Classic (intense!) battle: Yosuke vs Was

3-way FINAL battle: Sean (France) vs Rene (Germany) vs Petike (Hungary)

In addition to the 24 world-class freestylers, 15 UAE freestylers competed with Bilal (video below) winning top honors as the UAE’s Best Freestyler.

Battle: Yorok vs Bilal

Fifty teams also competed in an intense 2v2 football competition. Congrats to Daredevils for their victory of Sustainable Energy — who beat team “S3” composed of top freestylers Sean (France) & Bencok (Belgium).

Daredevils vs Sustainable Energy

Sustainable Energy vs S3

S3 vs Egypt! (don’t miss Bencok’s crazy goal at 4:15 mark)

Use this window below to navigate through the full 50 video playlist

A quick visit to the 14th floor offices of Duplays in JLT reveals a business environment as fresh and as active as the company’s central nervous system, a website chocked full of sports league games scheduled across the UAE in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

Soccer balls, basketballs, Frisbees and giant Duplays banners punctuate the office where Canadian founders Ravi Bhusari and Davinder “Derv” Rao work daily to build up the company.

…

Duplays is doubling in growth every year from 5,000 members in 2008, to 10,000 members in 2009, and to its current roster of 20,000.

“We arrived at 20,000 members as of December 31, 2010 and our goal for 2011 is to double that to 40,000,” Rao said.

Rao said the hard work to start a company from scratch is paying off judging by the numbers.

…

Hillary Lawson, 29, is a Duplays client who says mixing her love for sport and socialising has found a home in the sports company.

When Lawson moved to Dubai two years ago, the financial analyst was like many expats and eager to meet others shortly after arriving.

“When I moved here, I didn’t know anyone,” she said.

Lawson discovered the Duplays website after a Google search and joined amateur volleyball and ultimate Frisbee leagues offered in Dubai.

“I love sports to meet new people. It’s the best way to meet likeminded people. There are new faces every year,” said Lawson.

Duplays is helping expats to bridge barriers by using sports as a touchstone for people from different cultures to meet and interact, she said.

“Duplays is doing a very good job of organising sports. They’re appealing to the many nationalities here,” she said. “People are always looking for something new to do.”

Roxanne Brouille, 33, a real estate consultant, has been a member of Duplays since the early days of the company and values her weekly volleyball and Frisbee games.

“There are all age groups, professions and nationalities,” said Brouille. “The one thing we have in common is sports. Duplays has helped me feel a bit more well rounded because I have friends from many nationalities.”

Brouille looks forward to regular amateur games not only as a way to keep a body healthy, but to also stay in touch with new friends in a city that can be a very transient place.

“I look forward to my weekly appointments with my friends,” Brouille said. “I’ve made some really good friends, I’d say 20 or 30, from playing sports.”

• 1st, 2nd, and… 3rd Beach Games
• 4 corporate “Beach Games” events: DPG, Brooks Multiplex, Lloyds TSB,  Johnson & Johnson
• Snickers World’s Longest Football Match 42 hours 5 minutes = new Guinness World Record!
• UAE Nations Cup by Gillette 48 teams from 27 nations playing  5v5 football over 2 days
• 1st investor in DUPLAYS
• 1st office opened at JLT
• 4 corporate leagues (ADAT, Standard Chartered, Al Tayer Group, ADIB) plus 1st sector league
• 1st facility to call our own: Abu Dhabi Beaches Sports Park with 4 beach volleyball courts+
• Presented at Abraaj Capital’s awesome Celebration of Entrepreneurship 2010
  • won “Pitch your business” contest before panel of VC judges/audience
• NBA Jam Fest Abu Dhabi 2010 5 divisions, 128 teams, 490 players over 3 days
• 1st title sponsor: Al Nabooda Automobiles VW
• 4 new full time team members (Suraj, Katie, Raza, Maz), doubling our full time staff
• 10,241 new members, doubling+ from 9,760 on Jan 1, 2010 to 20,001 on Dec 31, 2010

And that’s not to mention the heart and soul of DUPLAYS: our social and competitive sport leagues in the UAE. Thanks 2010 for being so good to us, and thank you for your support!

Here’s to a great 2011!

Officially opened this month, the Abu Dhabi Beaches Sport Park (ADBSP) forms part of a broader strategy to help improve the health of the capital.

The beach in front of Gate 4 (Al Sahil) of the Corniche has been transformed into courts and pitches where, under DUPLAYS management, residents can participate in a variety of sporting activities, including volleyball, football, dodgeball, netball, and beach cricket, as well as yoga and Pilates.

“At DUPLAYS we’re really excited to be powering the Abu Dhabi Beaches Sport Park which brings more opportunities for residents to get fit, healthy and engaged in their community,” said Derv Rao, co-founder and Director of Operations at DUPLAYS.

