First of all, I love the Oak Hills neighborhood. My daughter attends Oak Hills Elementary, we ride…read moreour bikes through the area frequently, and it's always felt pleasant. With that said, I'm not a proper resident of the neighborhood. I don't belong to the HOA, and I'm not eligible to access the swimming pool or tennis courts (as far as I understand it!). This is not terribly surprising, given the fact that it's a pool in the middle of the neighborhood, but it just feels so...open! My daughter is always interested in seeing the parts we're not allowed to see. She looks at them all the time on the school bus going in and out of school. So what that leaves us to access is the playground. Frankly, it's not great. The Oak Hills Elementary playground is a stone's throw away and WAY better...in terms of quality, openness, and monkey bar variety, and whatever other criteria you can think of to rate a playground. I suspect that if I were a proper resident of the Oak Hills neighborhood, I'd rate this more highly. I suspect that the pool is fun and the tennis is a delight. I'm just bummed that I'm not allowed to find out.

I went here for the 4th of July, and the fireworks were great. I liked that it is a local venue…read moreand it is very family oriented. I went to the waterfront in years past, and the teenagers were drinking and swearing, and in comparison, Oak Hills is head over heels better than the Waterfront. I liked that you can sit up close to the fireworks, and can appreciate all the work that goes into the firework show. I will definitely plan to go there in future years.

I have been playing Recesstime Kickball since 2006, and Recesstime Dodgeball since 2009. It has…read morebeen one of the best things I have ever done with my time. Not only is it fun, it's semi-competitive depending on what team/league you choose. Kickball is a fun social sport where teammates run around and play, drink beer on the sideline, sometimes grill, and hang out talk some good natured trash with other teams. I have spent many long warm summer night playing kickball and hanging out with friends. This is not your childhood kickball, however. There are varying levels of play, from fun novice to incredibly high-level competitive play. Dodgeball is a bit more intense, but is a great time. It is a bit intimidating watching the game being played for the first time, but once you're in it and learn the strategy of the game, it is a ton of fun. After dodgeball, teams go to the sponsor bar and talk about their games, hang out and chat, and again, more good natured trash talking. Most importantly, I have met some of the best friends ever through the league, and I cannot imagine life without it. It has given me so many great people, and has allowed me to stay active and get exercise without getting bored. Even after playing for years I still get excited to hang out with my friends and play fun kid sports, which is why I give the league "5" stars- I would give it 10 stars if I could.

I just played kickball for the first time since 5th grade! And no, I didn't crash a Sunday school…read morepick-up game, I participated in a organized league comprised of cool, active, and for the most part normal adults. Recess Time organizes dodgeball and bowling leagues in addition to kickball, and eventually there will be ping-pong. They make all the schedules, setup the fields, and coordinate the volunteer officials. All you have to do is bring your "A" game. The best part is they've acquired beer and wine permits for the parks! And in case you're wondering, wine and kickball are a fine pairing (I asked my boy Trav @ Garrison's). The second-best part is that even if your friends are too lazy, or uncoordinated, or don't exist, you can still be part of a team through "free agency." So if you're looking for a way to meet people and/or an excuse to get off the couch, definitely check out Recess Time. BTW, my team, Kick & Scream, kicked some butt today. Undefeated...1-0 baby!!!

My son is a rising freshman and needed a little extra boost, court time, and support to make the…read morebasketball team in high school. We've tried several leagues and found PSB to give him the best well rounded experience of all. All of the coaches take time with the kids and meet them where they are at. They give honest, direct feedback with suggestions on how to improve. Tournaments have given him the extra exposure he needs to play against quality, competitive players that help him grow. In the past 6 months he's grown significantly as a player and even made his schools summer team. That wouldn't have been possible before PSB. My kiddo is looking forward to the upcoming camp and season.

Admission is a little steep but holy shit what a blast! It was a phenomenal experience, I don't…read moreknow if that's because I grew up watching wrestling on tv and saw live wrestling in a garage near my dads limo business on N Ivanhoe near the St. John's bridge...but am I glad that we still have something like this in our community. I brought my 6 year old and I saw that familiar twinkle in his eye. The excitement and adrenaline almost made his head explode! Seems great for a cheap date night too.

