Sept. 4, 2001

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Art of Rowing, a benefit art auction, is set to take place Sunday, Sept. 23 at 11 a.m. at the Fairmont Plaza Hotel in Kansas City. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Kansas State women's rowing team in its efforts to raise funds for a new boathouse.

Art for the event has been donated by more than 30 nationally renowned artists to support the K-State women's rowing program during its boathouse campaign. Some of the most well-known artists include Dale Chihuly, Patricia Duncan, Bill North, Alan Shields and Yoshiro Ikeda. Among the other artists contributing to the auction are several athlete-artists such as Olympic gold medalist Candy Costie Merrill, Princeton University women's open crew head coach Lori Dauphiny and former Cal women's crew assistant coach Ellen G. Minzer.

The art will be displayed throughout September in the Plaza, Downtown, Hallbrook-Leawood and Mission-Prairie Village branches of the Country Club Bank in Kansas City prior to The Art of Rowing event.

The auction will take place immediately after brunch and a presentation from Kansas State Athletics Director Tim Weiser. The K-State rowing staff, seniors from the Wildcat rowing team and Ruth Ann Wefald will also be in attendance.

Following the auction, the Kansas State rowing team will perform a rowing demonstration on Brush Creek. The team will also offer those in attendance an opportunity to learn to row on an ergometer, an indoor rowing machine.

The Art of Rowing, hosted by the Women's Rowing Program, is one event in The Boathouse Campaign, the Wildcat rowing team's ongoing fundraiser. Kansas State head women's rowing coach Jenny Hale, along with her staff and the Kansas State Rowing Association, created The Boathouse Campaign to raise the money needed to build a team house that will include showers, locker rooms, restrooms, team meeting space, coaches' offices and a training room for use by all the K-State rowing programs.

"I think having a home, a locker for your gear, a warm place to shower, to meet with your team and for your boat will help a team come together," Hale said. "The teamhouse won't make the boats go faster directly, but indirectly there is a cumulative effect on the team which builds pride, and pride makes the boats go faster."

Last year the event raised $75,000 for The Boathouse Campaign. Coach Hale feels that this year's auction will be just as successful.

"This year's event is quite a different format than last year in that we have so many more wonderful works of art from several prominent artists," Hale said. "This year we have over 30 original pieces which were donated throughout the year for the occasion. There is no doubt that this is an interesting and unique event in the Kansas City area.

'In addition to the very exciting artwork that is offered, we will also be featuring some KSU athletic items such as tickets to the KSU-Missouri football game, men's and women's basketball tickets and other rowing-related items."

The women's team shares the current facilities at Tuttle Creek Lake Reservoir with the high school junior rowers and collegiate men.

"Currently there are no sanitary facilities at the boathouse," Coach Hale said. "A proper team facility would have a tremendous, positive impact for our current oarswomen, as well as the other club and community users in the boathouse."

Tickets for the event are $75 per person. To order tickets or to inquire about becoming a sponsor for the event, contact Sandra Chu at (785) 532-6798.