Lake County Rowing Association (LCRA) recently won two gold medals at the United States Rowing Association’s (USRowing) Masters National Championships.
The USRowing Championship, held at world-class racing venue Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota this year, attracts the best rowers in the country for ages 27 and above.
LCRA’s Men’s four-person team brought home gold in their age bracket. The group included Lake County Commissioner and Tourist Development Council Chairman Doug Shields, LCRA President Mark Vantrease, and brothers Bill and Dan VanDresser. The next day, the VanDresser brothers went on to win gold in the Open F Double bracket.
“Once two of my Ohio State University Rowing buddies relocated nearby, we decided to get the boat back together,” Commissioner Shields said. “LCRA was the perfect place for us to reconnect and strengthen our skills. By investing in our local recreational assets, success like this is possible. We continue to send local kids off to college with rowing scholarships and host northern rowing programs to train during their winter seasons at our amazing facility.”
Bill VanDresser recruited his brother Dan, who rowed for Michigan State University, to round out the four-person boat. They spent their mornings on Lake Minneola in Clermont honing their skills to ensure they were much faster than the previous year, where they missed out on gold by just three seconds.
“I’d like to thank Lake County for providing this great boathouse asset to the community,” Mark Vantrease said. “I’d also like to thank the City of Clermont, ‘Choice of Champions,’ for boathouse maintenance support and coordination over our local regattas. Together we have grown the program into a rich resource for our local kids and adults to train, learn and grow together.”
The Clermont Boathouse is home to LCRA and was designed by competitive rowers to be a premier location for the sport. The lake features a 2,000-meter Olympic-style buoyed racecourse that allows eight rowing lanes and a first-class floating dock for launching. Earlier this year, the University of Michigan Women’s Rowing team visited Lake County to train at the facility before heading to the NCAA Division I National Championship.
“We extend our congratulations to LCRA, and our very own Commissioner Shields,” Director of Visit Lake Ryan Ritchie said. “Lake County houses several extraordinary assets for athletes, local and out-of-county visitors to train and compete.”
Lake County is home to more than a thousand lakes and waterways with walkable downtowns and trails. The Clermont Boathouse sits along the Southlake Trail with a direct path to Downtown Clermont where visitors can explore an array of local restaurants and shops. Lake Minneola also has a separate 1000-meter eight-lane canoe and kayak course.
Learn more about LCRA at www.rowlcra.org. Discover Lake County Tourism at www.visitlakefl.com. Follow us on social media @VisitLakeFL.
Original source can be found here.
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