For those involved in the 2006 Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon -- it's crunch time.

Different Thon committees will be working hard from tonight until Sunday -- about 70 hours -- starting with the Big Move into Rec Hall.

OPPerations Overall Chairman Allen Goldate said that throughout today, OPPerations and Morale committee members will move supplies to Rec Hall, but starting at 5 p.m., the real transformation starts.

Goldate said about 28 mats are laid down in the main gym where the dancing takes place, and about five to six additional mats are laid down in the south gym for special events. Larry Moore, the disc jockey who has helped with Thon for 30 years, will also set up the stage and sound equipment, Goldate said.

Because of the recent Rec Hall renovations including new bleachers, the OPPerations committee must pull out all the rows, he said. With the old bleachers, fewer rows the committee had the option of using fewer rows.

Even though there is a longer bleacher section, it will be more difficult for supporters to get to the pit area, which is a roped-off area for spectators without a floor pass to interact with dancers, Goldate said.

However, he said the OPPerations committee has the situation under control.

"We're a pretty oiled machine," Goldate said. "We got it down pat."

The OPPerations committee will also move the Hospitality, Rules and Regulations, and Morale supplies from storage trailers to Rec Hall tonight, Goldate said. "We are the behind-the-scenes crew that helps every other committee be successful," he added.

The Morale committee will also begin hanging signs of encouragement throughout Rec Hall tonight, Morale Overall Chairwoman Meghan Gaffney said.

Gaffney said Morale will also construct the walks, which lead dancers from the main gym through Rec Hall hallways. The committee will lay mattresses, cover walls with fabric and paper and transform the white hallways into a different place, which can last until 2 or 4 a.m. Friday morning. "In the end, it does not look like Rec Hall," she said.

Dancer mail will also be delivered Thursday afternoon, Mail Call Chairwoman Emily Black said. She said the mail sorting process has been an ongoing production since dancers registered, but an overload of mail has been delivered the past week. She said committee members have been spending eight to 10 hours a day since last Monday getting all the letters and packages into the right dancer bags.

Gaffney said dancers will receive printed e-mail messages sent to them in their mailbags. This initiative was introduced last year, but only a couple hundred e-mail messages were received, she said. However, this year about 2,900 e-mail messages have been printed, and people are still trying to send more after the Feb. 13 deadline, she said.

"I'm receiving dancer e-mails in my personal e-mail box, and I'm printing them out," Gaffney said.

Black said the additional mail that might come in Friday morning will be brought over to Rec Hall and added to the mail bags, and dancers will be notified if they receive mail after Thon weekend.

Friday morning deliveries, including water and drinks for the dancers, are just one of the reasons Goldate and other committee members will be at Rec Hall at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Rules and Regulations and Hospitality committees will also be putting the finishing touches in their rooms, which are on the sides of the main gym, he added.

Goldate said the OPPerations committee spends more than 70 hours in Rec Hall, starting today and ending Sunday around midnight. "When we walk in Thursday night, it is Rec Hall -- but when we leave, it's Thon," Goldate said.