Girls' Crew

MAPL CHAMPS
2007, 2008, 2013, 2016, 2018

Blair Girls' 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. We have a winter season designed to develop athletes who are trying to compete in the top boats, but our main season begins with our spring trip to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. We end after the Stotesbury Regatta, although select crews may compete in the National Championships.

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.

What is the general make-up of the team?
The team comprises two groups: novice girls, and varsity girls. 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. We use land-based rowing machines and ergometers to teach basic stroke technique and to increase strength and fitness. Our outdoor facility is located on the Paulinskill River, which is about a 15-minute bus ride from campus.

When do we practice?
We practice after classes each day. The team meets at the buses and heads out to the river. Practice runs until dinnertime.

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 seven competitions during the eight-week 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.

What types of championship regattas are possible?
Blair crew attends the Mercer Sprints Regatta 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 this regatta have the possibility of continuing at the U.S. Rowing 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 and burns more calories than any other sport or exercise. It is a sport that demands endurance, strength and skill. It requires consummate teamwork and mental toughness.
• Many universities offer scholarships for crew. Crew is a growing sport on college campuses. Participating in crew can benefit you as you navigate the college admission process.
• 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.

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

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 of rowing experience to Blair Academy. He began his rowing career at Blair during his sophomore year. At Blair, 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. Following his freshman year, John achieved 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 graduating Cornell, 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.

Meet Coach Litvin

Meet Coach Paone

A 2018 graduate of Bates College, Marianna Paone joined Blair’s faculty in 2018 as a history teacher and rowing coach as well as help coach for the JV girls’ basketball teaml. She majored in history with a concentration in European history and minored in educational studies, gaining classroom experience as a teacher’s assistant at several Lewiston, Maine, elementary schools and as a fifth-grade teacher at Oranjekloof Moravian Primary School in Cape Town, South Africa. Marianna was a four-year member of Bates’ NCAA-champion varsity rowing team, and she received the Bates athletic department's Senior Scholar Award in 2018.
 

View more photos from the 2018 season or past years on Blair's Flickr.