At a gala ceremony at the Opera House thursday night, Tweed Heads surfer Dale Richards nabbed the “Most Promising New Talent” at the Deadly Awards. The Deadly Awards honour excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music, sport, entertainment, the arts and community achievements.
Earlier this year, Dale was selected to compete in the trials for the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast - the opening event on the 2007 ASP Men’s World Tour. He went on to beat 15 more experienced surfers to earn himself a wild card entry into the main event. In doing so, Dale became the first-ever Indigenous surfer to advance to the main round of an elite world tour event.
Joining the world’s top 45 professional surfers in the tournament, Dale drew three time world champions Andy Irons (Haw) in his first heat and then squared off against one of his idols, eight time world champion Kelly Slater (USA) in the next. While he may have not progressed beyond the second round with Slater, the tournament still marked an unbelievable achievement for the 18-year-old who now has the surfing world at his feet.
“It is an honour to be nominated and to win is special – there’s not a lot of Indigenous surfers out there,” said Richards, who received a huge round of applause from the thousands of invited guests as he accepted his award. Growing up ten minutes from the beach at Tweed Heads on the Gold Coast, it wasn’t long before Dale Richards began surfing.
After taking up the sport at age 11, Dale was soon entering and winning a swathe of local junior surfing competitions, squeezing in training and practice in the surf at every opportunity between school. By the age of 13 Dale had been picked up by creative designer and shaper Dave Verrall (feraldave). Working together with Dave and his local boardriders club Kirra, Dale prepared to map his future as a professional surfer.
In 2003, Dale finished fourth at the Brothers Nielsen Grommet Challenge. He also reached the quarter-finals of the under-16 Quiksilver Australian Junior Titles held at North Stradbroke. He grabbed fourth at the NSW state titles at Cronulla Beach, and came in second at the Indigenous surfing championships at Fingal Bay in the under 18 division.
By the age of 16, Dale already boasted a bevy of sponsors, including Australian founded surfwear label Quiksilver. After establishing himself as one of the stars of the pro-juniors and being widely recognised as one of the top young surfing talents in the country, Dale had been building towards a breakthrough performance for some time. And it was his 2007 performance against the world’s surfing elite that saw him honoured at the 12th annual Deadlys.
Boxer Anthony Mundine was named “Male Sportsperson of the Year” and managed to cap the surfing young gun’s night when he whispered words of encouragement in his ear. Attached Photos: Dale Richards from the Quiksilver Pro earlier this year, Richards advanced to round two of the World Championship event where he eventually went down to the world champion, Kelly Slater!
