Datebook: Thursday, October 19th ~ 2006

Writers note: Mombo #9 will now be published twice a week. New posts will be available on Mondays & Thursdays.

So now it is official. It is less than one month until Sectionals.

This is one of those concepts that bring laughter and tears.

I develop multiple personalities this time of year. I am thrilled that it is finally within a 30 day countdown. I am horrified that it is on the screen of my Blackberry.

I keep hearing about the “off” season and I wonder when that is. If I find out, I swear I will send out Hallmark cards. The season starts the moment Nationals are over (or Worlds). There is new music to find, new programs to choreograph, new costumes to design and have made. Then there is the push to “be ready” for Placid.

After Lake Placid, there are the three months to make changes (unless you are on either of the Gran Prix circuits) until Sectionals and then, if you’re lucky, the seven weeks until Nationals. So when is the off season?

We have not taken a week long family vacation in four years. We are lucky to have Thanksgiving-- Thursday-- not Friday, off. There are no day-after Christmas sales because “you must train.”

This is the time of year we should all be feeling pretty mellow. I mean, the kids are ready; the music is now playing non-stop in your head. You hum it while you are pumping gas. You hear it on the radio and it is now “X & Ys music”. You see another skater using the same music and you think, “Oh, they are skating to Z’s music”.

But, face it, we can’t be mellow. The reason for this is quite simple. Skating elements seem like shifting sand in the hourglass of judging. Why is a level 3 spin suddenly getting level 1 marks when they are doing it better? Then the question that I have asked the gubernatorial candidates to answer in their televised debate (not sure if they will take this on)—Is it better to skate a level 1 element and get plus 2s or risk a level 3 or 4 being downgraded and getting minuses? It is a bit like a tree falling in the forest I’m afraid. Coaches get a bit glassy eyed when you inquire. Maybe in a bonus round of the debate they could speculate on why it “seems”, please note I said “it seems”, the PCS scores can be manipulated much like the old 6.0 system to keep teams where they’re wanted to place.

No, these are not mellow times. In Atlanta, Birmingham, and in the State of Washington we will all face the nemesis in less than 30 days.

There are several ways to ease into this.

Many have tried Pilates and yoga. I personally cannot contemplate putting on black stretch pants and going out in public as a means of stress-relief.

Some have gone for a day of beauty at the Spa. (Just a note to the wise here—if you are getting a full-body massage, find out who your masseuse is before you are lying naked under a warm blanket and “Ronald” walks in to provide muscle relaxation--again, not a stress release). Some have tried hypnosis, but again, I have a bit of a problem with this, mostly due to a comedy show I saw years ago where one of the audience volunteers kept barking like a dog all night—maybe forever, I’m not sure.

I am afraid it is down to the one known aid to stress. And this is a medical fact. Dark Chocolate is a natural stress reducer. That’s right.

It’s going to be a six-pack of Hostess Ho-Hos every week for the next month.

Mombo