Surfing a wave without falling can be difficult enough. Lifting a partner in various acrobatic poses can be a task as well.

Imagine combining the two. Picture gymnastics on a moving surfboard, and you get tandem surfing.

That sport's best competitors are in Waikiki this week for the inaugural World Tandem Surfing Championship. The opening day of the three-day contest ran yesterday in 1- to 3-foot waves at Kuhio Beach, Waikiki.

"It's hard enough to surf on a wave by yourself," said Rico Leroy, one of the contest directors and also a competitor. "When you put someone else on your shoulders, you can see why people love to watch it."

Leroy said officials from the International Tandem Surfing Association chose Hawai'i for the inaugural event because "tandem surfing started in Hawai'i."

Several Hawai'i tandems took advantage of the familiar waves to advance through yesterday's heats.

Bobby Friedman and wife Tiaré are considered the top entry from Hawai'i, and they proved it with a convincing victory in the first round.

"It's neat to see the sport getting recognized the way it deserves," Bobby said. "This sport is really big in France — 10,000 people show up at the beach. But this is where the sport was born, so it's good that it's here."

The Friedmans have been tandem partners for five years, and Bobby said the male and female share equal responsibilities.

"The guy has to be strong, but the girl has to have guts," he said. "You don't necessarily have to be a couple, but it's definitely an asset to train together."

The Hawai'i tandem of Brian Keaulana and Kathy Terada is a good example. They are not a couple, but have been tandem partners for more than 20 years.

"I still feel like I can learn more," Keaulana said.

As proof, they learned of a new maneuver that would be scored for the contest and they pulled it off during their first-round victory yesterday.

"We've been doing a lot of the same (maneuvers) over and over, because that's what works for us," Terada said. "But we tried a new one today for the first time and we did it. So it's still fun after all these years."

Teams from France and California are also considered strong contenders.

"What you're seeing now in the young generation is ex-cheerleaders, ex-gymnasts," Keaulana said. "That's great. It's pushing the sport."

The competition will continue today and tomorrow.

HAWAI'I'S SALLAS IN CONTENTION FOR TITLE

The Corona Hawaiian Open longboard surfing contest is being held at Kuhio Beach this week in conjunction with the tandem championship.

Hawai'i surfers dominated the men's heats yesterday, filling all four spots available for tomorrow's final. The four finalists are Kai Sallas, Venton Siliado, Ned Snow and Kekoa Uemura.

The contest is the final stop on the 2006 U.S. Pro Longboarding Championships tour. Sallas can win the tour title if he win tomorrow.

"It's for the national championship, so it would mean a lot," Sallas said.

However, he said he does not expect his friends in the final to make it easy for him.

"We all know each other," Sallas said. "But I know they're not going to give me any chance. They want to win, too. They don't care about me."

If Sallas does not win, California's Taylor Jensen will claim the tour title.

In the women's division, three Hawai'i surfers advanced to tomorrow's final: Megan Godinez, Ashley Quintal and Miku Uemura. California's Lindsay Steinreide is the other finalist.

California's Marissa Barry was eliminated in the quarterfinals, but clinched the tour title.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.