“The Abu Dhabi Beaches Sport Park has professional sports lighting so night-time play can continue year-round, even as day time temperatures heat up. We’ll continue as many activities as possible through the summer months, but why wait until then. Now is the perfect time to come down and play!”

For more information, visit http://abudhabi.duplays.com. From there you can sign up for your preferred sport and skill level and DUPLAYS will do the rest.

Are all of the services free at the park? Where do charges apply?

DUPLAYS sports leagues currently run from Sunday to Wednesday at the park with Monday dedicated as a ladies only night. Our sporting activities include more traditional sports like netball and volleyball as well as more unconventional games like Ultimate Frisbee. We also run individual sports like yoga and aerobics. Our sports leagues run for 6-12 weeks and cost between AED 300 to 500 per person for the season. That equates to an average of AED 35-50 for each game. So basically visitors to the park can enjoy improved fitness and health and grow their social networks for the cost of a movie and popcorn.

The standard beach park fee of AED 10 per person per visit is required to access the Abu Dhabi Beaches Sport Park.

The courts are all sand-based and are also available for private use at a charge of AED 100 per hour.

Does DUPLAYS have any other projects planned in Abu Dhabi?

DUPLAYS is actively pursuing community partnerships at every level to support our mission to build a healthier tomorrow. Increasing physical activity is a societal issue, not just an individual problem. It demands a population-based, multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary, and culturally relevant approach. We are in discussions with education groups to improve physical activity levels among UAE youth. We are also initiating an inter-university sports league between and within Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

Who is your target audience – young, very young, old, local, expat?

Our sports leagues are accessible, affordable and available to men and women of all nationalities and levels of fitness. Sports leagues are restricted to those 18 years and older, but the Abu Dhabi Beaches Sport Park is open to all ages for private use. As part of our partnership with the Municipality of Abu Dhabi we want the park to be a platform where community spirit and civic engagement can thrive. It is important that we encourage families with children to use the park and enjoy the facilities too.

For ‘sports’ novices will there be hands-on training events?

You don’t have to be an athlete to participate in DUPLAYS sports leagues. We don’t run any specific training events for our members, but we do make sure our leagues cater to all skill levels. We offer recreational and social leagues as well as competitive leagues and play an active role in helping our members join the right league for their level of sporting ability. We also take into consideration cultural sensitivities and potential barriers to participation. One of our main aims is to make our sports leagues easy to discover and join.

Will each group be allotted set times to use the facilities and where can they find this information? Can people hire courts, pitches for private games?

The Abu Dhabi Beaches Sport Park is one of the venues we use in Abu Dhabi to run our DUPLAYS sports leagues throughout the week. The park is also available to individuals, teams or companies who wish to book a court for private use. Court reservations are definitely encouraged to ensure court availability. A court reservation booking form and further information about the facilities can be found on our website, www.duplays.com. The website is not only a great resource for interested users, it also has a strong social networking focus. Members can continue their connections with each other away from the courts and pitches through various social media channels. This is a great way for our members to swap sports stories, share photos from the games and make or strengthen friendships.

What kind of facilities will be available during the summer months, or will the park be closed at this time?

The Abu Dhabi Beaches Sport Park has professional sports lighting so night-time play can continue year-round, even as day time temperatures heat up. We’ll continue as many activities as possible through the summer months, but why wait until then. Now is the perfect time to come down and play!

http://abudhabi.duplays.com

Additional media coverage

• The National: “Beach sport park in league of its own” 2-Jan-2011
• AMEinfo.com: “Abu Dhabi Beaches Sport Park opens at the Corniche“
• The Gulf Today newspaper: “ADM introduces new sports services with community health at heart“
• Abu Dhabi Week: “DUPLAYS on the beach” (reprinted above)
• Akhbar Al Arab newspaper Arabic article (image above)
• Al Ittihad newspaper: Arabic article
• UAE Connectors: Arabic article
• Eye of Dubai: Arabic article
• Yahoo Maktoob: Arabic article
• Al Wahda newspaper: Arabic article

Below are some photo highlights
2 hour Youth Clinic (120 12-17 yr old players)

Boys (24 teams) & Girls (8 teams) divisions

Women’s (16 teams) division

Men’s (64 teams) & University (16 teams) divisions

Check out even more on our Facebook page (3,300+ fans!)

The Abu Dhabi Beaches Sports Park officially opens next week — October 3rd.  Sign up online as an individual or with a group of friends/colleagues to start playing.

Update: we’ve put up photos, a list of leagues and activities, a map and more are at duplays.com/corniche

Press release:

DUPLAYS to launch Abu Dhabi Beaches Sports Park (ADBSP) on October 3, 2010

For the first time in the capital, Abu Dhabi beaches will have organized sports and other activities during weekday evenings.

