Conner Blouin was elevated to Head Sailing Coach for the College of Charleston on August 2, 2023 after serving as an assistant coach since July of 2018.
“We are thrilled to elevate Conner as the Head Coach of College of Charleston Sailing. His expertise on the water as a coach and a decorated international sailor himself, has earned an enormous amount of respect from our current student-athletes and the sailing community,” Director of Athletics Matt Roberts said. “He has made a positive mark on our program as an assistant coach the past five years and we look forward to returning to national prominence under his leadership.”
Blouin has been with the Cougar sailing program since July 2018 serving as an assistant coach helping lead Charleston to the 2019 Coed Dinghy National Championship and 2021 Women’s Dinghy National Championship. Charleston’s most recent national title in 2021 led to their ninth Fowle Trophy in program history, given to the best overall collegiate team.
Charleston has consistently been a top-tier sailing program under Blouin’s tutelage including top-15 ranks in both the Open and Women’s national rankings this last spring.
Prior to his time at Charleston, Blouin served as an assistant coach at St. Mary’s College of Maryland from 2015 through 2018 and served as the head coach of his alma mater Washington College prior to that.
During his first season at Washington, Blouin guided the program to a berth in the ICSA Co-Ed Dinghy National Championship Semifinals. His second campaign at the helm featured three regattas wins, including the Central Fall Qualifier, Salisbury Open, and the Jeremy A. Pinkerton Memorial.
Blouin was a two-year team captain, three-time Most Valuable Sailor, and two-time All-America Honorable Mention skipper at Washington College, in addition to two All-MAISA selections and an Academic All-America First Team honoree in 2010. As a senior, Blouin became the second student-athlete in school history to win both the College’s Senior Athletic Award, given to the top senior athlete, and the Alfred Reddish Award, given to the senior male athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average.
During his tenure at Washington College, Blouin sailed in the program’s first three ICSA Co-Ed Dinghy National Championship Semifinal regatta appearances, as well as the program’s first-ever appearance at the ICSA Co-Ed Dinghy National Championship regatta in 2009. He wrapped his collegiate sailing career with a school-record 12 career divisional first-place finishes. He led Washington College to a consistent top-20 ICSA Co-Ed National ranking, including a peak ranking of eighth in 2009.
Blouin continued his competitive national and international sailing career after graduating from Washington College, highlighted by a second-place finish at the 2011 International Laser Class Association (ILCA) Grand Prix, Laser Radial. He also won a bronze medal at the 2011 CORK Olympic Classes Regatta, Laser Radial; placed fourth at the 2011 Laser Radial North Americans; and finished fifth at the 2010 Sunfish World Championship in Italy. Blouin was also the third-highest finishing American at the 2011 Laser Radial North Americans, which qualified him for the 2012 Laser Radial Open World Championship.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Blouin has coached high school and youth teams in Rhode Island, Chicago, Annapolis and Florida. His background also includes a stint as a marketing and sales associate at ZIm Sailing in Rhode Island, and time as a communications associate with US Sailing.
