More than 150 professional and amateur pole dancers will slide into Redondo Beach for the U.S. National Pole Championships next weekend.

The dancers will compete for four titles: women’s professional, men’s professional, artistic professional and lyra, which consists of movement inside an aerial hoop. Professional performers come from regional competitions around the country, and will compete for cash prizes, sponsored gifts and giveaways.

The competitions will take place at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center on Aug. 14-16, and the public is invited to watch it all go down. Tickets range from $25 for an original event to $150 for a VIP pass with various packages in between. Amy Guion, co-founder of Pole Sport Organization which organizes the event, said she expects more than 800 spectators.

Guion started Pole Sport Organization four years ago, and since then the organization has held regional competitions in states all over the country every month and a national competition each year. Guion said that since Pole Sport Organization is based in West Hollywood, Redondo’s professional venue seemed like a natural choice for the competition.

“When we were looking for venues, we saw that all the stuff up here in the Hollywood area feels a little more grungy,” Guion said. “Redondo is where the L.A. Ballet performs. It’s classy and updated. We’re a fitness competition and a dance competition, so we like to stay away from the nightclub scene and move toward something more professional.”

Guion said that the national competition is a springboard for talented dancers interested in pursuing pole dancing full-time.

“Our women’s professional event is the most buzzed about in our industry,” Guion said. “The people who have won have gone on to do some amazing things. They’ve won international titles, they tour and teach around the country. … If you win our title, you can quit whatever you’re doing and become a pole dancer full time.”

Many competitors are South Bay locals, including Hawthorne resident Candace Cane. Cane, who practices and teaches pole dancing at Secret Pole Dance Studio in Hawthorne, will perform in her second-ever professional competition at nationals.

“I think I’m most excited that I’ll be able to showcase myself as a professional and share the stage with so many other amazing artists that I look up to,” Cane said.

Cane said that pole dancing is an incredible workout for people of all ages. She hopes to teach her mom some tricks soon.

“It’s a full-body workout,” Cane said. “You’re engaging everything from your core to your lats, back and shoulders to your legs, when you have to squeeze and hold on. It completely sculpts your whole entire body. I gave up the gym.”

Both Cane and Guion expressed their love for the pole dancing community, which they said is full of kind and supportive men and women.

“The girls and women coming in start pole dancing because they think it’s interesting, but they stay because we have a great community of people who are really supportive,” Guion said. “Pole for a lot of people is that community, and that’s why people love it so much.”