Next Friday, when his 15-year-old daughter competes in the Olympic Games, Ted Beisel’s wife and son will be watching the action live in Beijing.

Back home, Beisel will be watching on a wide-screen TV. But he won’t be alone.

On the contrary, he’ll be watching with friends, most likely hundreds of them, all gathered to cheer on his daughter and help the family cover the cost of sending two members to Beijing.

“They say it costs like 50 grand, so I guess it’s not cheap,” said Mark Deresienski, spokesman for the Narragansett Lions Club, which has taken on the task of holding a fundraiser for the family. “If we could raise a couple of thousand dollars, that would be pretty good.”

So far, everything seems to be falling into place. The fact that a local girl is going for Olympic gold, and the timing of the fundraiser — Elizabeth Beisel is scheduled to compete in the 200-meter backstroke at the same time next Friday night — seems to have everyone interested in helping, club members said.

The venue — the North Beach Clubhouse, formerly known as the Canonchet Beach Club — will be used courtesy of the Town of Narragansett. The 52-inch wide-screen TV, and the wiring to hook it up, will be installed courtesy of Verizon. The food — a barbecue is planned — will be courtesy of local restaurants and food distributors. There will also be a cash bar and live music, all thanks to donations.

“It’s all coming together pretty well,” said club member Bill Cully. “Everybody wants to be part of it.”

Ted Beisel said his wife, Joan, and 14-year-old son, Danny, flew to Beijing yesterday from Dulles International Airport in Virginia, on a 13-hour nonstop flight. The North Kingstown family has publicly downplayed its interest in fundraisers to help pay for the trip, but Beisel said yesterday that is because they want to be “low key” and do not want to be soliciting help.

The excited father had a schedule of the events in which his daughter, a junior at North Kingstown High School and the youngest member of the women’s swim team, will compete, and he was quick to rattle off the times. When asked if he would attend next Friday’s fundraiser, scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m., he responded “Oh my gosh, yes.”

While the goal is to help the family, the fundraiser is also a win-win for the Town of Narragansett, said recreation director Barry Fontaine, because Verizon will be leaving the wiring it installs for the event. Having the clubhouse wired for TV might be another enticement for people who rent the building, he said.

Fontaine said he was well aware of the interest in watching Elizabeth Beisel, who will compete in 400-meter individual medley as well as the 200-meter backstroke.

“I’ve had the opportunity as a swim official to work in events that she has swum in and she’s just a wonderful kid,” he said. “She’ll do the country and this area proud by her performance.”

Tickets for the fundraiser are $25 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. People who want to attend can call (401) 782-4469 or (401) 789-8185, or they can send an e-mail to We_Love_Elizabeth@Cox.net

Deresienski and Cully said timing of the fundraiser, which will take place during the women’s 200-meter backstroke, is a coincidence. The Lions Club had already reserved the beach club for Aug. 15. Then Cully suggested an event to help the Beisel family, they said.

Regardless of how she finishes, Elizabeth Beisel will have at least one thing to celebrate when she flies home on Aug. 18, her father said.

She will turn 16.

redgar@projo.com