Thanks to courageous performances from Ikaika Kalama and Kamu Auwae, the opening contest of the 2008 Steinlager Shaka Longboard Series will be a tough act to follow.

Kalama won the pro-am division and Auwae won the stand-up paddle division in rough conditions at Sunset Beach. Wave-face heights ranged from 8 to 15 feet throughout the day, but strong onshore winds made it difficult for the surfers to paddle into the waves.

"The waves were all over the place and it was real windy out there," Kalama said. "It wasn't the best conditions, but it was still fun."

Around 50 competitors participated yesterday, including most of the state's best longboard surfers. In the pro-am division, surfers had to ride traditional longboards; in the stand-up paddle division, surfers could use a canoe-style paddle to help maneuver.

Kalama surprised himself by advancing to the pro-am final. He is better known as a professional big-wave surfer, and rarely rides a longboard.

"This is my first longboard contest in about five years," said Kalama, who is originally from the Big Island, but now resides in Waialua. "I'm going to try and do more this year."

In the 20-minute final for the pro-am division, Kalama caught just two waves, but it was enough to prevail.

His first wave received a score of 8.0 (out of 10), and his second received a 5.7.

"I think everybody was out of gas by the time the final got going," said Kalama, 28. "I only got two waves, so I wanted to make sure I did as much as I could on those two."

Kalama received $1,200 for the victory.

But most of the buzz on the beach surrounded Auwae. He won the stand-up paddle division, and also placed second in the pro-am division.

During a one-hour stretch, he surfed in three consecutive heats without a rest break — the stand-up paddle semifinal, the pro-am final, then the stand-up paddle final.

He had to change his board after each of those three heats, and was given a few seconds to paddle out to the wave lineup.

"I needed the workout; Ionly surfed once this week," he said with a laugh.

In truth, his arms started to cramp prior to the pro-am final, and he thought about withdrawing.

"Both my arms started cramping when I was paddling out," he said. "The (waves) had some size today, so I knew it would be dangerous if I was to cramp up out there. But I just stretched it out and told myself if I made it this far, I gotta go out and catch at least one wave."

His opening wave in the pro-am final received a score of 7.5, but his second wave received a 3.5. He earned $600 for second place.

Kai Sallas was third, and Koa Enriquez was fourth.

Enriquez scored a perfect 10 in the semifinals for a rare barrel ride, but he could not find any similar waves in the final.

In the stand-up paddle final, Auwae won it by catching just two waves. His first wave received a score of 8.5, and his second was a 7.0.

"You only need two waves, so my goal was to get two waves, then come in and rest," said Auwae, 28. "Lucky for me, I got two good ones."

Dave Parmenter placed second, Leleo Kinimaka was third, and Noland Martin fourth.

Several surfers competed in both the pro-am and stand-up paddle divisions, but Auwae was the only one to reach the semifinals for both divisions.

Auwae, who is from Nanakuli, said his primary focus was on the pro-am division, and he entered the stand-up paddle division "just for fun."

"Quiksilver is paying for my entries, so I'm hoping to do good for them in the longboard (contests)," he said. "Today was a hard day's work, but I'm happy with it."

The contest was the first of five in the 2008 Steinlager Shaka Longboard Series.

The series also features age-group divisions for amateur competitors. The amateur divisions will run today at Sunset Beach.

For more information on the series, visit www.hspsurf.org.

FINAL RESULTS

Pro-am: 1, Ikaika Kalama. 2, Kamu Auwae. 3, Kai Sallas. 4, Koa Enriquez. 5 (tie), Duane DeSoto and Dino Miranda.

Stand-up paddle: 1, Kamu Auwae. 2, Dave Parmenter. 3, Leleo Kinimaka. 4, Noland Martin. 5 (tie), Kekoa Uemura and Brian Keaulana.

2008 Steinlager Shaka Series

Upcoming contests

May 31-June 1: Kaka'ako Park

June 21-22: Queen's, Waikiki

July 19-20: Ala Moana Bowls

Sept. 13-14 or 20-21: Hale'iwa

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.