Readers Write

Friday, July 5, 1996

---

I cannot classify myself as an Olympic swimmer from Hawaii, but I can say I speak from experience since the age of 5 and as a part of the majority exposed to swimming here in Hawaii, on the mainland and on the international level. As a 14-time collegiate All-American scholar-athlete, Hawaii state and high school record holder, U.S. Olympic trials qualifier and top-16 finisher, I think I can say I know my way around the swimming world here in Hawaii and on "the mainland" - where they're so "advantaged."

It amazes me how you can write an article so negatively focused on the "rather disturbing" aspects of Hawaii swimming, especially when your information and suppositions are seriously unfounded. Maybe if you checked your facts, you would see there are at least "two candidates for the U.S. team qualifying trials this year", Keiko Price and myself (and probably more). That doesn't matter though, because I opted to stop swimming before the trials even came around, and the issue here is Hawaii's positive future in swimming.

Although I was deeply bothered by this article of yours, especially how you say the "coaches here don't look at the big picture" and "to turn the trend around" we need coaches from the mainland, I must admit that you listed one factual sentence. The point that "swimming is a very time-intrusive and costly sport" is very much the truth. Maybe if the state, city or even swimming associations here in Hawaii supported (financially) national and international level swimmers representing Hawaii, the "hunger" Hawaiian swimmers are supposedly lacking might prevail.

As my parents and coaches have shelled out literally thousands of dollars over the years, along with generous financial help from private institutions, I have been privileged enough to travel to competitions on "the mainland." I can't say all are so lucky.

Thank you for your attention to Hawaii swimming, but maybe next time you write about it, the information you use could be a little more supportive of Hawaiian swimmers and not so much riding the tails of past accomplishments. It is the '90s, and we are living in a much more competitive swimming world today.

Another thing: If you don't think swimmers train in the mornings here, why don't you wake up at about 4:30 one morning and visit some of the local college, high school and even city pools. I'll bet you'll be surprised to see athletes training, parents waiting to drive their children to school or back home, and many underpaid coaches devoting their early morning hours and genuine attention and love to "the big picture."

KATHY-LYN LEIALOHA ALLEN

Located so far from the continental U.S., competitive swimmers in Hawaii do not have the luxury of competing against thousands of different people any given weekend. Most competitive swimmers here rely on qualifying for zone, national and international-level competitions solely "in the middle of an ocean" and with little, if any, financial support.

Throughout your article, you mention many references to Olympic qualifiers of the past. Not to take away from their accomplishments because there are many, you must understand that the types of training and technology involved with swimming have improved dramatically, as has the level of competition.

Being a scholarship athlete for the University of Hawaii at Manoa and swimming for more than 16 years of my 21 in life, I think it's sad when local athletes basically have to go to the mainland to further their athletic careers because the options here are limited.

I am very proud to say I have had coaches that have all been dedicated to my improvement in the sport and who have sacrificed their time, money and energy, with nothing more of "the big picture" of swimming in their minds. Maybe I should introduce you to them sometime.

One of the problems that I, along with many other local swimmers, have encountered is the fact that financial support is very hard to come by. If this support, along with comparable popularity and technological methods, was much more prevalent and more easily attainable, more kids would get the opportunity to travel to the mainland to compete, and possibly represent Hawaii in the Olympics. That is the point of this article, isn't it?

In your article you mention "kids in Hawaii aren't that hungry." Through my training of the past 16 years, I can definitely say the hundreds of hours and thousands of miles put in by athletes like myself over the years can pretty much represent the desire and dedication of local swimmers to succeed in this sport.

Please, in the future, obtain a slightly more unbiased outlook on a topic such as this, especially when you are in the position to give all sides to a story and have the ability to "report the facts."

JON (J.R.) ALLEN

Any death is tragic, and my sympathy and best wishes go to Jason's family and friends. But, as a parent, I hope my children and others don't learn the lesson to "live every minute of every day to its fullest." The subsequent blood-alcohol report emphasizes the lesson, "Don't drink and drive."

MELVIN MIYAMOTO

Sports letters to the Editor
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
P.O. Box 3080
Honolulu, Hawaii 96802

You can reach us on three online services via Managing Editor David Shapiro: Prodigy: WMBJ48A, CompuServe: 73544,1603, Internet: editor@starbulletin.com