UCI to add skateboarding to Olympic menu?

The UCI has put forth a proposal to the International Olympic Committee to add skateboarding to the 2012 Olympics, according to the London Times. In order to add the sport more quickly, the UCI is proposing add the sport as a discipline under their organisation, which could gain faster approval. "We are doing our best to introduce skateboarding for 2012," confirmed Olivier Quéguiner, the UCI director of sport. The proposal includes holding the skateboarding events at the Olympic velodrome by erecting a number of half-pipes for the skaters to perform their tricks.

"The venue could be wonderful. All we need now is the green light from the IOC. Technically, logistically and in terms of cost, it would not be a problem to stage the event in 2012," said Quéguiner. Both organisations are looking for ways to gain a broader appeal to the youth of the world, similar to the addition of snowboarding to the Winter Olympics and BMX racing to the Summer Olympics.

IOC spokesperson Emmanuelle Moreau explained, "The IOC are very keen on having a programme that appeals to the youth and we said we would welcome such a proposal. The first step is for the UCI to include skateboarding themselves and then make a formal proposal to the IOC. It is possible for skateboarding to be at the Games in London - in terms of time scale it would be feasible."

It remains to be seen of the addition of skateboarding would result in any further cuts of cycling events. Track cycling lost the men's and women's kilometre and 500m time trial events to accommodate the addition of BMX racing.