Ever hear somebody say, "If you don't like the way we're running it, why don't you try doing it?"

A group of professional longboard surfers did just that yesterday, running their own contest called The Unofficial Longboard Surfing Championship.

"We wanted to do a contest the way we would like to see it done," said the Big Island's Ned Snow, who was one of the primary organizers. "A lot of us travel around the world for different contests, and we see good and bad things. It was kind of tough getting everything together, but we did it."

The event was held at a secluded — and secret — spot on O'ahu. The surfers did not want the site revealed publicly because they may try to run it there again next year.

However, the spot was so secluded that no free-surfers from the public had to be chased away. Small waves may have had something to do with that.

"The only bummer was that the waves weren't up to par to showcase our skills," Snow said.

Venton Siliado of 'Ewa Beach defeated Snow in the one-on-one final.

"When you travel around the world, everybody's out to get each other; it's all serious," Siliado said. "But this was just the boys. It was fun."

Prior to the contest, the surfers hustled for sponsors and wound up collecting a prize purse of $5,000. Sponsors also provided lunch and drinks for all the competitors and their families.

Quiksilver and 77 — a clothing company based in California — were the primary sponsors.

"We tried to go all-out," Snow said. "Some contests, you're there all day and there's nothing to eat or drink."

Only 20 longboard surfers from around the state were invited, and the contest followed a double-elimination format. Most other contests use a single-elimination format with a four-man heat in the final.

What's more, the surfers got to judge each other's waves.

"I think that was a big thing," Snow said. "We had two regular judges, and then we all took turns being the third judge. We got to see what it was like from the other side."

Siliado received $2,000 for what could be considered an upset victory.

Most of the surfers in the contest are full-time professionals. Siliado is a construction worker, and said he only gets to surf one or two times a week.

"I was surprised they even called me for this," said Siliado, 23. "And I didn't know they were going to give this much money. I'm stoked."

Siliado's two best waves in the final heat received scores of 7.5 and 7.0 for a total of 14.5. Snow countered with a two-wave total of 11.0.

Two months ago, Snow placed second in the "official" World Longboarding Championship at Costa Rica.

Snow's fellow competitors joked after yesterday's contest that his favorite number must be two.

Yesterday's contest was also a warm-up of sorts for this week's Corona Hawaiian Open. The three-day contest will be run at Kuhio Beach, Waikiki, and will feature top competitors from around the country.

In longboard contests, all competitors must ride surfboards at least nine feet long.

FINAL RESULTS

1, Venton Siliado, $2,000. 2, Ned Snow, $1,500. 3 (tie), Duane DeSoto and Genki Kino, $750. 5 (tie), Kekoa Uemura and Bonga Perkins. 7 (tie), Scotty Fong Jr. and Kainalu Froiseth.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.