April 2026: South Australian rising star Mitchell Henderson has continued his impressive run of results on the national stage with a standout performance at the 2026 Surfboard Empire NR Ripper presented by VEIA in Narabeen.
The 16-year-old delivered one of the strongest performances by a South Australian junior surfer in many years, finishing 3rd in the highly competitive Under 18 Boys Division while also recording a quarterfinal finish in the WSL Pro Junior event against some of Australia’s best emerging talent.
Mitchell surfed with confidence and maturity throughout the event, consistently posting strong scores and proving he can match it with the country’s top junior surfers on one of Australia’s biggest stages.
The outstanding result has given Mitchell a major boost in both the WSL Junior rankings and the Australian National rankings, further cementing his reputation as one of the country’s most exciting young surfers.
Fellow South Australian junior surfer Sunny Washington also found success recently, competing at the 2026 Parko’s Junior Pro presented by Campbell Construction Co on the Sunshine Coast.
At just 12 years old, Sunny delivered a fantastic performance to finish 9th overall against some of the country’s best young surfers, with the result catapulting her up the Australian Junior National rankings and highlighting her as another exciting talent emerging from South Australia.
It’s great to see South Australian junior surfers finding success nationally and continuing to make their mark on the Australian surfing scene. With strong momentum building across the state’s junior ranks, we look forward to seeing what the back half of the year brings for these talented young athletes.
