OT or not OT: there is no question
Over twelve years, Operation Transformation has grown across TV, radio and online to become the major nationwide event that it is today. As a result, from this week on, there will be no excuse to avoid getting up and getting moving with OT on your side
From Kathryn Thomas on the telly to Ireland Lights Up and Ray D’Arcy on the radio, the whole country will be tuned into OT 2019 for the next eight weeks. We track the full 360 degrees of the life-changing show
The Ryan Line
It was the late Gerry Ryan who put Operation Transformation on the map. In those 2FM beginnings in 2007, OT was radio only but within a year all had changed with the show debuting on TV and online. Gerry called it the full ‘Three-Sixty’ and with Evelyn O’Rourke as his trusty lieutenant, the show about ordinary people hoping to lose weight and change their lives, became the one to usher in the New Year until Dancing with the Stars shuffled into view. It also inspired couch potatoes everywhere to move it and lose it.
Now we have Kathryn Thomas on the TV, Ray D’Arcy on the radio and a website (ot.rte.ie) to give us the full 360. It all begins in November with the shortlist of potential leaders whittled down to the final five, who are then surprised by Kathryn Thomas doing her commando-style reveal. Now our cover star is the face of OT, spearheading the nationwide campaign to get people moving by giving them the tools they need to complete a 5K run by the end of the series.
“I am so looking forward to this, the 12th series of Operation Transformation. We’ve a new time slot – Wednesdays at 9.30pm, we’ve a new base of operations – Balbriggan in north Co Dublin, we’ve some old friends returning to the panel and we’ve a new medical expert in the brilliant Dr Sumi Dunne – she’ll bring a whole new energy to proceedings this year. But of course, the main reason for my excitement, as always, is our five brilliant new leaders who I know our viewers will be dying to meet and follow. It’s going to be a very interesting year.”
The 12th series will see the return of the nationwide walks as well as linking up once again with the GAA for the hugely popular ‘Ireland Lights Up’ campaign, helping communities across the 32 counties come together and enjoy getting fit and healthy in the safe surroundings of their local GAA club.
Balbriggan & Bremore Castle: Home to OT 2019
For the fi rst time in OT history, the series will be based in the north county Dublin town of Balbriggan, in the historic setting of Bremore Castle, as OT attempts to get the whole town moving. Over the course of the eight-week series, OT will be encouraging local community leaders to get their area active, with the show reporting on their success. The hope is that Balbriggan will show the nation what can be achieved with a little community spirit, encouragement and the support of the civic leaders.
New OT Food App
Operation Transformation has a brand new app this year which is so easy to navigate – all dinner meals for the whole plan will be there from the start, with easy to follow video scripts including all the amounts, so no need to check the recipes. Each one also has a screen grab of the individual shopping list for that dish at the end to make it super easy to shop for on the move. All the recipes in the main plan will be featured on the website and are written for the complete novice cook with clear instructions so that the plan is as accessible as possible to everyone.
Viewers of OT will now be able to download the app featuring videos of all of the dinner recipes in addition to following the plan on the RTÉ website which also has a feature that will allow you to track your own activity throughout the day. More information from the Operation Transformation website: ot. rte. ie
Ireland Lights Up
After the success of the inaugural ‘Ireland Lights Up’campaign, the GAA are once again teaming up with Operation Transformation and Get Ireland Walking, to make exercise more accessible on the dark winter nights. Ireland Lights Up encourages GAA clubs to switch on their floodlights every Thursday from 7pm to 9pm for a five- week period from January 17 to February 21.
More than 150 GAA clubs across the country participated in this novel initiative in 2018, with more than 5,000 walkers taking to their local GAA pitch each week to walk off the Christmas excess, catch up with neighbours and banish the winter blues.
John Horan, An Uachtarán Cumann Luthchleas Gael, said: “In every corner of the country our network of clubs plays a crucial role in contributing towards a healthier Ireland. The benefit of this particular initiative is that this appeals to young and old, players and non-players, with benefits for everyone. The New Year is always a time when people look to get out and be a bit more active and Ireland Lights Up allows them to do that safely within their community and among friends and I’d be confident that we can meet the ambitious target of 10,000 people that has been set for 2019.”
The launch of the campaign took place in Ballyboughal GAA, County Dublin, one of the clubs that took part in the initiative in 2018. Healthy Club Officer, Joanne Cahill, said: “We had no idea what numbers we would get, but we had 150 walkers, maybe even more, every week. They were coming from everywhere with cars backed up. There were groups of people, families, kids, every walk of life. The walking track in the club is somewhere you can go for a safe walk because there is really nowhere around Ballyboughal and people don’t like walking on the dark roads in winter.”
Jason King, National Programme Manager of Get Ireland Walking, said: “Get Ireland Walking are delighted to be part of Ireland Lights Up 2019. More and more people now identify with the positive benefits of walking and its through initiatives such as this, that provide safe walking environments for communities and club members to stay active and engaged, in particular over the winter months. The walking tracks are not just for winter and when spring comes around communities have a great base to build upon. Together we can ‘Get Ireland Walking’.”