TOFINO, B.C. - The Olympic Torch will catch a wave with one of Canada's few professional surfers when it arrives in Tofino next month.

Ruth Sadler, a 72-year-old who still surfs the waves off Vancouver Island's rugged west coast, said in an interview she's been asked to carry the Olympic Torch along a section that includes a part of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.

She'll take the torch into the water, up to her hips, where she'll be met by Raph Bruhwiler riding a wave and provided the seas aren't too big, she'll hand over the flame.

"I'm excited about it,'' said Sadler, whose family played a key role in B.C.'s early surfing community. "I think it's a real privilege to carry the torch.''

Ruth said she learned in August she would carry the flame, but had to keep the honour under wraps until recently.

The Olympic torch will travel to Tofino from Nanaimo, through Port Alberni and Ucluelet on Day 3 of the run Nov. 1.

Ruth's late husband, Jim, was well known among early B.C. surfers and participated in some of Vancouver Island's first contests at Long Beach, now a part of the national park.

But Ruth got into the sport, too, and made sure her children, Harold, Ken and Cindy, learned to surf.

The Sadlers also contributed to the community in many other ways. Jim served a term on Tofino's municipal council during the 1970s and the family helped found the non-denominational Tofino Bible Fellowship.

"I like her youth and spirit,'' said Donna Fraser, Tofino's torch relay co-ordinator. "She's just got a lot of energy.

"She looks very youthful and acts youthful.''

Fraser said the family exhibits a lot of positive energy.

"Mom was as much into surfing as anybody in the family and she still is,'' said Harold Sadler, an accomplished local surfer.

Harold said his mom and dad first began riding waves with a plywood "belly board,'' which looks like a skim board, when the family lived near Bamfield, B.C. in the late 1960s.

By the early 1970s, Ruth began riding some of the first boogey boards on the market.

Harold said his mom taught his wife and children how to surf, too.

This past summer, Ruth was a little miffed when she learned a recent surgery could keep her out of the water, he said. But now she's back at it.

Meantime, Ruth said she's feeling great about carrying the torch and participated in a trial run last weekend.

She said she is exercising so she can keep fit.

"I'm just making sure I get lots of walking in,'' she added.