SKATERS pulling off tricks are among the latest additions to a beach festival this weekend.

Paddle Round The Pier, the world’s biggest free watersports festival, returns to Hove Lawns this weekend with a range of stalls, activities and workshops.

Aside from paddle-boarding, kayaking and windsurfing, festival-goers can see The Seaside Sessions skate festival. It is part of the Paddle programme and sees two mini ramps dropped on to the beach for a weekend of grassroots skating.

Media company Boardettes co-hosts the skating event with an MC getting the audience excited and giving out prizes.

Fitness fanatics will also be put through their paces by Freedom Leisure, which runs seven fitness centres on behalf of Brighton and Hove City Council. It will host the first ever beach fitness challenge at this year’s Paddle.

Leisure centre staff will be challenging pre-registered people to a series of fitness drills including box jumps, sled pulls and more as they try to prove they have what it takes to be crowned Freedom Leisure’s Beach Fitness Champion.

Freedom Leisure area manager Chris Lovelock said: “We’re really excited to be hosting our first ever beach fitness challenge.

“Paddle Round The Pier is always a fantastic event and we hope to see as many fitness enthusiasts as possible fighting for the glory to be crowned Brighton’s Beach Fitness Champion.”

A less frenetic form of enjoyment comes in the shape of the Paddle Ukulele Stage, hot on the heels of the recently-revealed Paddle Lecture Theatre.

Nicola Bloom of Ucanukulele presents the stage for the fourth year running and promises to showcase a range of four-stringed talent over the weekend.

She said: “There are many reasons I organise this event but it comes down to the fact that ukulele players are some of the friendliest people around – it’s a huge team effort for a great cause.”

As with every year so far, proceeds from Paddle go to three charities. This year will help Rockinghorse and Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club alongside the RNLI.

The Argus itself has a gazebo at the festival where it is teaming up with Rockinghorse to give away a rocking horse. Anyone can enter the rocking horse raffle with tickets on sale on Saturday. All proceeds go to the charity.

Last year 45,000 people turned up and David Samuel, the director behind Paddle, said this weekend’s event was likely to see more people than ever.

He said: “I think the joy of Paddle is that it’s all inclusive. The whole thing belongs to the city. The great thing about Paddle is that although it is a huge entity it’s still a community event.”