Fingal Head surfer Dane Henry looking to shake up the Tweed Coast Pro

After picking up a season-opening win and wowing the crowds at the Australian Boardriders Battle, Fingal Head surfer Dane Henry is looking to shake up his home event at the Tweed Coast Pro.

2023 has started off pretty well for Fingal Head surfer Dane Henry.

First up, the 16-year-old recorded a win in the year-opening Taj’s Small Fries U18 event in Yallingup, Western Australia.

Then, last weekend, he put in an electric performance for the Kingscliff Boardriders Club in the Australian Boardriders Battle (ABB) in Newcastle, helping his team to the semi-finals and taking out the aerial comp along the way.

And now, he’ll be looking to win an event on his home patch when the WSL Tweed Coast Pro kicks off on Friday, with Henry competing in the open Qualifying Series and Pro Junior (U21) events.

That seems like a pretty good start to 2023 – and it’s only the second week of February.

“It’s awesome having a big comp like this at home,” he said. “There’s a heap of hype around it. I’ve been training at Cabarita for the last month or two with my coach and our little squad. So we’re getting ready for it, we’re really keen for it, so it should be a real fun week.”

Dane Henry will be lining up at his home event, the Tweed Coast Pro. Photo: supplied.

If his red-hot form isn’t enough of a bonus, Henry – who grew up just up the road in Fingal Head – will have home break advantage over some of his rivals.

“I’ve been surfing Caba my whole life, so I’ve kind of gotten used to it. And in the last month I’ve been cracking down on it, training there every morning, getting a feel for the bank. It looks like there’s going to be a bit of swell, so it should be interesting.”

Henry certainly won’t be the only surfer familiar with the Caba break competing, with a number of Tweed and Northern Rivers lining up for the event, led by the likes of Kingscliff teammates Micah Margieson and Blake Neka.

“There’ll be loads of surfers from up and down the coast competing,” said Henry. “People are coming from everywhere for this one.”

Confidence riding high

He’ll come into the event full of confidence, with his performances in both the ABB team heats and aerial show last weekend catching the eye of plenty of surfers and fans alike.

“It was a crazy weekend,” says Henry.

“I was super happy, super proud that I was in the teams event. It was such a good team, and I also ended up getting the job done in the air comp. I was just really happy and proud of my overall performance.”

Kingscliff – with a team of Henry, Margieson, Neka, female surfer Ava Arghyros and over-35s competitor Samba Mann – recorded its best ever performance in the teams event, making it to the semi-finals in an impressive display.

“It’s a whole different experience. Usually we’re kind of by ourselves, maybe with a coach or two, but now with this teams stuff, everyone’s travelling together, the whole team spirit that other sports have is being incorporated into surfing now, which is really sick, and Australia is leading that at the moment,” said Henry.

Micah Margieson was a standout for Kingscliff during the ABB. Picture: Ethan Smith / Surfing NSW

“Our power surfer, Micah Margieson, was surfing really well the whole weekend. He was getting us out of trouble when we needed it. He’s the best surfer in our club, he’s such a great guy.

“And our senior surfer, Samba Mann, he’s just such a good role model for me and our female surfer Ava Argyros. He’s a coach and he helps with a lot of stuff for our individual heats and heat strategy, so those two guys are the main anchors of our team.”

While the main focus was on the team event, Henry was able to cut loose during the air comp, held just before the surftag final, which was taken out by fellow North Coast club Byron Bay in a dramatic final wave shootout.

“So many of my mates were in it. There were like 20 of us all together, other guys that I know from around. I knew everyone who was doing it,” he said.

Dakoda Walters from the Byron Bay Boardriders Club was the star of the weekend, helping his team to ABB glory. Photo: @ethdogsmith / Surfing Australia

“Everyone was pretty serious, and I was kind of just chatting away when everyone went out. It was chaos, but it was so fun. Seeing everyone throw down some big airs – that’s my favourite thing to do in surfing – and to get the win was crazy.

“My dad was in the crowd on the beach and he didn’t realised I’d won. I came up him, told him, and we were just cheering, he was so happy. It was a sick experience – definitely my highlight of the weekend.”

And with his mates celebrating with him in the water and on the beach, Henry also had plenty of support when he checked his phone later on in the evening.

“It was actually mostly my nan and pop,” he said. “They’re in Canada at the moment and they were all over my phone, also my coach back here as well. It was pretty cool to get on my phone and see that.”

Juggling surfing and school

The recent strong performances, along with this weekend’s Tweed Coast Pro, are just stepping stones on the path to what Henry hopes is a successful professional career on the WSL circuit.

And after finishing ninth in the Australian WSL Junior (U21) rankings last year and recently coming in second place in the Surfing Australia U18 national championships, it appears the 16-year-old is well on track to doing that.

Henry has his eyes on qualifying for the World Pro Junior finals. Photo: supplied.

As for 2023, the Fingal Head lad will be lining up in a series of Pro Junior, QS and Grom competitions across the country and in New Zealand.

“My biggest goal for 2023 is focusing on the Pro Junior ranks and trying to get to the World Pro Junior finals at the start of next year,” he said.

“I also want to try and make the ISA World Junior Titles. I almost got there last year through the rankings but we’re still waiting for the wildcard call for that.”

If that wasn’t enough, the level-headed year 11 student at Palm Beach Currumbin High also has plenty on his plate out of the water.

“I’m also kind of just focusing on school, getting through my last two years of that as well,” he said.

And while that might seem like a lot for some people, Henry just takes it all in his stride.

“I lead a pretty straightforward surfing lifestyle, so that’s kind of it.”

The Tweed Coast Pro will run from February 10-16 at Cabarita Beach, NSW.