People put their artistic skills to the test sculpting sandcastles in Coney Island this weekend.

Brooklyn Community Services and the Alliance For Coney Island have teamed up once again to host the 29th Annual Sandcastle competition off the Coney Island Boardwalk and West 12th Street.

Amateur and semi-professional sculptors took part in the event, battling it out in four categories: family: individual adult: group adult and the people’s choice.

We spoke with Matt Long, a master sculptor who had some advice for the contestants.  "You gotta take your time, you have to go at the sand gently; this is a big mistake amateurs make, they're trying to chop away. You have to go at the sand gently or you'll rip away whole chunks of sand."

And as part of the contest Booking.com created an 8 foot by 20 foot sandcastle that people can rent out to stay in. You start reserving Monday in celebration of National Sandcastle Day.