European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 15, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday March 15,1mb the stars and stripes Page 23 sports letters swim boosters Wade into letter Issue in Remler. About i week and m half before european Faroe swim league ef5l championships the Stan and stripes should have been printing stories about the outstanding achievement of swimmers Zuj season and making prediction on uie upcoming championships. Instead the Stan and slopes through Ben Abrams devoted More than half a Page to a demoralizing column which accused swimmers of cheapen ing the value of the Dodds High school idler Abrams says thai swimmers do not deserve Tetter because they Don t swim for their schools but for an outside program the fact that Fesl is an outside program May be True but during these limn of Bud get cult Dodds cannot of lord to sponsor a competitive swim program for the More than 400 High school age swimmers in Europe who want la com Pete. Using the existing Fesl program seems to make More sense financially if the swimmers still have the Opportunity it Cam a varsity letter As they would in the stain. Abrams indicated in hit column hat one of the fears in granting swimmer Lelton is thai dodos will have no control Over whether Dodds athletic codes and eligibility requirements will be enforced. To Salve this problem Fesl in a memorandum of understanding with Dodds has agreed that the Dodds athletic code of conduct and academic standards wit be met before swimmers Are nominated for athletic letters. Same schools Are also establishing a High school swim club with a faculty sponsor to insure that standards Are met., Abrams said that Dodds director John Stremple was overwhelmed by the pressure in making the decision to Grant swimmers letters. I be Rioual doubt that Stremple made the decision based on Fesl pressure but instead his decision was made with the Dodds budget in mind. Also. Stremple. Is the father of five children who . Stremple was principal at the califor Nia High school that Mark Spitz attended. The pet eachers at thai school did nol want to give Spitz be credit White he was training for the olympics. Sorry i can1 agree with Abrams that giving swim mers a varsity letter has cheapened the value of the Dodds letter. If anything making swimmers Eligi ble for a varsity letter has raised the status of the Monogram by adding a group of athlete who prac Tice diligently train sincerely and compete with in Tensity. Laura  stringent requirements dear editor As president of the kaisers Lautem Kingfish swim team let me help set the record straight on the euro Pean forces swim league Fesl and the Dodd criteria for awarding varsity High school letters to qualified swimmer. Stan and stripes readers have aright to know that the first requirement is that Candi dates. Must be students in Good standing at their Loco High schools furthermore academic Prog Ress reports will be submitted to. Appropriate governing  Anil swimmers. Must adhere id local High school athletic  having met these criteria the swimmer must the meet the toughest participation and performance standards i have Ever seen levied upon any High school athlete but we re not complaining we re ecstatic. The participation requirements for thl Dodds letter win be twice As stringent As for other sports but we dont mind. The recent Colum could have explained Coil requirement parties pation in practice should be 100 percent of the  since our season is twice As Long As other Dodds athletic season i heartily congratulate these swimmers for having the Gull to pay twice the Price they be been doing it for Yean already. Bad to dedicate All but a few weeks of their school year just to have the Chance to qualify for a Dodds letter. I for one am grateful to the Dodds leadership who bad the great common tense and Good judgment to Reward these dedicated athletes. Fun stand Ranuld Genu or abrams1 views resented dear editor. We strongly resent Ben Abrams comments on the granting of varsity athletic idlers to qualified swimmers in the european forces swim league. His Way of thinking reminds us of those that were against women s earning vanity letters in any  views also Are typical of the followers of the major minor sports concept i.e., football is a real sport whereas Tennis and soccer arc not a believe that All athletic programs arc meant to provide our Young people with the Opportunity 10 become physically fit experience teamwork to be doers in a sport and not just watchers to work very hard to be All they can be under the bes possible coaching available to represent their school and Community and to feel the sense of accomplishment of o Job Well done varsity tellers provide recon ton for a Job wet done. Letters Are an incentive for others to participate in that sport. Our swimmers deserve to be full recognized As athletes by their Peers and schools. Angola Cirskey  Granke father of a swimmer Wurzburg Fesl fills athletic void do editor. Two primary areas of Ben Abrams article which need to be addressed Are his opening statement the vanity Monogram in Dodds has been cheapened and his Rigia interpretation of regulations which govern athletic programs in Dodds How can the varsity Monogram be cheapened bythe addition of a High Quality Broad based program for a nationally popular internationally respected sport such As swimming find it disconcerting that the massive and unselfish efforts of Community personnel parents and Moll of All the Dedi Calicut of the youngsters themselves 10 create this Quality pro