Sculling

In fall 2020, Blair established its sculling program with 12 single shells and rowers. The team comprises a coed, passionate group of athletes who aspire to train year-round. The program focuses on the technical aspects of rowing, building foundational skills for sculling that also translate well to the School’s spring crew program. The sculling team trains in Blair’s newly opened Crew Training Center as well as practices outdoors on nearby Lake Paulinskill, which is about a 15-minute bus ride from campus. The team competes in about three heads races a year, plus intrasquad competitions each week. 

With the addition of Blair’s Crew Training Center, which came online in fall 2021, Blair’s sculling and crew programs offer student-athletes wishing to row at Blair and beyond a competitive edge by giving them the opportunity to not only practice both forms of rowing, but also do so when weather conditions do not permit them to be on the water. The state-of-the-art facility boasts weight- and ergometer-training areas, as well as an eight-seat sweep/sculling tank. 

To read more about Blair’s rowing program, visit the boys’ crew and girls’ crew team pages.

Meet Coach Redos

Since joining Blair Academy in September 2018, John Redos '09 has brought a deep commitment to rowing and to the development of student-athletes. Under his guidance, the women’s rowing team has achieved notable successes, including three Scholastic National Championship titles, three Stotesbury Cup Championships, and a second-place finish at the USRowing Youth Nationals in the Women’s 4+.

Coach Redos is dedicated to supporting his athletes’ growth both on and off the water. To date, 18 of his rowers have continued their athletic careers in collegiate programs, with three athletes having the honor of representing their countries at the U19 and U23 World Championships. A key accomplishment for Blair Rowing was the opening of a rowing center on campus in 2021, a project in which Coach Redos played a pivotal role. In 2020, in response to the challenges presented by COVID-19, he worked closely with his coaching team and the Blair community to establish a small boat fall training program. He also organizes annual training trips to Chula Vista’s Elite Athlete Training Center and, in 2024, introduced the first cross-training cross-country ski trip to Craftsbury Outdoor Center.

Before his time at Blair Academy, Coach Redos spent three years coaching at Keble College, University of Oxford, where he led 12 weekly sessions for 40 students, contributing to one of the club’s most successful periods in over 40 years.

John’s own rowing experience includes four years on Cornell’s Varsity Lightweight team, participation on the U23 US National Team in 2010 and 2012, and rowing open weight for Oxford University Boat Club, where he was part of the winning Isis crew in the 2014 Boat Races.

Blair holds special meaning for John, as it is where his rowing journey began during his sophomore year. He was fortunate to medal at the Stotesbury Regatta in his sophomore, junior, and senior years. In 2008, after winning gold in the Senior 4+ at Stotesbury, his crew became the first Blair boat to compete at the USRowing Youth National Championships, where they earned a silver medal in the Open 4+ event.

Contact Coach Redos with any questions.

Meet Coach Csanyi

Istvan Csanyi started rowing in his home country, Hungary, at the age of 14 in 1984. He was a part of several victorious crews in his years of European racing. Coach Csanyi spent most of his Hungarian rowing career training out of the Danubius National Boating Club. His family then moved to France, where he continued rowing at the masters level with Union Nautique of Lyon and Lyon Caluire. The highlight of his French rowing career was when his 4+ earned fourth place at the French National Championships. Representing France at the 2019 Masters World Rowing Championships, his French 8+ earned bronze while his Hungarian 4x earned 5th place. Istvan is one of just two people to compete in the notoriously difficult 100-mile regatta on the Danube every year since it began 29 years ago.

Coach Istvan graduated college with a degree in economics and project management as well as a two-year training course in coaching at the Hungarian University of Athletic Studies. 

Meet Coach Francis

Kat Francis completed her undergraduate degree in accounting at Ramapo College of New Jersey, where she worked as a rowing coach for the Nereid Boat Club in Rutherford, leading their first women’s varsity quad to Youth Nationals, along with a women’s varsity single. After college, Kat gained experience in accounting at WithumSmith+Brown, PC in Whippany, as well as rowing while coaching for Gippsland Grammar during a year abroad in Australia. Prior to coming to Blair, Kat worked at Fordham University as a women’s head rowing coach and at RowAmerica Rye as assistant rowing coach. After working at Blair as a math department intern and crew coach, she continued in that capacity full time in the fall of 2022. She is joined by her fiancé, fellow mathematics instructor Dylan Gould.

View photos of the 2022 season on Blair's Photoshelter.

Alumni who rowed internationally

André Matias '07
Angolan National Team, Rio 2016 Olympic team

John Redos '09
U23 USA National Team, 2010 & 2012

Oxford University Boat Club (Isis), 2014

With construction completed in 2021, the Crew Training Center is the latest campus enhancement to be completed as part of Blair’s 2018-2025 Strategic Plan, All In. The Center (formerly the Park Street maker space), is a state-of-the-art facility especially designed and constructed to facilitate training over the winter months. It features dedicated weight- and ergometer-training areas, as well as an eight-seat sweep/sculling tank. This new facility, along with the J. Li Golf Training Center and winter sports complex, reflects Blair’s continuing commitment to provide student-athletes with the resources, equipment and support necessary to excel at the highest levels. Blair is only one of a handful of high schools in the United States to offer such a training center, highlighting how the School is prioritizing the growth of its rowing program.