Plant High Rowing Association

The Plant High Rowing Association was founded in 1999 to facilitate rowing and to support the Plant High Rowing Club. Though completely separate entities, PHRA and Plant High Rowing Club work together for the same purpose: to provide the sport of rowing for students at Plant. The individuals who were instrumental in the establishment of PHRA and rowing at Plant include Margaret Gandy, Marilyn Samaha, Sean Stewart, Steve Blaschka, Joe Gonzalez and Ken Snyder.

Due to the small size and inexperience of the crew, PHRA began by racing mostly fours and was coached solely by volunteers. As the crew grew into a large, experienced program, racing shifted from fours to eights. Additionally, part-time coaches were hired. In 2004 PHRA continued its competitive development by hiring a full-time Head Coach/Executive Director.

In 2005 PHRA acquired an exclusive site at its current location on the Palm River. A boathouse was constructed during the winter of 2006-07. As this growth in the number of athletes, the coaching staff, and the facilities occurred, PHRA was able to provide more rowing opportunities for more students. Additionally, Plant Crew became more and more competitive.

Plant Crew is currently the 4th best program in Florida, and the 3rd best scholastic program. In the 2009 Southeast Region of USRowing, Plant's Women Varsity 8 came in 1st, and most recently at the 2009 National Championship, the Men's Junior 8 finished 3rd in the nation, winning the first national medal for our program!