Skateboarding to make Olympic debut in 2012

Leaders of the Olympic movement are determined to help the sport qualify for the 2012 event in an attempt to broaden the Games' appeal to younger people.

The International Olympic Committee held talks with skateboard officials in Switzerland this week to agree a timetable for the sport's inclusion.

London Games organisers have already earmarked the cycling velodrome in the Olympic Park as a venue for the inaugural Olympic skateboarding event.

The competition would take place in the middle of the cycle circuit where organisers plan to erect several "half-pipes" on which skateboarders perform their stunts.

The chances of skateboarding being included in the Games roster were boosted by the successful introduction of another "youth" sport. Snowboarding made its debut at last year's Winter Olympics in Turin and provided some of the Games' most memorable moments and, crucially for the IOC, attracted encouraging TV ratings among 20- to 35-year-olds.

The drive towards a younger audience will continue at the Beijing Games next year with the debut of BMX biking.

This was introduced to the Games by the International Cycling Union, which is on the verge of adopting skateboarding as it is a "wheelbased"-sport. Olivier Quéguiner, the union's director of sport, said: "We are doing our best to introduce skateboarding for 2012. We have a clear strategy and we would like to follow the request of [IOC president] Jacques Rogge.

"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."

The union's annual meeting later this year is expected to vote for skateboarding to become one of its "disciplines".

That decisionwould then have to be backed by the IOC's programme review commission prior to approval by the executive board, which typically backs the president's wishes.

This schedule leaves plenty of time to meet the 2009 deadline for inclusion in the London Olympics.

Skateboarding originated as " sidewalk surfing" in America in the Fifties and was especially popular with surfers in California.

Its popularity has grown rapidly and there are now around 13 million devotees worldwide, including 600,000 in Britain. The US continues to dominate the sport and the UK lags behind France and Scandinavian countries, where skateboarding forms part of the school curriculum.

Britain has about 600 skate parks, 100 of them in London, although aficionados complain that many of these are badly designed and dangerous. Cantalows in Camden and Whites Grounds in Southwark - the country's only dedicated indoor skate facility - are exceptions.

Skateboarding would be the envy of numerous other sports vying for Olympics status, which can provide a huge boost to grassroots participation and revenues.

Two years ago, rugby and golf both failed in their attempts to become part of the 2012 event. At the same time, the IOC cut baseball and softball from the roster.

The event most likely to be included in London is vert skating, which originated when skateboarders used disused swimming pools. Participants are awarded points for tricks and style.