On Sunday, the Portage Lakes Rowing Association celebrated the beginning of their fifth year of rowing on the Portage Lakes. The club launched three boats, the most they’ve ever had for the first row of the year, a sign that the program continues to grow and flourish.
Founded in 2005 with limited equipment, no rowing facilities and only 12 members, the vision of a thriving rowing club in Akron has begun to turn into reality. After adding three more boats
during the offseason, their fleet now totals nine rowing shells; they have had a boathouse in Craftsmen Park since 2006; and last year the membership grew to 58 people.
In the fall they published the first ever Portage Lakes Calendar and the proceeds from that effort enabled them to order a wakeless coaching launch, a pontoon-like boat that will allow coaches
to keep up with the rowing shell without creating a wake. The boat should arrive by midsummer.
While the club was initially founded around fitness and recreation, the competitive side of the program has grown as well. In 2007, the PLRA crew captured the gold medal out of 31 crews at the WRRA Summer Rowing League Regatta in Cleveland. PLRA teams and individual competitors raced in six head races during the fall season and won a gold at the King’s Head Regatta in Philadelphia and bronze at the Columbus Fall Classic.
New for 2009, the coaching expertise within the club has grown. PLRA has hired Cleveland native, Aaron Marcovy to serve as head coach. In 2008, Aaron competed for Oxford in the
winning boat in the famed boat race between Oxford and Cambridge. Also joining PLRA’s coaching ranks is Sam Malusky Bacon, who coached at the University of York Boat Club in the
UK for the last two years.
For those interested in learning to row, PLRA has also improved their novice program the spring.
They are offering three two-day Learn to Row Classes. These classes will be held May 9-10,
11-12 and 16-17. More information is available on their Web site at
www.PortageLakesRowing.com and click on Learn to Row. Anyone interested in trying out the sport but who cannot make those dates is encouraged to contact the club on their Web site and see about making alternate arrangements.
PLRA is the only organized rowing club in the Akron/Canton area. PLRA rows from mid-April through mid-November out of Craftsmen Park on Rex Lake, part of the main chain of the
Portage Lakes. Membership is open to all adults interested in competition, fitness and rowing.