This is one of those things I'm hesitant to review because I don't want everyone to know about it…read more It's an amazingly quaint and local event. High energy, crowd involvement. It reminds me a lot of high school sports growing up in small town Idaho. You've got grandma with her handmade signs heckling the bad guy. Entire tables dressed up for the next big holiday or to support their favorite hero. The overzealous guy booing the good guy cuz he's "too soft" and the story goes on and on. It's a beautiful comic book setting of all these great characters interacting. The night we went the P.A. system was even down. So it was all just voice and action. No intro music, no MC shouting on the mic and it was STILL awesome! Don't expect some fancy venue, this is an old VA hall type setting with grungy cinder block walls and old chairs, but that's the charm. It's not trying to be anything it's not, and the folks that are die hard and come regularly take this seriously! So come respectfully into their world and enjoy with all the joy of a little kid. It's an affordable event every Sunday with cheap concession stand snacks and you can be as involved as you want. Or just watch and enjoy. It's fun to take a group of friends or visitors to show some of the smaller side of Portland awesome. Plus St. Johns... totes amazing if you haven't figured that out already. Pro Tip: the camera is on the entrance wall so know that if you sit on that side you are more likely to get sprayed with water, have a wrestler on your table or be in the way of some flying debris at some point. Not all bad things!, just know what you're getting yourself into. The opposing side is where the food sales are and bathrooms.

THS Synchro is an incredible organization. My daughter started synchro at 9 years old after 3 years…read moreon T Hills swim club (THSC). She was welcomed by really polite and sweet teammates who were thrilled to have a new athlete. The coaching staff is excellent. She has coach Hallie who is a highly decorated athlete herself. She's just the right mix of coach, mentor, and tough mama. Coach John coaches the older squad and helps with my daughters team, too. His experience in this sport is extensive and he has a stellar reputation as a coach and choreographer. He is known for his passion for the sport and the drama and artistry he brings to it. We brought a record number of routines to Nationals this past year (2013) and one of our athletes qualified for the USA national team and trained at the Olympic Training center in Colorado Springs. We also have a lot of fun doing team building activities and community outreach like the Beaverton Parade on 9/7/2013. Go T Hills! Synchro is a sport that requires more time than you think. Athletes can be at practice between 12-26 hours per week. BUT, my daughter is in the best physical shape of any kid her Age. She loves how strong she's become. Cost: We pay about $200 per month but with practice being 20+ hrs per week, that's not too bad. Additional costs are for travel and meet expenses but our club is working hard thru fundraising to minimize additional costs. All in all, I highly recommend this club.**

From the owner: Tualatin Hills Synchronized Swimming Club, a member of the Oregon Association of Artistic Swimming,…read moreis the only publicly-available artistic swimming program in the State of Oregon. We provide recreational, developmental, and competitive artistic swimming programs for athletes ages 6 and up!

Pool won't be heated this summer! What a bummer. I have…read morebeen told in the past that they heat the pool memorial day weekend. We have gone multiple times and now was told that they likely wont heat it this summer. My toddler left with blue lips... kids are all huddled up at the hot tube and its too cold for parents to go in with their kids. Membership was raised and at this point if we can't swim for the summer as a family its likely we will be looking into other family gyms such as Lifetime or Villa sport.... Hopefully the management will change their minds- its clearly a cost issue, but in the long run may make things worse if more families choose to cancel their memberships. On the gym side of things I find the gym equipment and track nice but locker room hot tubs and showers can really use more attention - as they are rather dirty. Also it would be nice if they opened the outside pool cafe area with snack and drinks

The locker rooms are an embarrassment and seemingly are being redone by a handyman and not a…read moreprofessional. I spend way too much on my membership for this. Not heating the pool? We have lots of options in this area, you may want to rethink your business plan

Enjoy the fresh smell of sweat? Rowdy indoor soccer players and iffy referees? Cold brew? Kiddos…read morerunning around? Then my friends, Soccer Plex may be for you! I have played indoor soccer for several years now and I will say that at least the field is decent in comparison to some places. Theres bleachers to sit on, even a home/away area for the teams which is nice. Some places you don't even get that. Best part? Bar area....couple TVs. Hooray! Just what you want to do after a soccer game. Aparently you can have birthday parties there too. Hmm.

I have no idea why the Plex has such low stars? Our 4 year…read moreold son does soccer here every Saturday on the little hoppers team and absolutely loves it. The coaches are great and the staff running the front counter are also great! We're hosting our sons 5th birthday here which includes a bar tender and coaches to run games for the kids on the soccer field. We're able to decorate the table area for the party and bring our own food. What more could you want? People just want an excuse to complain. The Facility itself seems to be in great shape. In addition to soccer they have a pool and yoga classs and work out classes. I definitely recommend coming here! It's awesome! You can even date night here and watch a league game and have a cold beer!

