Hawai'i surfers Makuakai Rothman and Ikaika Kalama won the North Shore Tow-In Surfing Championship last week.

The one-day contest was completed in 12- to 18-foot waves off Puaena Point, Hale'iwa.

Rothman and Kalama defeated the Brazilian team of Carlos Burle and Eraldo Gueiros in the final, 27.0-20.9. The winning team received $9,300.

Rothman is from O'ahu's North Shore, and Kalama is from the Big Island.

All teams in the contest surfed the big waves via tow-in method. One partner operates a personal watercraft and tows the other partner into the waves. Once the surfer being towed attains the right momentum, he releases the tow rope and surfs along the wave.

Hawai'i surfers Garrett McNamara and Keali'i Mamala were eliminated in the quarterfinals. They won the contest in 2006.

The North Shore contest was the first event of the inaugural Association of Professional Towsurfers world tour. The next contest will run either off Maui or Mexico, depending on the conditions.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR READY TO START

The Association of Surfing Professionals 2007 World Championship Tour will start next week in Australia.

The men's tour will feature 10 contests, starting with the Quiksilver Pro off the Gold Coast of Australia. The holding period for the opening contest will run from Feb. 27 to March 11.

Kelly Slater of Florida is the defending world champion. He won his record eighth world title last year.

Hawai'i surfers on the men's tour this year are Andy Irons, Bruce Irons, Fred Patacchia Jr., and Pancho Sullivan.

The 2007 men's tour will feature contests in Australia, South Africa, Tahiti, Chile, Brazil, France, Spain, California and Hawai'i (the Billabong Pipeline Masters in December).

The women's tour will feature seven contests, starting with the Roxy Pro off the Gold Coast of Australia. The holding period will run in conjunction with the men's Quiksilver Pro.

Australia's Layne Beachley is the defending women's world champion. Hawai'i surfers on the women's tour this year are Megan Abubo, Rochelle Ballard and Melanie Bartels.

ASP JUDGES CAN USE REPLAY SYSTEM IN 2007

In an effort to create a fairer scoring system, the Association of Surfing Professionals will allow judges to view instant replays of waves at World Championship Tour contests this year.

A panel of five international judges scores each wave of a surfer on a scale of 0 to 10. The highest and lowest scores are thrown out and the average of the three remaining scores is the final score for the wave.

MAUI SURFERS PLACE IN SPECIALTY JUNIOR EVENT

Lahaina surfers Clay Marzo and Dusty Payne placed third and fifth, respectively, at the Hobgood Challenge last week off Micronesia.

Marzo and Payne were the only Hawai'i surfers invited to the contest, which was for surfers age 20 and younger.

The weeklong contest featured various "challenges" for the surfers, including a game of S-U-R-F, which was similar to H-O-R-S-E in basketball.

Owen Wright of Australia won the contest.