Each season we bring a few of the top kayak, canoe, SUP and swiftwater rescue instructors from around the country to the Deerfield River to teach special topic clinics. These guest instructors are nationally known and respected in their fields. Their depth of knowledge and enthusiasm for their topics make their classes both dynamic and informative.
Mike Mather is an ACA certified Swiftwater Rescue instructor trainer educator with over 20 years of rescue experience in West Virginia, Colorado and around the country. He has taught classes around the world by request, has experience with teaching courses for the military and has set up high rise construction site rope safety. He is a wizard with ropes and provides some of the best river rescue instruction in the United States.
Chris Stec is currently the Director of Auxiliary Programs at Fredericksburg Academy.
Prior to that, he served for 12 years as the Chief Operating Officer of the ACA, the
oldest nonprofit paddlesports organization in the U.S., focusing on paddlesports
education, stewardship, recreation and competition, including the Olympic paddlesports
of Slalom and Sprint and the Paralympic discipline of Paracanoe. In addition, Chris
holds numerous paddlesports instructor certifications and enjoys spending time on the
water with his wife and two kids, whether it’s racing downriver canoes, kayak fishing, or
surfing SUPs in the ocean. He currently serves as the Past Chair of the National Safe
Boating Council.