The Futures AM Series season opener will be held at Skatelab in Simi Valley on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Southern California's top skateboarders, ages 14 to 18, will begin the high school competitive season and battle it out for top rankings.

This weekend's event is free to attend.

The Futures AM Series is the competitive culmination of the National High School Skateboarding Association's after-school skateboarding program.

The brainchild of founder Jeff Stern, NHSSA offers an alternative to young people by providing a structured arena in which to compete with their peers and develop future careers in the skateboard industry.

Forty teams from schools in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Ontario, Bakersfield and Riverside, among other areas, will compete in the 2009 Futures AM Series.

The growth curve of the NHSSA competition is on a steep and furious incline, double that of last year and four times that of the first year.

There will be six events leading up to the finals, which will determine the top five high school teams.

At the end of the season, in August, the top 20 individual skaters will showcase their talents during a best trick contest at the X Games street course.