DUPLAYS, in cooperation with Abu Dhabi beaches, has developed the Abu Dhabi Beaches Sports Park with a goal to activate the Corniche and improve activity levels in the city.

DUPLAYS is looking to drive over 1,500 participants to the beach on weekday evenings through both team and individual sport activities for men and women of any skill level.

DUPLAYS.com, the central website where anyone can sign up to join, will offer many team sports such as beach volleyball, beach football, beach netball and beach rugby. In addition, training classes for yoga and pilates among others will also be offered.

DUPLAYS, the UAE’s largest sport and social club with over 18,000 members, in an effort to increase participation, will offer unique nights to allow networking at a professional level through social and healthy activity. Tuesday nights will have beach volleyball for teachers and Wednesday nights will be a social night for new residents looking to get out and get active.

One of the more unique offerings will be “Monday night, Ladies night” where women from the city can come out, play and be active in a women’s only environment. On Monday nights, the Abu Dhabi Beaches Sport Park will be reserved only for women’s activities with female administrators, referees and trainers.

Looking to get active? Go to DUPLAYS.com and sign up for your sport, evening of play, skill level and let DUPLAYS do the rest. Don’t have a team? Don’t worry. Sign up as a team or as an individual and come ready to play. To find out more, email corniche@duplays.com. Private court bookings are also available via http://duplays.com/corniche.

Derv Rao
Co-founder & Director of Operations
Duplays Sports Services JLT

This is it, your last chance to join one of DUPLAYS 30+ new sport leagues in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. New leagues begin next week — January 24th! If you haven’t yet, sign up now! …or wait until April.

This Wednesday and Saturday night we will be accepting payment (cash/cheque only) at two locations listed below. Paying this Wed or Sat guarantees your team’s (or individual) spot in the league. Teams paying in full will receive their DUPLAYS team shirts on a first-to-pay, first-to-choose basis for team shirt colours & sizes.

Payment times & locations
In Dubai at Barasti Bar, Le Meridien Mina Seyahi (Dubai Marina)
Wednesday, January 20, 7-10pm OR Saturday, January 23, 5-8pm. You are invited to come and play beach volleyball (after paying!) during those times.

In Abu Dhabi at Reem Dome @ Rawdhat (across from Zayed Sports City, off Airport Rd; if leaving Abu Dhabi then left at first lights after Carrefour).
Wednesday, January 20, 6-9pm OR Saturday, January 23, 5-8pm.

Some more notes

• Want to pay by credit card? You can! Just goto http://DUPLAYS.com, login and click the link under “my leagues”. On the league page scroll down and click the large black button that says “update my league settings”. From there you can select PayPal and use a credit card to pay.
• If you are an individual (you don’t know your team yet), your team shirts will be provided on day 1 of league play but payment must be made at one of the locations above in advance to secure your spot!
• What if you don’t pay for your league before the start date? Your spot cannot be guaranteed until payment. Also, top choices for shirt sizes and colours may no longer be available. It’s best to pay this week. Make it a fun team night out!

Team Members
All members of a team must sign up for the league online, to be eligible to play.
Why? All communications (last minute updates, scheduling, standings) are sent only to league members. Also, there is an online waiver that must be accepted in order to play.

Schedules, Rosters (Teams), Standings
Schedules and Rosters will be posted 48 hours before league start date (please check your starting dates on the league page, they may have been adjusted). Each league will send a mailer to league members only the night before games begin.

See you soon, on the court/field/sand/pitch!

Team DUPLAYS.com

Want to get fit in 2010? Looking to meet more people and make new friends? Tired of
the same old ‘after work’ routine?

If the answer is YES then joining one of our DUPLAYS nightly sport leagues is for you!

http://DUPLAYS.com

DUPLAYS has 30+ new sport leagues in 15 sports to help you keep your New Year’s resolutions. There are team sports for both recreational and competitive players, men’s, women’s and mixed sports at various levels of play so you can find something that suits your needs. A full listing of all leagues is here for Dubai and for Abu Dhabi.

Create your own team…

• Recruit your friends to play and look forward to a weekly run around
• Get your company involved: contact corporate@duplays.com
• Don’t have enough players for a full team? No worries, enter a partial team and we’ll fill the remaining spots

Need a team?

• If you don’t have a team yet, just sign up online and we’ll place you on one

New sports: ball hockey, handball, tennis & squash will each begin if we get a great response. So sign up and recruit more players to get these leagues started!

We’re hiring referees and admins for many leagues. Meet people and make some extra income. Apply online.

Not interested in weekly sports leagues? Perhaps a single-day or weekend eventinvolving sport or activity is what your company needs to rediscover that competitive fire! Contact corporate@duplays.com for ideas on events that will suit your needs.

Leagues are filling up fast!

Sign up NOW if you want to participate this season! (…or wait until April 2010!)

Team DUPLAYS