Gram Are ignored in Abrams Blind interpretation of regulations. What Abrams overlooks is that the goal of this Effort is to till a void in the Dodds athletic program brought about by the inherent limitation of serving overseas. In Wurzburg the Parent had to perform All the fund raising organizational and coordination functions required to support a viable swim pro Gram. This included paying for time at the Pool for practice and meets and to ensure bus transportation was available to pick the students up from school for practice and meets.,. This leads to the Central question with which Abrami should be concerned who Are the beneficiaries of All this work and Effort obviously it is the youngster who Are provided an Opportunity to train and compete in a Quality program involving a popu Lar sport an Opportunity that would otherwise be denied them. But the ultimate beneficiary from this Effort is the local Dodds school and not i hair military , an area not touched upon in Abrams Arti Cle is that the swimmers View themselves As Stu dents first and Foremost. Thus it is their perception that they represent their schools and not i hair communities and thai the approval for a vanity Mono Gram is justified. Abrams should change his introductory sentence to read the vanity Monogram in Dodds has been broadened and improved. Barbara Manlan Heidelberg objectivity missing deaf  Abrams column reveals a Gross Lack of completeness and objectivity. As a minimum i Wouldhave expected or. Abrams article to address the following key issues a. Is swimming an accepted spun1? the obvious answer is . Don the european forces swim league con duct a High Quality program for High school swim mers the answer is yes. During the season which lasts six months swimmer practice i vt-2houn, five Days a week and compete in i 3- i meets. Proposed Fesl standards for awarding  Are consistent with those of High school swim teams throughout . Does Dodds Germany have an adequate  sity sports program this is a difficult question to answer objectively. Nonetheless baseball is a varsity sport at most . High schools and swimming is varsity sport at Many High schools. Within Dodds Germany baseball is not a varsity sport until ii year neither was swimming.,. D. Do vanity letters strengthen College applications the answer is yes. College admissions offices actively seek Well rounded applicants who have proven themselves in extracurricular As Well As academic . Docs granting athletic letters to qualified High school swimmers within the Fesl violate Dod regulations the answer is no. Sefl Teanus Are now coordinated with local Dodds High schools to ensure the granting of athletic letters is consistent with standards established for other High school sports. Faculty sponsor will act As a Liaison with Booster dubs to ensure academic and athletic standards Are maintained. To Muley a Rucks Heidelberg Iowa Texas Auburn Tennessee top women s seeds Kansas City a Iowa Texas Auburn and defending Champion ten Nessee were made the lop four seeds Sun Day for the seventh Mcaa division i women basketball tournament. I think it s the Best tournament Fieldse be Ever bad said Nora Lynn Finch committee chairman. There Are 10learns that have a Good shot at  the 40-Lcam tournament opens first round play wednesday and will conclude with the semifinals and finals in Taco-rna.wash.,april land. Tennessee which upset Texas in Las year i final is one of seven teams to have landed berth la All seven Mcaa women tournaments and is among six Southeastern conference teams in Thefield. The Atlantic coast conference got four teams in the tournament Auburn 26-2 and the top rated team in the associated press women s poll was made the lop seed in the Mideast bracket. Iowa 27-1, is the no. I seed lathe West Region tas 30-2, was seeded first in the Midwest. Tennessee 2s-2, was seeded no. I in the East  wednesday in the West Louisiana state 18-10, is at Stephen. F. Austin 28-4, and Colorado 20-10, is at Eastern Illi Nois 22-7. Iowa of March 20 will hos the leu slip had f. Austin Winner. On March 19, the Colorado Eastern Illinois Winner u at Cal state Long Beach in other second round games march19 in the Well new Mexico slate 26-2, u at Washington 24-4, and Nebraska,22-6, visits Southern Cal 21-7. The West regional semifinals an final Are March 24-26 at Long Beach  action wednesday in the Mideast has Penn stale 19-12, at Pasalic 25-4, and Bowling Green 24-5, at St. Joseph a 23-7. Two Mideast second round Jami on March 19 have Mary land 24-5. Boiling the Bowling Green is. Joseph s Winner and Western Ken Tucky 26-7, at Georgia 20-9. On March 20 in the Mideast Tycon around the la Salt Penn scale Winner is at album and Syracuse 22-8, is at Ohio state 24-9. The Mideast regional conclude March 24-26 at Athens a. Wednesday1 first round action in the East has Wake Forest 22-7, at Vuu Nova 2m,, t9-9, John s.21-9. Second round games on March 19 have Tennessee boning the Villanova Wake Forest Winner Virginia 25-4, hosting these. Johnv Fairfield  Dominion. 17-11, at Rutgers 26-4, and Clemson 21-8,at Jamea Madison 26-3. The East regional will conclude a Norfolk va., March 24-26. On wednesday in the Midwest Ala Bama 18-9, is at South Carolina 22-10, and Middle Tennessee 22-7, visit Kan Sas 21-9. A the second round March 19, Louisiana tech 27-2, hosts Chr Middletent Cusce Hamas Winner and missis Sippi 23-6, entertains Houston 22-4.on March 20, Stanford 26-4, visits Montana 28-1, and the South Carolina Alabama Winner n it Texas. The regional semifinal and final arc March 24-26 at Texas