OperationTransformation setsupintownsportscentre
DUNDALK and Co Louth will be in the spotlight in the coming weeks as this year’s Operation Transformation comes from the Muirhevnamor Community Sport and Physical Activity Hub.
The former Dundalk Sports Centre is being used as a hub for the popular programme and is also the weigh-in location each week as the Leaders track their progress.
Operation Transformation returns to our screens tomorrow ( Wednesday) night at 9.35pm on RTE One, with the now familiar format tweaked to meet the various COVID-19 restrictions.
Crews from RTE have been in Dundalk from before Christmas setting up a studio in the Muirhevnamor centre, where the top twenty finalists had their Assessment Day before the leaders were announced.
Presenter Kathryn Thomas is back to spearhead the latest campaign to get the nation moving along with experts fitness coach Karl Henry, who will be drawing up the health and wellness plans and keeping us jogging, jumping and squatting during the Ad Break Challenges; principal clinical psychologist Dr. Eddie Murphy keeping the leaders’ heads in check; dietitian Aoife Hearne ensuring they’re keeping healthy, and general practitioner Dr. Sumi Dunne doling out seasoned advice.
Graham Russell, head of Louth County Council’s Sports Unit, explains that the programme makers got in touch with the local authority looking for a base for this year’s programme and he sent a video of the various activities which take place at the sports hub.
‘ They came came down and visited the Community Sport and Physical Activity Hub at Muirhevnamor and were very impressed by the facilities we have here and also all the health ad safety measures around COVID-19 which we had put in place although obviously the centre had to close for lockdown.’
‘Operation Transformation will be here for about two months and it’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase all the good stuff going on in Dundalk and surrounding areas.’
The town will feature prominently during Karl Henry’s Ad Break Challenges which will be filmed with community and sporting leaders in Dundalk. These will take place outside in the front gardens of the community leaders’ homes with one family social bubble at a time.
The programme makers have also been out
and about around town, filming with community and sporting groups and members of the public, discovering how they have been coping during the various lockdowns. They will also catch up with local groups as they follow the Operation Transformation plan.
As details of this year’s leaders are still being released as we go to press, we don’t know if there is a Co Louth leader among the line-up.
‘ They kept a lot of things under wraps,’ adds Graham, who was unable to cast any light on whether there will be any familiar faces among the leaders.
To see how this year’s leaders get on and to follow the Operation Transformation plan for getting fit during a pandemic, make sure to tune into RTE One every Wednesday at 9.35pm and or catch up on Sunday afternoons when it is repeated at 1.40pm