Akron/Portage Lakes Rowing

The 4 gets helped off the dock

Calm water means great puddles

Mailing Address
PO Box 26981
Akron, OH 44319

   The Portage Lakes Rowing Association (PLRA) is an Ohio non profit corporation dedicated to the

advancement of the sport of rowing in the Akron/Canton, OH area. Our base of operations (dock and

"boathouse") originates from Craftsmen Park (www.craftsmenpark.com) located at 4450 Rex Lake Dr Akron, OH

44319 where we row on Turkeyfoot, Rex and Mud Lakes located in the beautiful Portage Lakes State Park. We

row Sunday mornings 7-9AM & Tuesday evenings 6-8PM.   Our membership enjoys the exercise and

camaraderie associated with sweep rowing in an 8+ or 4+ rowing shell. We also enjoy breakfast after our row out

on the patio overlooking Rex Lake. It is a great way to meet people or just try something new and exciting. Our

Learn to Row program offers people 18 & over a chance to learn to sweep row like you see in the Olympics.

Our more experience rowers have a special program to increase their racing times and have the opportunity to

compete regionally in major rowing Regattas. This program is called the Level 2/Experienced Program.

We are a US Rowing Organizational Member and have four US Rowing Level 2 Certified Coaches & three US

Rowing Level 1 coaches who offer instruction to new and experienced crews.

PLRA has also allowed Camp Quality Ohio, a summer camp experience for children who have or have had

cancer, to use it's dock since 2006. PLRA also helped the Dragon Dream Team (DDT), a group of women

who have had or have breast cancer, by allowing them to use PLRA's dock in 2007.

If you are interested in rowing and would like to be a part of our crew, just go to the contact us page

and fill out a request stating your interest. You will be mailed or e-mailed an application & waiver

form. You can check out our YouTube video here if you want    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkeJG3Dg I 84

Cleveland SRL Regatta Competition

Experienced Crew in the 4+

Which one to choose?

Another glorious morning on the water

Good form allows for oar flex!

Hold the boat for the Coxswain

Multiple boats means racing

PLRA breakfast club after the row

Ultimate goosefence on rowing dock

2007 Cleveland SRL Regatta

2007 Portage Lakes Boat Parade

Sculling on Turkeyfoot

2007 Cleveland SRL Regatta

PLRA takes the Silver Medal (2nd place)
out of 31 crews in 2007 Cleveland SRL!

Powering to another win

2007 Head of the Cuyahoga 4+ Crew

*NPLRASE...Members meeting at
the launch site....little foggy this AM!

*NPLRASE sculling and kayaking
on Turkeyfoot Lake

The king of Kayaks in his Scull

*NPLRASE stands for Non Portage Lakes Rowing Association Sanctioned Event (some members get together in their own singles & kayaks
and row & paddle

********************************PLRA Governance & Coaching Staff*******************************

Barak is the President of PLRA and also a Director of the corporation. He is the founding
member of PLRA. He learned to row in 2004 with Western Reserve Rowing Association in
Cleveland, OH and received his US Rowing Level 2 Coaching Certification in 2008. He has
also successfully passed the Ohio Boating Education Certification. Barak lives in the
Portage Lakes area and in addition to sweep rowing he loves to scull in his single.

Barak Kraus, President

Karen Kilroy, Secretary

Karen is the Secretary of PLRA and also a Director of the corporation. She learned to row in
April 2006 with PLRA. She received her US Rowing Level 2 Coaching Certification in
January 2008. Karen lives in the Portage Lakes and in addition to sweep rowing she is also
the coach for the Dragon Dream Team.

Brad Banko, Treasurer

Brad is the Treasurer of PLRA and also a Director of the corporation. He first learned to
row in college at Brown University and then joined PLRA in late 2005. He is a US Rowing
Level 2 Certified Coach. Brad lives in Cuyahoga Falls and enjoys spending time with his 3
future olympic rowers Thomas, James, and Matthew.

In the beginning we launched using an
apple crate and aluminum loading ramp!

We had approx. 12 member our first
season and the boat was not set

Luckily we had one member who
offered winter storage of our boats

The first day of rowing.....it might have
been the first 8 on the Portage Lakes
in decades!

Purchasing our trailer was a big deal to
us...it allowed us flexibility we needed.

The pontoon won this race

PLRA's Meeting Minutes (in Adobe PDF)

Cindy Parish, Director

Cindy is a Director of the corporation and attained her US Rowing Level 2 Certfication in 2008.
She started sculling in 1999 to rehabilitate a torn knee ligament suffered while skiing in 1998.
She first joined Long Beach Rowing Association in Southern California while working at
California State University , Long Beach . After moving to Ohio she learned sweep rowing in
Cleveland and joined Western Reserve Rowing Association, working with as many coaches as
possible in the summer and recreational rowing programs. After buying her own scull in 2002,
she rowed mostly in Portage Lakes , Hinckley Lake and around Johnson’s Island in Lake Erie’s
Sandusky Bay at sunrise. Fully addicted to rowing, she has taught many people the proper
rowing technique. She enjoys working with new sweeps rowers as well as getting her own long-
delayed competitive rowing career going. And yes, she resumed skiing

Paul is a Director of the corporation who learned to row while going to High School in the
Philadelphia, PA area. He rowed while at college, taking both the bow position with the heavy
weight crew and the stroke position in the lightweight crew. He retired from rowing in 1980, but
recently started rowing again with PLRA in the spring of 2007.

Ric is the Vice President of PLRA and has served as Social Chairman for a while. He
learned to row with PLRA in September 2005 and was one of the original members of our
club. Ric received his US Rowing Level 1 Certification in January 2008. He lives in Copley
and his skills include being a good Chef (we eat well), lousy rower, Coxswain when needed,
good kayaker, lousy sculler, and repair guy.

Boathouse & Dock
located in Craftsmen Park
4450 Rex Lake Road
Akron, OH 44319