Two Inuvik youths are getting a once-in-a-lifetime Olympic experience.

Flame attendant Chad Larocque proudly displays the lantern which holds the original Olympic flame during the torch relay ceremony in Inuvik Wednesday. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

Karly King Simpson, 12, will have to wait till February before she can embark on a three-day, all expenses paid trip to Vancouver to meet some Olympians and take in some of the games' sporting events.

Chad Larocque, 20, is among a select group of people accompanying the Olympic flame to communities across Canada hosting the Olympic Torch Relay.

Karly got the stunning news from Ronald McDonald himself on Tuesday, Nov. 3 that she was one of only 11 kids in Canada to participate in the McDonald's Champion Kids program. The McDonald's mascot arrived at the Midnight Sun Complex from Toronto to surprise Karly with the news in front her fellow club members, parents, coach and other residents.

The talented all-round student will be travelling to the Games with her mom Karen in February.

She'll be taking in cultural sites and plenty of Olympic sporting action. Even though Karly's not sure what athletes she'll meet, she's hoping to buddy up with reigning curling champion Jennifer Jones of Manitoba.

"I'd ask her how to slide out of the hack flat footed," said Karly. "She's a really great Olympian. I think she would be nice too."

Karly's aware of just how privileged she is.

"I know I'm really, really lucky," she said. "It's an incredible thing to be a part of."

She's already promised to snap a picture of an Olympic snowboarder for her friend Alex Skinner.

The cheery 12-year-old was nominated for the program by her curling coach Nick Saturnino last summer. He got word in September that she had been selected by a committee made up in part of Olympians, but he had to keep it secret until the big day.

A multi-talented athlete, stellar student and budding fiddler, Karly had no trouble meeting the criteria of the program, which sought budding athletic and scholastic leaders.

"She's hard-working and always shows great sportsmanship," said Saturnino. "She's just a great kid. I'm proud she got this opportunity."

As part of the arrangement, Karly will also act as a cub reporter, relaying her experiences back to Inuvik while in Vancouver.

Larocque could barely contain his excitement just days before his departure from Inuvik with the Olympic flame.

"It's just a great way for me to be part of the Olympic experience," he said.

He's one of 11 Canadian aboriginal youths picked by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to be a flame attendant during the 106-day torch relay.

Their main job is to maintain the lanterns and backup flames, which hold the original Olympic flame lit in Greece and light each torch in every participating relay community. The group will work together during the relay to ensure the passing of the torch goes smoothly. He'll also be expected to give a short speech in each community he visits, including Grande Prairie, Alta. and Churchill, Man. The aspiring pilot finishes his journey in New Brunswick in late November. He already participated in his hometown relay here in Inuvik on Nov. 4.

Peggy Jay, a member of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami's National Inuit Committee on the Vancouver Olympics, helped Chad with his application in September. She said she was proud to see him selected as an Inuvialuit ambassador.

"He came to me immediately and expressed a real interest and we worked to get the application in," said Jay. "Everyone spoke highly of him. He's a good kid."

Larocque, a minor hockey coach, said he feels privileged to represent not only aboriginal people but the country as a whole.

"I just want to become a better role model, to say that I was part of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics," he said."It's about a Canada celebration and an effort to spread world peace. I'm very proud of it.