Skateboarding: National Championships take place this weekend

The UK Skateboarding National Championships are taking place this weekend.

The competition will see skaters from all over the world battle it out in two different areas - park skating and street skating.

The park skating event will take place at the XC Skatepark in London on the 15 and 16 April, and the street skating competition will take place at the BaySixty6 Skatepark in London, on the 29th and 30th April.

Members of the current Skateboard GB National Team will be competing to win the title of champion, and a share of the £16,000 prize money.

What is park skateboarding?

Lola Tambling - one of Team GB's skaters - training in London

For park skating, skateboarders compete in a curved sunken concrete bowl (it looks a bit like an empty swimming pool), which has ramps inside it.

Skaters can launch themselves up the sides of the bowl at speed to give themselves enough air-time to do some pretty cool, complex flips and tricks.

The skateboarders are judged for the difficulty and originality of the tricks they perform within a time-limit.

What is street skateboarding?

Street skating uses a flatter surface

In street skating, the competition arena is much flatter and features obstacles like stairs, rails, curbs, and benches that you might normally find out and about on the street.

Skateboarders will then use these items to perform tricks, like grinding the metal around the wheels on the curbs and rails and performing standing flips, like ollies.

Competitors are judged for the complexity and accuracy of their tricks within a time limit, so sticking the landing is of the utmost importance!

Who should we watch out for in the skateboarding National Championships?

More than 50 skateboarders will be taking part in the competition after taking part in an open invitation event last month.

It includes members of the Skateboard GB National Team: Jesse Thomas, Lilly Strachan, George O'Neill, Alex Decunha and Joe Hinson.

They will be joined by professional skateboarders Ben Nordberg and Jedd McKenzie, who are flying in from USA and Australia.

Jesse and Lilly will be competing in the park event, and last year's champion Joe Hinson will be back to defend his title in the street skate event, alongside his Skate GB teammate Alex Decunha.

The heats will take place on the Saturdays, and the finals will take place on the Sundays, and people can watch the finals on YouTube, BBC iPlayer, Red Button and the BBC Sport Website.