Today was the third day of finals week and I have to admit that the soreness from the intensity of this week's events is finally catching up to me. I woke up this morning fighting to get out of bed because of the minimal amount of sleep I am operating on. I was a bit relieved knowing that we would get a little physical rest after fitness evaluations and boot camp as tonight's event was the Rules and Regulations Meeting and uniform try-on.

We all arrived at the Atlanta Spirit office building, Centennial Tower, around 6:15 and were led upstairs to the All-Star Conference Room. Everyone was dressed very professional, which was a nice change from last night's sweat and grime after Boot Camp. At 6:30 it was time for the meeting to begin and everyone was introduced to Kenan Woods from the Public Relations department of Atlanta Spirit. He emphasized the importance of a good interview, and also taught us the "Do's and Don'ts" in various media outlets. Everything that Kenan spoke about is very important because a lot of the girls haven't been exposed to the media in this way and they don't want to make a costly mistake. I know that I learned a lot last year from this meeting and I think that I would have been scared to talk to the media without the advice and support that we received.

After a couple of questions and a great practice interview between Kenan and a finalist, we had a very special speaker. CJ from 95.5 The Beat came to give us some advice and real life examples on radio interviews. Having her in the meeting was a great opportunity to learn a lot because she definitely tells it like it is! She gave some great advice, from being knowledgeable about what you're there to talk about, to being presentable in the studio- she held nothing back. Throughout the season we actually do have multiple radio interviews and appearances, so her expertise and credibility in this particular area was not only helpful to first-time finalists, but to the veterans as well. If nothing else, everyone should feel more comfortable tackling a radio interview after tonight.

After thanking Kenan and CJ, it was time to go over all the rules and regulations that every team member must abide by if selected. Rules appear to be getting a little more strict this season in comparison to last year, but I think that could be a good thing. In the past we only addressed our body fat and nutritional standards at the beginning and end of the season, but we will now be doing this once a month. I think this will be helpful to keep us on task throughout the season when we are all bombarded with so many things that we often forget about eating right.

After going through some questions about the rules of the team it was POP QUIZ time! As A-Town Dancers it is important that we are knowledgeable about the team, its history, and its management. Donni randomly called on each finalist to introduce themselves to the group and then answer a Hawks trivia question. I remember auditioning for the first time last year and being so nervous about when this trivia was going to happen. I tried my hardest to memorize as much as I could from the website, but a lot of the trivia knowledge comes naturally after being around it day after day. So everyone learned a lot from this and I don't think that you will ever forget the answer to a question that you got wrong!

The meeting began to wind down after some additional questions and we took turns trying on a dance team uniform for a picture. Uniform try-on is useful to the judges because they are able to see what we would look like on game day, and if we would fit the image that they are trying to fill or the team that they are trying to create. Because we were taking turns and waiting on uniforms, we were able to relax, catch up with our friends, and get to know some new faces. This was a good chance to calm some fears of rookies auditioning and also give some advice for the days to come. As one of only two returning rookies, I know from experience that the fear of the unknown during auditions can be very nerve-racking, so I was glad to share my experiences from last year. As we left the meeting, everyone seemed to be both excited and nervous about getting glammed up and socializing at the Fabulous Finalist Mixer tomorrow night. See you at Ten Pin Alley tomorrow night!