Scotty Fong Jr. has waited a while for a professional surfing victory, so waiting one extra day wasn't so bad.

Fong was announced as the winner yesterday of the professional division of China Uemura's 21st Annual Longboard Surfing Classic.

The actual final took place Thursday at Kuhio Beach, Waikiki, but the final results were announced at an awards ceremony yesterday.

"I've made finals before, but I always got third or fourth," said Fong, who is 24 and from Niu Valley. "This is huge for me — my first pro win."

The waves were only 1 to 2 feet on Thursday, and Fong won despite catching only two waves during the final heat.

"It was slow, nobody was really getting waves," he said. "I was lucky to get those two."

Fong received a score of 6.5 for his first wave, and 6.0 for his second for a total of 12.5.

"We just sat out there talking for most of the time," Fong said. "It was pretty mellow. I never thought I was winning."

Fong, a student at Kapi'olani Community College, received $2,000 for the win.

Kai Sallas received $1,500 for second place, Ned Snow got $1,000 for third, and former world champion Bonga Perkins got $500 for fourth.

"I've been looking up to a lot of these guys for a long time; I still look up to them," Fong said. "So this is a huge boost for my confidence."

Snow had the best wave of the final — a 9.0 — but he was never able to catch a second wave.

Like many of the other pro longboard surfers, Fong started out in the amateur divisions of China Uemura's contest.

"That makes this even more special," Fong said. "I've been doing this contest since maybe seven years ago, and I know how many good longboarders there are out there."

The amateur divisions of the contest will run heats today and tomorrow at Kuhio Beach. More than 300 longboard surfers are entered in the amateur divisions. All of the surfers in the contest must ride surfboards between nine and 10 feet long.

Yesterday, the Japan Pro Surfing Association ran a longboard contest in Hawai'i for the first time.

Uemura, a former national longboard champion, met officials from the JPSA in recent years and agreed to give them a day for themselves during his contest.

"A lot of people from Japan have helped me over the years, and so I always wanted the Japanese surfers to come to Hawai'i to create a bond between the two," Uemura said.

More than 70 Japanese surfers participated in the contest, and around 20 officials from the JPSA flew in to help run the event.

"This is the first time in history that Japan has come to Hawai'i to hold a contest," said Ken Koshizoe, vice president of the JPSA. "So everybody was excited about it."

Perhaps fittingly, a former Hawai'i resident won the JPSA contest yesterday.

Eugene Teal was awarded the $3,000 winner's check. He was raised in Waipahu, but moved to Chiba, Japan, three years ago.

"When I found out we were coming to Hawai'i, I was excited, but at the same time, I felt the pressure," said Teal, 28. "I think everybody kind of expected me to do well, so I'm relieved that I did."

Waves were still small yesterday, but as Teal put it: "It's still better than a lot of the waves we see in Japan, so I was happy. Plus, you get to be in the nice blue water and the sun is shining, so you couldn't ask for more."

Uemura said he would like the JPSA to come back annually, sponsors permitting.