About Portage Lakes Rowing
The Portage Lakes Rowing Association (PLRA) is the only organized sweep rowing club in the Akron / Canton vicinity. Founded in 2005, PLRA has consistently grown over our eight seasons of rowing, and had around 65 members for both our spring a fall sessions in 2012. The club has a fleet of five 8's and two 4's used for sweep rowing, along with a single scull, a sculling quad and a sculling double.
We offer an amateur athletic program for competitive rowers, and our season starts in mid-April and runs through mid-November. Practices are held five days a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays during the season. Members meeting certain experience requirements can train seven days a week on the water.
We also aim to attract new people to the sport by hosting Introduction to Row classes in both May and July to encourage, develop, instruct and train new rowers in the sport. These educational programs teach the technique and skills of rowing to people of all levels.
Experienced rowers are welcome to join our club at any time. If you are a rower visiting Akron and want to row with us, just fill out the form on the Contact Us page.
PLRA is an exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code effective August 14, 2009. Contributions to PLRA are deductible under section 170 of the Code. Our letter of determination from the IRS is available on the documents page of this site.
Introduction to Rowing Classes
Our next Introduction to Rowing (ITR) classes for Spring 2013 will be held on Sunday, May 5th and Saturday, May 11th. Enrollment is now open. If you are interested in learning to row, please go to the Introduction to Rowing tab for details. Our fall Introduction to Rowing classes will be held Sunday, July 21st and Saturday, July 27th.
If you are interested but want more information or aren't quite ready to sign up, please fill out the form on the Contact Us page and we will notify you later in the season when the class starts filling up.
Anyone with rowing experience is welcome to join at any time. Give us a call at (330) 333-2ROW.
New for 2013 - Adaptive Rowing
Portage Lakes Rowing Association is excited to offer an adaptive rowing program for amputees, the first of its kind in Northeast Ohio. Participants will be led by head coach Matt Walle, an experienced and passionate adaptive rowing coach. Please click on the Programs tab on our homepage to learn more about this program. If you are interested but want more information, please fill out the form on the Contact Us page.
Free Coxswain Membership - Inquire at Any Time
The coxswain is an essential part of the boat, just as essential as the rowers themselves. The Coxswain's primary job is to keep the boat moving on course. In addition to steering the boat, the coxswain calls out instructions, helps motivate the rowers, coordinates the power and rhythm of the rower's strokes and is the "eyes and ears" of the boat.
The role of coxswain is shared among rowing members of PLRA, however we are always interested in adding coxswain-only members who regularly coxswain. Coxswains are as much a part of the team as the rowers and are so valued to the club that their membership is free.
No rowing experience is necessary to become a coxswain and we will give you all the training that you need. If you are interested, use the form on the Contact Us page to let us know and we'll make arrangements.