At the Victoria City Rowing Club, Adam Kreek is a celebrity.

He attracts a handful of junior rowers, all anxious to see the gold medal Kreek won in Beijing last summer.

Grins plastered on their faces, the young girls tell him that’s where they want to be – on the Olympic podium sporting a medal around their necks.

“It only took 12 years to get there,” he says jokingly. But it’s the truth, and these junior rowers already know the dedication it will take to achieve Kreek’s level of success. The 140 juniors spend hours every week practising on Elk Lake.

For a select few, today marks the first time they’ll participate in an official Olympic event.

Nine juniors and nine Olympic medal-winning rowers are taking part in the Friday afternoon torch relay over Elk Lake. The Olympians will row with the torch halfway across the lake, and then pass the flame to a boat of juniors.

“We’re passing the literal and figurative torch to the next generation to go and run with it,” said Kreek.

The symbolic idea was the brainchild of Kreek, who says the experience is especially meaningful for him because of the involvement of Derek Porter, a two-time Olympic medal-winning rower (1992, 1996).

“(Derek’s) boat from 1992 was the boat that we looked up to … as heroes. We’re trying to represent that (by) passing the torch to this crew of selected junior athletes.”

Among that crew of juniors is 17-year-old Aimee Hawker, who will be coxswain of the junior team during the torch relay.

“It’s kind of awe-inspiring because they (the gold-medal Olympic team) are such a huge deal in the rowing community,” she said. “It’s kinda nerve-racking, and it’s really an honour considering everybody who could be chosen that I get this opportunity to take part.”

Hawker’s coach, Aalbert Van Schoethorst, had the challenge of whittling down the 140 juniors to the team of nine.

“We’re talking about really talented, mentally, physically and social kids. It was really tough,” he said. “We boiled it down to … leadership within the rowing community. Then we added performance, and then we rounded it out with: would this person be a great representative?”

The coach kept the selection process a secret from the juniors, who only learned they would be part of the relay last month in an e-mail telling them they were selected.

“Initially, I didn’t believe it. I thought it was kind of a joke,” said Hawker.

“I was so surprised. When I figured out it was real, I spent most of the night jumping up and down.”

Van Schoethorst lauded Kreek’s plan to involve both professionals and juniors in the event, because the leadership role the Olympians take at the club is invaluable.

“Seeing that calibre of athlete on the water really just drives all sorts of performances and all sorts of unbelievable things in the juniors,” Van Schoethorst said. “(The Olympic rowers) come in with a focus, they walk in with a focus, and it’s good because the kids want to emulate them.”

The torch relay on Elk Lake begins at 3:49 and runs to 4:16 p.m..

“We have plenty of time,” said Kreek, about crossing the lake. “In Olympic racing, that distance would be covered in less than three minutes. We’ve got 25 minutes to cover a thousand metres. It will be pretty slow.”

Mike Spracklen, a 10-time Olympic medal-winning rowing coach, will run the torch along Hamsterly Beach to the waiting Olympians in the water. They will row the flame to the middle of the lake where the torch will be passed to the junior rowers. They will then row to the other side. Van Schoethorst will carry the torch from Eagle Beach back up to the Pat Bay Highway.

“In ’88, I lived in Alberta. The Olympic torch was a big deal. I always dreamt of (running with) it, but I didn’t think it would ever be a reality. This is, in fact, a dream come true.”

It’s an experience that all involved are excited about, especially junior rowers like Hawker, who hopes this is just the first of many Olympic-related memories.

“It’s definitely exciting,” she said. “I’m so thrilled because I look up to the mens eight ... the chance to not only meet them, but partially row alongside them while carrying the torch is incredible.”

kslavin@saanichnews.com

Elk Lake closures

• Sections of Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park will be closed for the torch relay Friday.

• The parking lots at Hamsterly and Eagle beaches will be closed from sunset on Thursday until after 4:30 p.m., Friday.

• The boat launches at Eagle Beach and Brookleigh Road will also be inaccessible.

• Anyone interested in watching the torch row across Elk Lake are asked to use other parking lots elsewhere around the lake.