INUVIK - When 12-year-old Karly King Simpson was picked for a dream visit to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver last October, she was hoping to meet her hero.

But that dream was dashed when Jennifer Jones, one of Canada's best female curlers, failed to qualify for Team Canada at December's Canadian Curling Trials in Edmonton.

The King Simpson family huddles at the Inuvik airport before Karly and Karen depart for Vancouver on Tuesday. From left, Dana King Simpson, Karen King, Karly King Simpson and Marvin Simpson. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

But the Grade 7 student is well past the grieving stage.

"If I can't see her then the next best thing is to see somebody else," she said.

King Simpson will see her fair share of athletes when she visits the Olympic village, the area where the athletes will be living throughout the Olympics, as part of her once-in-a-lifetime trip to the international sporting event.

The Winter Olympics will run from Feb. 12 to 28. King Simpson will spend three of those days enjoying the experience with her mother, Karen. On Tuesday, the pair flew out of Inuvik en route to Vancouver.

The teenager is among 11 youths from Canada who have been selected to go to the Olympics through the McDonald's Champion Kids program, which recognized youth with outstanding leadership qualities and a commitment to sport and healthy living. The all-round athlete's curling coach, Nick Saturnino, nominated her last summer. In early November, McDonald's mascot Ronald McDonald made the surprise announcement at the curling club where King Simpson was practising with her friends. The program is held in several other countries, so she'll be with lots of kids from around the world.

She's most looking forward to seeing the opening ceremonies on Feb. 12.

"It's going to be amazing," she said.

After that she'll be eyeing her favourite Olympic event, the men's 5,000-metre speedskating competition, where of course the Samuel Hearne Secondary School student will be cheering on Canada for gold. King Simpson won't have time to worry about being bored; she'll be following a hectic schedule. On top of checking out the Olympic village and attending several high profile sporting events, she'll be doing plenty of sightseeing.

It will be her mother's second time attending the Winter Olympics in Canada. Karen King said she has great memories of the 1988 Games in Calgary, and said she'll be excited to relive the experience with her daughter.

"She's really lucky to experience a wonderful, grand thing like this and I really hope to see a spark of a dream in her, maybe," she said. "She is athletically gifted. Maybe it will give her a little more passion for her sport and we'll see where it goes."

If nothing else, "I'll have a really great story to tell my kids," said King Simpson.