He researched Korean language and customs, printed out 30 pages of information and handed each of his skaters a copy to study before they left for Gangneung, Korea.

Leitch figured after three years on the ice together, Evora and Ladwig could handle the skating part well enough. But he didn't want to send a couple of naive Americans to Asia.

"This is a life experience," he said. "It helps because everything in (Europe and Asia) is different. We want them to get used to it. If they are going to end up going to World Championships, they are going to need to know all of these things."

Ladwig, 24 and a Fargo, N.D., native, and Evora, 20 of Houston, accompanied by Leitch, left for Korea on Friday. After four days practicing on the wider ice rink, the pair's work really begins when they skate their short program on Wednesday.

Before they left the states, Ladwig was already well-versed in his Korean studies. His partner, on the other hand, still had some more reading to do. She said she was "cramming."

"We don't want to come off rude," Evora said. "We want make sure we can say 'hello' (in Korean) and 'how are you?' "

Leitch said just being asked to compete in the Four Continents competition is an honor for Ladwig and Evora. The coach rated the event somewhere in between the national championships or Grand Prix Finals and the world championships.

"This gives everyone a chance to do their program once before they go to Worlds," said Ladwig, who along with Evora finished fifth at the national meet earlier this year in Portland. "We've never been in a competition with these (people). I've seen some of them on TV."

Many of the top skaters from outside Europe participate in the competition, which began in 1999 as an answer to the European Championships. Bigger events mean bigger prize money. If Evora and Ladwig win, they can bring home $25,000.

Realistically, the pair doesn't figure to be a contender for first place with two America teams and the Chinese squads ahead of them. Leitch said his skaters are a couple years away from their peak, but every group needs to compete in these type of events on their way to the top.

"This is a very prestigious competition," Leitch said. "I would say they are in position where they could conceivably be fighting it out for fourth, fifth, sixth place, which would be great.

"They are still considered young but probably even more so inexperienced. They have only skated in three national championships. The Chinese team they will compete against has been competing for 15 years."

As is the practice for all the J.P. Igloo skaters before they embark upon international competition, Evora and Ladwig have spent the past three weeks on "time change." In this case, time change meant waking at 3 p.m. and going to bed at 9 a.m. In between, they skated from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., worked out in the fitness center at 2 a.m. and skated again at 6 a.m.

Evora, who along with Ladwig has competed internationally in Croatia and Germany, said the time change is just one of the many obstacles facing them in preparation for Korea.

"It's little different than nationals," she said. "At nationals, we know most of our competitors, and it's around people we know. An international (competition) has a different feel to it. And the difference between this one and any other international is that this is the top teams of each nation. It's an honor to be at that level. . . . It will be an honor to be on the same ice as them."

To commemorate the trip, the students, parents, faculty and staff at J.P. Igloo sent the pair off with a cake and a buffet dinner of traditional Asian food. But before the party, Ladwig and Evora gave their friends a sneak preview of the long program they will perform Thursday.

With each lift and jump, the crowd cheered. But after doing their research, Ladwig and Evora know not to expect that reaction from a more conservative crowd. But that shouldn't be a problem.

"It'll be like skating in the middle of the night," Ladwig said. "Like we've been doing."

Douglas A. Kaid, sports writer, can be reached at 782-1209 or dkaid@HeraldToday.com.