Pho3nix Future Alumni Crowned World Junior Surf Champions

Two Pho3nix Future alumni have claimed world titles at the 2025 WSL World Junior Championships, competing from January 11–18, 2026 at Monoliza Point off Urbiztondo Beach in La Union, the Philippines.

Isla Huppatz and Dane Henry each produced standout performances to reach the pinnacle of junior professional surfing.

Their victories reflect the mission of Pho3nix Future: helping emerging athletes develop the skills, confidence, and ambition needed to reach the global stage.

Isla Huppatz: A Rising Star Delivers

For Huppatz, the victory capped a composed and clinical run through the women’s field. Facing 2023 champion Sierra Kerr in the final, the 18-year-old remained patient in challenging low surf and secured the decisive score in the closing minutes to claim her maiden world junior title.

A participant at the 2023 Pho3nix Future Camp on Australia’s Gold Coast, Huppatz has been steadily building one of the most exciting junior careers in Australian surfing. Her résumé includes victories on the Pro Junior circuit, strong finishes at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships, and a breakthrough win at the WSL Gold Coast Open as a wildcard at just 15 years old — one of the youngest athletes in history to win an Open Women’s WQS event.

She now joins a prestigious group of Australian surfers to have claimed the WSL World Junior Championship crown.

Dane Henry: Australia’s Top Seed Delivers

For Henry, the world title was the defining moment of what has already been a historic season. After attending the 2024 Pho3nix Future Camp on the Gold Coast, the 19-year-old has surged onto the international stage with a run of results that may not be matched for some time.

At the World Junior Championships, Henry delivered a series of clutch performances throughout finals day, culminating in a dramatic last-second wave to edge fellow Australian Lennix Smith in the semifinals before defeating Israel’s Nadav Attar in the final to secure the men’s title.

The victory places him in rare company. Henry joins Tom Curren, Gabriel Medina, and Jordy Smith as the only surfers in history to hold both ISA junior and open world championship titles — a feat that speaks to the remarkable breadth of his 2025 campaign, which also included gold at the ISA World Surfing Games, the Australia/Oceania Junior title, his first QS win, and the Australian Surfer of the Year award.

A Direct Path Forward

With their wins, both have earned direct qualification to the WSL Challenger Series, giving them a pathway to compete for a place on the sport’s elite Championship Tour.

Their achievements are a powerful example of what Pho3nix Future Camps are designed to achieve, providing promising young athletes with the tools, experiences, and inspiration needed to fuel careers in elite sport and develop as leaders beyond competition.

As Huppatz and Henry take their next steps toward professional surfing’s highest ranks, their world titles stand as a testament to what can happen when talent meets opportunity.