Kaua'i surfers Alex Smith and Malia Manuel each received a trip to Australia after winning their respective divisions at the Rip Curl GromSearch National Final this month at Salt Creek, Calif.

Smith won the boys 16-under division; Manuel won the girls 16-under division.

Smith won his opening heat in the Xcel Pro contest at Sunset Beach, but then withdrew because he wanted to enter the California contest.

"It was so worth it," he said.

Smith clinched the victory in the first five minutes of the final, when he received scores of 8.5 and 8.33 on his first two waves.

Fellow Kaua'i surfer Dylan Goodale placed second.

Manuel won the girls final by scoring a 9.0 on her last wave with less than 30 seconds remaining in the heat.

Smith and Manuel will represent the United States — and Hawai'i — at the Rip Curl GromSearch International Final in March at Bells Beach, Australia. The international final will be held in conjunction with the Rip Curl Pro men's surfing contest — one of the biggest events in Australia.

Hawai'i competitors also dominated the younger divisions.

Koa Smith, Alex's younger brother, won the boys 14-under division and placed second in the boys 12-under division. He edged O'ahu's Keanu Asing in the 14-under final.

Kealamakai Naihe of the Big Island won the boys 12-under division, topping an all-Hawai'i final. Koa Smith was second, Luke Hitchcock was third, and Ian Gentil was fourth.

Only the 16-under divisions will be run at the international final.

More than 60 surfers from California, Hawai'i and Florida competed in the national contest.

CONTEST PROMOTER WILL PURSUE OTHER INTERESTS

Reid Inouye, who helped run surfing contests in Hawai'i for the past 25 years, said last week he will no longer promote professional surfing events.

He announced his decision after serving as the contest director of the Xcel Pro, which was completed this month at Sunset Beach.

Inouye was also the longtime promoter of the Pipeline Pro event, but was recently denied a permit by the City and County to run the contest in January 2008. He said the denial of the permit was one of the factors in his decision.

Prior to promoting professional contests, Inouye was a director of the amateur surfing circuit in Hawai'i.

He said he will focus his attention on magazine publication. He is the editor of Heavywater surfing magazine, and will soon start a publication called Stand Up Paddle Magazine.

He is also providing lessons for the growing sport of stand-up paddling.