.
From Open letter from Bill Wadley, ASCA President
www.usaswimming.org/.../ViewNewsArticle.aspx