Share in the excitement with your partner, friends, family dropping into town or to change up your…read moreSaturday night. Great venue, wonderful fans that are eager to share what they know about the game and the point system, super welcoming staff & volunteers and spectacular teams. So much fun. You can grab a bite out back where a food truck is parked, wait in line for drinks or have them delivered. Buy your tickets online early because this event sold out. The energy of the crowd was awesome. The announcer keeps the spectators engaged with play by play in the fast moving arena. After the first period volunteers came out to race on tricycles keeping the energy hyped and engaged. Fantastic sporty and some very tough roller derby battles. Crushed it.

Pure fun! Some dear friends are huge derby fans and brought us to our first game. We had a blast!…read more As a newbie we thought we would be lost BUT nope...they have people who job it is to explain the game to you but they also project game rules and play on the screen before it starts. Its pretty easy to follow and wow does game play go by fast! Our friends try to get the VIP couch so we even got the full treatment which was neat. There are snacks at a pretty decent rate - hot dogs, nachos (which are crazy big and loaded!), sodas, candy and chips plus a beer/wine garden. Cash only so plan accordingly but their merch table can take cards and they have some pretty great merch. I loved the diversity seen here with age and this is a body positive zone with all different shapes and sizes - bravo!

My son has played with a couple different clubs and has been with T Hills water polo for the last 3…read moreyears. (One year as a 14u and two years as a 16U). My son and I have found all of the coaches at T Hills to be very helpful and some of the most knowledgeable coaches in the Pacific Northwest. Having personally attended a number of the practices and tournaments, my impression and opinion is as long as the athlete is willing to put in the effort, the coaches are willing to teach them. Regarding club fees, T Hills is on the higher side when it comes to monthly dues. However, when I calculated the total training time (pool time and dryland time) by the monthly dues, the cost per hour of training was very close to other clubs in the area. In summary, I highly recommend THWPC if your athlete is mature enough within their age group to listen to the coaches. However, if your athlete just wants to goof around and play in the water for an hour or two, this may not be a club or program for them or for you.

As someone who is fairly new to this experience, our perspective is somewhat limited. My child…read moreparticipated in a youth trial for 10 and under and enjoyed the experience. The coaches were wonderful and welcoming, and it was especially nice that two older kids took the time to help my child and another new kid. So far, it feels like a supportive and encouraging environment. Edit to add that I believe my child's team coach and the head club coach are both new. I don't know what happened before my daughter started at their club but it seems like there have been some pretty huge changes and overhaul to make this a more positive experience for kids.

Fuhgetabout the gym... Rock the boat, baby!…read more Most Portlanders, if they know anything about dragon boats, know the big Portland/Kaohsiung Rose Festival races, with the opulent, dragon-headed boats, the flag catching and the sprawling, boisterous crowds. But all that happens between April and June. And then *poof* it's all over and the heavy Taiwanese boats are stashed away beneath the Hi-Hat Restaurant for another year. The real juice of Portland's dragon boating milieu -- where teams train year-round and often go to national and world championships -- is the paddler-run DragonSports USA. A single dragon boat club has maybe 25 or 30 members and can't afford to buy, moor or maintain the 12-meter craft. So DragonSports USA was formed to provide all of Portland with access to sleek Hong Kong-stye dragon boats for recreational and team uses. And since 1997 they've been right downtown at Riverplace, where everybody can get to them. What really makes DragonSports rock is the level of volunteer commitment. With 8 boats and 2 races each year to run, an undertaking like this could cost a bundle. But when it's time to move a boat or organize a competition, it's all hands on deck. Because there isn't a big staff to support (just the ever-heroic Ayla) a lifetime membership in DragonSports costs $40 and then a team rental for a 22 -person boat is $22 per hour. Individuals can paddle at open practices for -- get this -- $25 per quarter. Yes, $40 up front and $100 per year. Take that to your gym and see if they'll match the price. And even if they do, when did you ever see people leaving spin class with the kind of goofy grins you find on those soggy people trodding up the boat ramp at Riverplace?

From the owner: DragonSports USA is a non-profit dragon boat paddling club located in Portland, Oregon.read more