The High Fives Foundation is deepening its impact on the water this summer, announcing expanded goals, new partnerships, and athlete highlights for its growing adaptive wake surf program. In partnership with MasterCraft Boat Company, the Foundation aims to log 200 hours on the water and host 125 athlete sessions in 2025, up from 141 hours and 99 athletes in 2024. With the launch of a new collaboration with CalCustoms and an equipment upgrade from the MasterCraft X24 to the high-performance XStar, athletes will now have access to improved wake shapes, increased adaptability, and enhanced overall performance behind the boat.
“We have the most beautiful backdrop of terrain, with the bluest water, and access to lakes around the Reno-Tahoe area,” said Roy Tuscany, founder and CEO of High Fives Foundation. “With the use of the MasterCraft XStar, we will be able to bring adaptive surfing and the healing powers of water to all in the basin.”
This year’s programming also places a strong focus on representation and inclusion. High Fives supported MasterCraft’s Let Her Rip on-water clinic on July 15 in Lake Tahoe to spotlight and empower female adaptive athletes, fostering even greater inclusion in the sport.
“The work High Fives Foundation is doing to create access, community, and healing on the water is incredibly powerful,” said Krista Schipner, Vice President of Marketing at MasterCraft. “We’re proud to support a program that means so much to so many—helping athletes of all abilities experience freedom, progress, and joy through adaptive water sports. Being part of that journey, for the second year, is an honor”
So far in 2025, the High Fives Foundation’s adaptive wake surf program has spent 58 hours on the water, creating unforgettable experiences for 32 adaptive athletes, including 13 first-time participants. None of it would be possible without the support of 49 dedicated volunteers. This season has already included 14 surf days, showcasing more than eight adaptive surf modalities, including waveski, ZUP board, hydrofoil, classic wake surf, kneeling, prone and traditional surfboard riding. Each session highlights the unmatched versatility and spirit of adaptive water sports.
Featured athletes include Alana Nichols, a Paralympic gold medalist and advocate for inclusion in sports, and Ty Turner, a charismatic leader in the adaptive community and Paralympic medalist. The program proudly supports a diverse range of adaptive athletes, including individuals with spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries and single or double amputations, offering access to multiple surf modalities tailored to each athlete’s goals.
With surf days planned through the middle of October this year, momentum is building for High Fives Foundation’s adaptive wake surf program that continues to redefine access, empowerment, and adventure through water.
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ABOUT HIGH FIVES FOUNDATION | High Fives Nonprofit Foundation focuses on preventing life-changing injuries and provides resources and hope if they happen. It was formed as a way to “pay-it-forward” by the founder, Roy Tuscany, after his own recovery from a spinal cord injury. The Foundation has expanded to help nearly 1000 Athletes from 47 States & Territories and Canada since its inception in 2009. The High Fives Foundation is a California-based, national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
About MasterCraft:
MasterCraft is a world-renowned innovator, designer, manufacturer, and marketer of premium performance sport boats. Founded in 1968, MasterCraft has cultivated its iconic brand image through a rich history of industry-leading innovation, and more than five decades after the original MasterCraft made its debut, the company’s goal remains the same – to continue building the world’s best ski, wakeboard, wakesurf, and luxury performance powerboats.
