Boys' Crew

MAPL CHAMPS
2007, 2008

Blair Boys' Crew FAQs

The following questions and answers are intended to share information about Blair crew; the questions presented are the ones raised most often by prospective students who are considering rowing in the spring.

When does the crew season begin and end?

Crew is mainly a spring sport beginning at the end of February on campus with the regular season ending in the middle of May. We have a smaller Fall Program designed to give our more experienced athletes a chance to practice their skills in singles, one of the most technical boats in our sport. Furthermore, we have a winter season designed to develop athletes who are trying to compete in the top boats and, but our main season begins with our spring trip to Austin, Texas. We end after the Stotesbury Regatta, although select crews may compete at the SRAA National Championships and USRowing Youth Nationals.

Is experience necessary?

Most of the students who join Blair crew have little or no experience prior to their first season. One of the best parts about the sport of rowing is the existence of a separate 'novice' category of racing, for those who have never rowed before. While some first-year athletes are skilled enough to compete for varsity seats, every first-year rower is guaranteed a race against other novice opponents. All students interested in rowing, regardless of experience, are encouraged to fill out the Prospective Student Questionnaire.

What is the general make-up of the team?

The team comprises two groups: novice boys, and varsity boys. We have roughly 30 athletes combined in a given year.

Where do you practice?

We have an indoor training room located in the main gymnasium on campus, and we will soon move into our own rowing center on Park Street where we will have our own eight-person scull/sweep tank. We use land-based rowing machines (Concept 2 Static and Concept 2 Dynamics) to teach basic stroke technique and to increase strength and fitness. In the winter, we also have access to our school’s weight room, which we take advantage of two times per week. Our outdoor facility is located on Lake Paulinskill, which is about a 15-minute bus ride from campus.

When do we practice?

We practice after classes each day. In the fall and spring, the team meets at the buses and heads out to the river. Practice runs until dinnertime. In the winter, we practice on campus.

How long are the workouts?

The team works out five days a week for two hours each day. One day each week, we race against opponents in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) and throughout the Northeast. Basically, we expect the team to row six days a week.

Are there any morning workouts?

No. 

How many races occur during the season?

Generally, we have eight competitions during the spring season. If you are part of the novice team, you will race in five to six of these events; as a varsity member, you will race in as many as possible. A successful regular season will earn the opportunity to race at SRAAs and USRowing Youth Nationals.

What types of championship regattas are possible?

Blair crew attends the Mercer Sprints Regatta, SRAA Garden States Regatta, the Cooper Cup, and the Mid-Atlantic Championships. In addition, the members of the MAPL hold a championship race near the end of the spring. The Blair crew season culminates at the Stotesbury Regatta, where we race against the very best crews from all over the United States and Canada. The top finishers at these regattas have the possibility of continuing at SRAA Scholastic Nationals as well as USRowing Youth Nationals in June. 

Why row?

It’s a total experience that immerses you. Here are just a few more reasons:

Rowers are the toughest, most determined athletes you will meet!

• Rowing is for EVERYONE. Your height and size don't matter. If you are interested in us, we are interested in you.

• It does not matter if you have never played sports before or have never heard of rowing; we will teach you everything you need to know.

• Rowing works all muscle groups. It is a sport that demands endurance, strength and skill. 

• It requires consummate teamwork and mental toughness.

• Many universities offer scholarships for women’s rowing. Rowing is a growing sport on college campuses. 

• Blair crew has FUN. We feel that by rowing, you become not just a better athlete, but a better student and person as well.

• The team experience forms very close friendships and helps everyone grow dramatically as people. You learn a sense of responsibility toward your boat mates and team, and this transfers to all aspects of life.

 

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.

Contact Coach Francis at franck@blair.edu with any questions.

Meet Coach Gould

Math teacher and rowing coach Dylan Gould came to Blair in 2022 from Brunswick School, where he taught computer science and coached rowing since 2020. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Cornell University in 2013, where he also rowed on the varsity lightweight rowing team, and then went on to earn his master’s degree in information technology from Virginia Tech in 2017. Earlier in his career, Dylan taught math, coached rowing and served as a dorm parent at The Storm School in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, and at Ross School in East Hampton, New York. From 2015 to 2020, Dylan served as head rowing coach at the Nereid Boat Club in Rutherford, New Jersey, where he met his fiancée, Kat Francis, who also teaches in Blair’s math department. 

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 Boat 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. 

View directions to athletic events. To read recaps about past events, go to the "Team News" tab above.

View more recent photos on Blair's Photoshelter or past seasons (2004-2018) on Blair's Flickr.

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

Year	Name	School
2002	Drew Bishop	United States Naval Academy
2005	Jon Carroll	Cornell University
2005	Chris Cobb	United States Naval Academy
2006	Nick John	Northeastern University
2007	Dave Evans	Stanford University
2007	Craig McConnell	Dartmouth College
2007	Matt Balaguer	Dartmouth College
2007	Andre Matias	Hamilton College
2008	Matt Gallira	Dartmouth College
2008	Elliot Anderson	Syracuse University
2009	John Redos	Cornell University
2009	Stephen Patane	United States Naval Academy
2010	Charlie Winn	Trinity University
2011	Eric Timken	Santa Clara University
2012	Evan Redos	University of Pennsylvania
2013	Kyle Tierney	Yale University
2013	Clay Dundas	SUNY Maritime College
2013	Robert Kimmelman	Stanford University
2014	Aiden McAleer	Georgetown University
2015	Eric Flora	Princeton University
2015	Alan Wu	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2016	William Robinson	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2016	JT Lamon	Stetson University
2017	Chris Berry-Toon	Hamilton College
2018	Zach Kreider	Rutgers University
2018	Maxwell Cavallaro	Bates College
2019	Liam Junkermann	Trinity College Dublin
2020	Ethan Huang	Bates College
2022	Alex Skida	University of Pennsylvania

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