Given all the debate in the other thread about Qatar "buying" up some of the top talent in swimming, my question is how many people feel the USA should do the same?
Hoogie & Thorpe for our 800 free relay?
Schoeman & Hoogie for our 400 free?
How about on the W's side, a couple of th Aussies maybe?
Paul:
I not sure if there is a parallel with a university giving a scholarship to a foreign athlete to swim for the school in exchange for a funded education and a rich country paying millions of dollars to have the best athletes swim for there nation.
This has been going on in track in Qater and no other nations had followed suit. So far in swimming, 3 offers have been made to swimmers we know about and only 1 has accepted because of a lack of funding in Croatia.
To get swimmers that you are talking about like Hoogie and Thorpe would break the bank. If you notice so far they have not gone to developed traditional powers in swimming. They have stated in the countries that don't have big national teams and swimmers that are from poor countries that don't have major funds to keep the swimmers swimming.
Duje Draganja is done with college and unless he stays here on an extended visa or applies for dual citizenship he will have to go back to Croatia and train there, which is something he has not done in over 4 years. Along comes this offer and it opens up possibilities for himself.
Right now in the USA, nobody is going to come up with that kind of cash in an amateur sport like swimming. Even though we have professional swimmers right now, the organization of USA swimming is not run like a professional league like the NBA, NFL, and MLB where owners have lots of cash to pay there established pros because everyone that plays is a professional. That is not the case with USA swimming and its development. There are no professional leagues and no NSL. Professionals train and compete against the amateurs. Amateurs being the NCAA swimmers and others that do not make or take funding for swimming. If we had a professional league and owners than this might be able to happen but without it, it won't happen.
As far as the USA losing the 400 Free Relay to Qater in 2008, we will see. I still can't believe that South Africa did not defend there title last year in Montreal when they could have easily put a great relay together with the swimmers they had there. Talk about ducking a challenge.
Paul:
I not sure if there is a parallel with a university giving a scholarship to a foreign athlete to swim for the school in exchange for a funded education and a rich country paying millions of dollars to have the best athletes swim for there nation.
This has been going on in track in Qater and no other nations had followed suit. So far in swimming, 3 offers have been made to swimmers we know about and only 1 has accepted because of a lack of funding in Croatia.
To get swimmers that you are talking about like Hoogie and Thorpe would break the bank. If you notice so far they have not gone to developed traditional powers in swimming. They have stated in the countries that don't have big national teams and swimmers that are from poor countries that don't have major funds to keep the swimmers swimming.
Duje Draganja is done with college and unless he stays here on an extended visa or applies for dual citizenship he will have to go back to Croatia and train there, which is something he has not done in over 4 years. Along comes this offer and it opens up possibilities for himself.
Right now in the USA, nobody is going to come up with that kind of cash in an amateur sport like swimming. Even though we have professional swimmers right now, the organization of USA swimming is not run like a professional league like the NBA, NFL, and MLB where owners have lots of cash to pay there established pros because everyone that plays is a professional. That is not the case with USA swimming and its development. There are no professional leagues and no NSL. Professionals train and compete against the amateurs. Amateurs being the NCAA swimmers and others that do not make or take funding for swimming. If we had a professional league and owners than this might be able to happen but without it, it won't happen.
As far as the USA losing the 400 Free Relay to Qater in 2008, we will see. I still can't believe that South Africa did not defend there title last year in Montreal when they could have easily put a great relay together with the swimmers they had there. Talk about ducking a challenge.
