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Skateboarding icon Tony Hawk thinks his sport will give the Olympics a big lift if its added to the 2020 Tokyo Games.There are more participants in skateboarding than most sports so I feel like they (the Olympics) need our credibility and they need our excitement level in their Summer Games, Hawk said.On Aug. 3, the International Olympic Committee intends to vote on whether skateboarding -- as part of a five-sport package -- will be on the program in Tokyo. The other sports are karate, sports climbing, surfing and baseball/softball. The plan for now is to approve all of them or none of them.Obviously skateboarding has a really strong connection with the youth and a great youth appeal and a passionate following so this is hugely exciting and we think a great proposal for us to take to the IOC session, IOC sports director Kit McConnell said.With skateboarding already thriving outside the Olympics, Hawk said the sport could catch on with worldwide viewers as snowboarding did in the Winter Olympics when Shaun White started to compete in the halfpipe event.In the beginning, snowboarding was felt more chastised than embraced and eventually it became the highlight of the Winter Games, Hawk said. I feel like skateboarding is on that trajectory, but probably is going to be more embraced its very first time out.Street and park are the two proposed disciplines for skateboarding in Tokyo. Street is skateboarding on any flat terrain like streets and sidewalks mixed with stairs and hand rails. Park is a combination of street, pool, and a little bit of vertical skateboarding.If skateboarding is approved, 80 athletes -- 40 men and 40 women -- will compete.The question of how to qualify the skateboarders is still being discussed, but McConnell said the world qualification process would probably start in mid-2018 and run through mid-2020 before the Olympics.Athletes will be drug-tested at both the qualification events and in Tokyo.Thats another benefit the Olympics inclusion gives us, McConnell said. This is an opportunity for everybody that is involved in skateboarding to continue to develop the education program and to continue to develop the testing programs. Its not just a matter of institutions alone talking to athletes, its about athletes understanding the importance and the values and speaking to each other about it.Various skateboarding groups would like to govern the sport at the 2020 Olympics, but the IOC said the International Roller Sports Federation would be the recognized body.McConnell acknowledged that the international federation hasnt run skateboarding events at a high level. The roller sports federation worked with the International Skateboarding Federation to establish a committee to help set up the way the sport would be run during the Olympics.The World Skateboarding Federation is also involved in a wider sense, according to McConnell.The IOC has been involved in the process since the beginning and trying to bring the key stakeholders together, WSF President Tim McFerran said. They identified the three groups are the key stakeholders in skateboarding that they felt should be the ones responsible for organizing skateboarding for the 2020 Olympics.McConnell said there already are plans for Tokyo venues that would allow skateboarding to be brought to the heart of the city and create a real connection with the youth.Hawk thinks youthful exuberance is important for the Summer Games.They dont have that element ... and if they are going to get any younger viewership, they need that, he said. So I think that (skateboarding) could very well happen.China Jerseys Online . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. Cheap China Jerseys . 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To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans.Masters champion Danny Willett bounced back from his Players Championship disappointment to move in to a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.Irish Open leaders Leaderboard updates from the K Club Willett, who missed the cut at TPC Sawgrass last week in his first start since last months Augusta victory, fired a birdie-filled 65 to set the pace at the K Club, where tournament host Rory McIlroy also made a strong start to the week.After opening with back-to-back pars, Willett rolled in a birdie-two after a stunning tee shot at the third and McIlroy posted his first gain from six feet at the par-four next. McIlroy started with a five-under-par round at the Irish Open The world No 3 picked up another shot at the sixth to get in to the group one adrift of morning pace-setters Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer, with Willett joining those on two under by stiffing his approach to the seventh pin and converting a kick-in birdie.McIlroy saw a 15-footer at the eighth sneak past the right edge but birdied the next to reach the turn in 32, as Willett coaxed home a 10-footer to also move within one of Callum Shinkwin at the top of the leaderboard.A two-putt gain from just off the 10th green by McIlroy was matched by Willett from close raange, before the Masters champion made it a hat-trick of birdies with a winding putt at the next to get to five under.dddddddddddd McIlroy has missed the cut in his last three appearances in this event Willett nudged in from close range at the 13th to claim the outright advantage and moved three clear by draining a long-range gain at the next, as McIlroy three-putted the 14th and Shinkwin carded a first dropped shot of the day at his penultimate hole.As McIlroy recovered from an errant drive at 17 to save par, Willett missed the green with his approach from near the grandstand and two-putted from the fringe for a first blemish of the day.A six-foot birdie at the last saw McIlroy close a five-under 67 and briefly move within one of the lead, only for Willett, playing in the following group, to find the par-five green in two and two-putt from 10 feet. Shinkwin finished with a four-under 68, with Jaco Van Zyl moving in to the tie for second after posting four birdies along the back nine.Fisher and two-time major champion Kaymer defied tough conditions to set the clubhouse target earlier in the day, both posting opening-round 69s in persistent rain. Martin Kaymer carded two birdies and an eagle after the turn Former tournament winner Shane Lowry bogeyed his final hole to close a one-under 71 as Andy Sullivan, who became a father for the second time on Wednesday, kicked off his week with a three-over 75. I hit the ball really well today, a lot of good iron shots, especially on my back nine, Lowry said. I feel like I probably should be at least two or three better. They dont give out trophies on Thursday so Im in the tournament and looking forward to the next few days.Watch the Irish Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Live second round coverage begins on Friday from 9.30am. 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