The announcement caught Coach Hartmut Buschbacher by surprise.

Like the other rowing coaches in town this week for pre-Olympic training, Mr. Buschbacher thought his rowers would be able to train at Langley Pond unmolested by motor boats, whose wakes can tip the skinny rowing shells, which often sit lower than six inches above the waterline.

But eight days before the opening ceremonies of the Centennial Games, the Olympic rowers from the United States, the Ukraine, Norway and Lithuania have discovered that Augusta has several surprises for its Olympic guests:

-- No boathouse. Despite an anonymous gift of $150,000 and a $50,000 grant from Gov. Zell Miller for pre-Olympic training, the only indoor storage facility for the teams' equipment is a deteriorating metal warehouse that leaks when it rains and is prone to vandalism. Construction on the long-awaited permanent home of the Augusta Rowing Club and U.S. National Sculling Center won't be finished in time to help the visiting rowing teams.

-- No indoor plumbing. Neither Langley Pond nor the warehouse on the Savannah River have ``facilities.'' After their two-a-day workouts, rowers have to ride back to their hotels before they can take a shower. And when nature calls, the rowers must use portable toilets.

-- Spartan security. Even after a member of the U.S. Boxing Team was struck with a bike ridden by an apparent stalker on Monday, security measures surrounding the rowers appear to be non-existent. Visitors have free access to the athletes and their equipment at Langley Pond. With one boat trailer holding more than $250,000 worth of boats and other equipment, the coaches say they are concerned about vandalism.

``The guys from Lithuania laughed when they saw where we train. No one team has had conditions worse than this team,'' said Igor Grinko, coach of the U.S. Men's Sculling Team.

Mr. Grinko, whose four-man sculling team is based in Augusta, said that while Augustans have provided homes and jobs for the Olympians, the team has been hurt by the delays that have plagued the construction of promised boathouse.

``How can it not hurt them? You should be able to shower after a workout. You will get an infection riding around with sweat all over,'' Mr. Grinko said. ``They said three years ago `We'll give you a boathouse,' but for three years it's `next month, next month, next year.' ''

George Fry, the Augusta Rowing Club's liaison to the Olympic teams, has been scrambling in the past weeks to minimize the effects of an absent boathouse.

He and other club members have arranged for the rowers to train in local health clubs, and Aiken County officials have promised to provide security for the teams and their equipment.

Maintenance of the 2,000-meter bouyed course - a frequent target of Langley Pond vandals - also keeps Dr. Fry busy.

``Everyone wishes we could have built that boathouse by now, but now we have to make the best out of what we've got,'' Dr. Fry said. ``Right now, we're just trying to make sure we're doing everything we can to get the athletes are ready for next week.''