Kaua'i's Malia Manuel received quite a belated birthday present on Sunday.

Four days after turning 13, Manuel received $1,500 for beating several older competitors to win the O'Neill Island Girl Junior Pro on Sunday.

The contest was completed in 1- to 3-foot waves at the PK's break off Po'ipu, Kaua'i. It was restricted to girls age 21 and younger.

Manuel resides with her parents in Wailua, and is an eighth-grader at Kapa'a Middle School.

"It's one of the biggest contests I ever won," she said. "I know it's the first time I ever surfed for money."

Manuel can use her first-place check for travel expenses at future surfing events, and she may get a chance to use it to enter a prestigious professional event in November

As the winner of Sunday's contest, Manuel received a spot in the OP Pro Hawai'i contest at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach in November. That contest is part of the Triple Crown of Surfing, and will feature the world's top professional female surfers.

"I think it would real exciting to experience surfing with the pros," Manuel said. "But I'm not sure yet if I'm going to do it. It depends on my school."

Manuel said she hones her surfing skills by practicing daily with her mother, Christy. Malia said she surfs with boys from her age group on most days.

"We try to go every day after school for a couple of hours," Malia said.

Her mother added: "She started surfing when she was around 3 ... by the time she was about 8 she was better than me already."

Fellow Kaua'i surfers Alana Blanchard and Leila Hurst placed second and third, respectively, on Sunday. Coco Ho of O'ahu's North Shore placed fourth.

Malia Manuel said it may have been an advantage for the Kaua'i surfers to have the event at PK's.

"The waves are kind of tricky over there," she said. "But it was fun surf for everybody. All the girls were ripping, so it was challenging for me."

The results of the contest solidified Kaua'i's reputation as a training ground for future professional surfers.

The contest was created last year by professional surfer Rochelle Ballard, who was raised on Kaua'i.

"The idea behind the junior pro ... is to take these girls to the next level," Ballard said. "The Hawai'i girls are totally ripping right now. One day they're going to dominate the world tour."

There are currently three Hawai'i females on surfing's World Championship Tour, and two are from Kaua'i — Ballard and Keala Kennelly.

There are also three Kaua'i male surfers on the men's World Championship Tour — former world champion Andy Irons, his brother Bruce Irons, and Roy Powers.

Sunday's contest was held in conjunction with the 6th annual Rochelle Ballard O'Neill Surf Camp.

Around 50 Girls of all ages spent the weekend on Kaua'i with Ballard, receiving tips on nutrition and fitness, as well as surfing techniques and contest strategy in preparation for Sunday's event.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.