LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The sun lit up Lake Tahoe’s blue waters as a MasterCraft boat rumbled across the lake. Onboard, athletes slipped into wetsuits, tightened life jackets and prepared to ride their wakesurf boards. Each one was different — customized with seatbelts or foot straps — and each athlete brought their own style, some balancing from a seated position, others steering with their hips.

When the waves rolled in, athletes carved across the water with speed and style.

The High Fives Foundation has brought a new kind of inclusivity to Tahoe’s waters. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit, dedicated to preventing life-changing injuries and offering resources and hope if they happen, hosted a series of adaptive wakesurf clinics across the summer and fall, totaling 20 weeks of programming.

Some athletes rode waves for the first time, guided every step of the way by a dedicated team. Others arrived with years of experience, like Alana Nichols, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist and dual-sport competitor in wheelchair basketball and alpine skiing. Nichols has spent her summers chasing Tahoe’s waves.

“I’m a mermaid in a landlocked state,” she said with a smile. Based in Reno, Nevada, her words carried both joy and defiance.

Her path into adaptive sports began after a snowboarding accident. On Nov. 19, 2000, she headed into the backcountry with one goal: to land her first backflip on a snowboard. The season had barely begun, snow was thin, and the mountain hid a perfect storm of hazards. On her first attempt, Nichols overrotated and landed back-first — not in snow, but onto a four-foot boulder.

“I broke my back in three places and I was immediately paralyzed upon impact,” Nichols said. “Needless to say, it was a life-changing event for me.”

The years that followed were filled with grief — for her body and the life she had imagined. Until her sophomore year at the University of New Mexico, when she stumbled upon wheelchair basketball.

“I will never forget the girl who came up to me and said I looked athletic,” Nichols recalled. “Time out — I’m in a wheelchair,” she told her.

Once she joined the team, her path opened to new heights — her first Paralympics, countless competitions and gold medals.

“It became a lifeline,” she said.

In 2010, Nichols met Roy Tuscany, founder of the High Fives Foundation, while fundraising for the Paralympic ski team. She was immediately drawn to the organization.

“I loved how different it felt,” she said. “Part of that was because it was run by a person with a disability.”

Tuscany founded the High Fives Foundation in 2009 after an accident left him with a spinal injury, damaging 45% of his spinal cord and paralyzing his lower body.

His recovery was shaped by the Tahoe community’s support — the cheers that greeted him as he donned his skis and ascended the lift for the first time since his accident stayed with him. Tuscany created the nonprofit with a simple but powerful mission: to extend a helping hand to others facing similar obstacles, just as the Tahoe community once did for him.

“When people get injured — especially in this area — Roy, myself or another High Fives ambassador is by their bedside,” Nichols said. “We say, ‘Look, it’s never going to be the same, but it’s going to be awesome.'”

Thanks to advances in adaptive equipment — from prosthetics to specialized wetsuits and surfboard modifications — nearly anyone with a physical impairment can experience the rush of surfing. During the summer, a new collaboration with CalCustoms and an equipment upgrade to the MasterCraft XStar gave High Five Foundation athletes access to improved wake shaping, increased adaptability and enhanced performance while carving waves behind the boat.

This surf season, the wakesurf program featured more than eight adaptive surf modalities, including waveski, ZUP board, hydrofoil, classic wakesurf, kneeling, prone, and traditional surfboard riding.

The High Fives Foundation extends far beyond wake surfing, offering athletes opportunities in adaptive skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, fishing, and motorsports.

“This is one of the hardest things people experience,” Nichols said, “but once somebody is ready to move their body again, the High Fives Foundation steps in to create that opportunity.”