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

John Redos ’09 holds a bachelor of science in communication from Cornell University (2013) and a master in sociology from the University of Oxford (2014). He returns to his alma mater as a member of the English faculty and head girls’ rowing coach. John’s teaching career has taken him to Oxford, where he taught psychology and English at Greene’s Tutorial College, and to Montenegro, where he taught at University of Montenegro and coordinated teacher education workshops and seminars as a Fulbright Grant Finalist. He also worked for a year as a research assistant at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education investigating the social aspects of teacher and student interactions.

John brings 12 years’ rowing experience to Blair Academy. He began his Blair rowing career during his sophomore year. At the School, he medaled at the Stotesbury Regatta in his sophomore, junior and senior years. After he and his teammates achieved gold in the Senior 4+ at Stotesbury in 2008, his crew was the first Blair boat to ever attend the USRowing Youth National Championships where they achieved a silver medal in the Open 4+ event.

After Blair, John was recruited to Cornell University, where he rowed Division I for their Varsity Lightweights for four years. At Cornell, his freshman crew achieved gold at the 2010 Eastern Sprints Regatta. The following year, John earned varsity letters in his sophomore, junior and senior years. While at Cornell, John represented the United States as a member of the U23 National Team in 2010 and 2012 in the Lightweight Men’s Quadruple Sculls. Upon graduation, John transitioned to openweight and rowed for Taurus Boat Club (UK) at the Henley Royal Regatta in 2013, where his crew made it to the semi-finals in the Brittania Challenge Cup. John finished his rowing career in Oxford, where he rowed openweight for Oxford University Boat Club. He sat bow in the winning Isis crew at the 2014 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Races. Following the Boat Race, John returned to Oriel College, University of Oxford and helped his crew achieve Head of the River at Summer Eights, a race originating in 1815.

John transitioned into coaching by serving as the head men’s rowing coach at Keble College, University of Oxford for three years. During his time at Keble, John and his assistant coach built the team from five rowers and one coxswain into a team of five competitive eights that trained three seasons during the academic year. In his first season, John helped enable the club to post its most successful season in over 40 years.

John is married to Dr. Suzana Markolovic, Blair science teacher, cross country coach and track coach.

Contact Coach Redos at redosj@blair.edu for 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 Gardner

Annie Gardner is an alumna of the Lawrenceville School and Dartmouth College, where she earned a BA in English in 2015. She brings to Blair extensive experience in rowing, serving as girls' varsity head coach of the Austin Rowing Club from 2017 to 2020 where she helped build a competitive program that qualified for Nationals each spring. At Blair, Annie teaches English 2 and 3 and in addition to coaching the sculling and girls’ crew teams.

Meet Coach Berry-Toon

Blair alumnus Chris Berry-Toon ’17 started rowing during his Blair career, during which he was a four-year rower and recipient of the Hurley Crew Prize. After graduation, he matriculated to Hamilton College where he rowed from 2017 to 2018. In fall 2021, he helped launch Blair’s sculling program. He currently attends University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

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.