By Wayne Partridge
Staff Writer
Article dated June 16, 1996

There's not a portable toilet in sight at the U.S. Women's National Training Center at Chattanooga, Tenn.

While Olympic rowers assigned to Augusta swelter in a rusting warehouse, members of the team assigned to Chattanooga train in a three-year-old climate-controlled facility overlooking the Tennessee River.

``I've visited Augusta, and what Igor (Grinko) has to work with doesn't seem very nice. It doesn't look like an ideal training environment for worldclass athletes,'' said Hartmut Buschbacher, national women's team coach.

Mr. Buschbacher said his athletes train in ``plush accommodations'' compared to what Mr. Grinko's athletes have available to them in Augusta.

The Chattanooga building, which also houses the Lookout Rowing Club, features a weight room, men's and women's showers, a boat storage area, meeting rooms and an office for Mr. Buschbacher.

The structure cost about $400,000, about half of which was paid for by private donations. Community leaders said the prospect of attracting the women's team brought a flood of large and small donations for the boathouse, which was built with the Olympians in mind.

``The boathouse design was actually changed a couple of times to accommodate the needs of the women,'' said Merrill Eckstine, rowing coordinator for the Greater Chattanooga Sports Committee.

Having funding and legal details worked out before agreeing to host the team was key to providing what Mr. Buschbacher calls a ``world class facility.''

``Everything just seemed to come together at the right time. We were fortunate to be able to generate so much enthusiasm from the community,'' Mr. Eckstine said.