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
Originally posted by LindsayNB
The idea that it is a question of how to spend taxpayer money was already debunked in the article by the Ohio coach who pointed out that for the most part scholarships don't come out of taxpayer funding.
The fact remains they are receiving a free ride to a state university, which in turn is supported by the taxpayers. Why not award the slot to a deserving nonathlete who is a state resident? Even the largest state universities do not have unlimited enrollment.
Originally posted by LindsayNB
The idea that it is a question of how to spend taxpayer money was already debunked in the article by the Ohio coach who pointed out that for the most part scholarships don't come out of taxpayer funding.
The fact remains they are receiving a free ride to a state university, which in turn is supported by the taxpayers. Why not award the slot to a deserving nonathlete who is a state resident? Even the largest state universities do not have unlimited enrollment.
