Less than 24 hours after becoming an uncle for the first time, Uemura rode the emotion to victory. The longboard surfing contest — all competitors had to ride boards at least 9 feet long — was completed in wave faces that ranged from 2 to 6 feet at Kewalo Basin.

It was the second stop on the Hawaiian Longboard Federation (HLF) Steinlager Series. Most of Hawai'i's top professional longboard surfers compete in the series.

"My sister had her baby (Friday) night and I was still excited about it when I woke up today," said Uemura, 20. "I guess you could say that helped me."

His older sister, Kanoelani, is also a longboard surfer. She gave birth to a boy named Kayde.

Kekoa and Kanoelani are the children of legendary surfer China Uemura.

"The tears were coming out last night, now it's coming out again," China Uemura said. "I'm so happy, I cannot believe it."

Kekoa Uemura's surfing was almost unbelievable yesterday.

In the four-man final, he scored a perfect 10 and a 9.75 for a two-wave total of 19.75. His performance was so convincing that second-place finisher Kekoa Auwae said, "everybody was going for second place after about the first five minutes."

Uemura's 10 came early in the heat on a 5-foot wave.

"I started walking to the nose (of the board), then the wave looked like it was opening up, so I went for the barrel," he explained. "Luckily, I made it out. Then when I got to the inside, I did a helicopter (spin) and made that, too."

Another barrel ride later in the heat resulted in his 9.75 score. Uemura also had a 9.0 wave that couldn't even crack his final tally (surfers are allowed to catch 15 waves, but only the top two count toward the final score).

Upon hearing of Uemura's perfect 10, Auwae said he paddled up to Uemura and said: "It's over. You won already."

Auwae was in fourth place for most of the heat, but scored an impressive barrel ride of his own in the closing minutes. That wave received a score of 8.25, and he finished with a two-wave total of 15.0.

"I had nothing to lose," Auwae said. "I figured I was way behind, so when I saw the barrel, I went for it."

Auwae, 18, has placed second in both of the HLF contests so far this year, and leads the overall series ratings.

His older brother, Kamu, placed fourth. Kai Sallas scored several barrel rides, and finished in third place.

Uemura received $600 for first place. The professional division is sponsored by Hawai'i Pacific University.

The amateur divisions will run final heats today at Kewalo Basin.

The next contest in the series is scheduled for July 19-20 at the Ala Moana Bowl.

Final results

1, Kekoa Uemura, $600. 2, Kekoa Auwae, $350. 3, Kai Sallas, $300. 4, Kamu Auwae, $250. 5 (tie), Joey Valentin and Kapono Nahina, $150. 7 (tie), Kanoa Dahlin and Mikey Gordon, $100.

Niijima Quiksilver Pro

• Irons advances: World champion Andy Irons of Kaua'i advanced to the fourth round of the Niijima Quiksilver Pro yesterday with a tie-breaker victory over Japanese wildcard Masatoshi Ohno.

The third round was completed in 3- to 4-foot waves at Niijima Island, Japan.

Irons led throughout most of the heat, but Ohno caught a wave in the final minute and received a score of 7.75. When the heat ended, both surfers had a two-wave total of 14.5. Irons was then awarded the victory because his single best wave received a score of 8.5 to Ohno's 7.75.