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.

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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.

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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.”

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

Dubai’s brave fitness fans head down to Mina Seyahi every Wednesday night for Duplays’ 10-week beach volleyball league. We went to watch and were soaking within the hour, so imagine the players – some had trouble with ball handling as arms and hands were so slippery from sweat. The night ended with a casual half-hour of play, which was our favourite part: pop to Barasti, hit a ball or two, pop back to Barasti – our favourite kind of exercise. Fancy playing? The next league starts mid-September: see duplays.com.

Check out the feature on Time Out Dubai’s website and see all 11 (sweaty!) photos from the night.

With Snickers’ support, DUPLAYS organized 36 footballers to play 1 match for 42 hours and 5 minutes in Doha, Qatar from May 28-30.

An official from Guinness World Records certified the event as the longest football match ever played!  After 2 months of preparation the nearly 2 days of football went surprisingly smoothly with only a few players having minor injuries.  Players slept and ate on the sidelines of the pitch, keeping a rotation that balanced playing time with rest/sleep.  The final score of the match was 293-236 — “Crunchers” (green) over the “Challengers” (orange).

City 7 TV and Sport on 7 host Graham Clews filed this video report from the match:

For more photos from the game you can visit the official Snickers website makefootballhistory.com and the Snickers WLFM facebook group.

Check out the official press release below…

Mars GCC – the leading regional manufacturer of confectionary products in the Middle East and its famous brand Snickers ® proudly announces it has stepped up to the challenge and broken the current Guinness world record for the longest football match by bringing together 36 real football fans from 10 different Arab markets to play a historical match that lasted for 42 hours and 5 minutes in Qatar. The match kicked off on Friday 28th at 8 am and ended at 2.05 am on Sunday.

Throughout the years, Snickers ® has been always associated with football. One of Snickers’ ® main aim by organizing the event is to challenge and unleash the football potential and create a tremendous amount of excitement among Arab youth in the region.

Commenting on the event was Omar Salim, Marketing Director, Mars GCC: “Snickers ® is proud to have achieved its goal in breaking the record for the world’s longest football thanks to the determination of the selected team. This accomplishment reflects the players’ high level of excitement about the game and the sense of closeness among Arab youth. Snickers ® succeeded in bringing Arab youth together to step-up to the challenge “Tahadi” and be more active while having fun and learning from others. Breaking the record by those youth echo a sense of responsibility and passion for the sport.”

This record-breaking attempt is done under the umbrella of the Snickers brand which stands for: “Don’t stop” and “Step-up”.

Mohammed Badri from KSA, one of the on-line winners of the Snickers “Make football history campaign” commented: “This has been one of the most exciting experiences of my life. I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to participate to such an enriching and unique adventure and to have bonded with mates from across the region that share the same passion for football as I do. The strong spirit of achievement we shared throughout the whole event has contributed to create very special friendships which we know will last forever.”

The game followed standard FIFA rules for a friendly match, with teams limited to 11 players on the pitch and 7 substitutes each. There was a set up for sleeping and resting and food/beverages.

There were a total of 36 players who participated in breaking the world record. Ten players were selected from users who played the online football game. The other 26 players were recruited among football fans who stepped up to the challenge.

A studied rotation was put in place to make sure no players run the risk of extreme over-exhaustion. A team of experienced sports organizers were in charge of setting schedules and managing players and their substitutions to make sure every player received adequate rest and care during the whole game.

The event was supported by City 7 TV as the exclusive media partner of the event.

The full episode from Dubai One is available here: Episode 18 – Winter Wonderland

Play sport. Be social. DUPLAYS.com

The full video from DubaiOne TV is here: http://bit.ly/dxb1DUPLAYS

Joining a sport league is easy! Visit DUPLAYS.com homepage for Dubai or for Abu Dhabi.  Then you just need to 1) register on the site, 2) sign up for your sport, and 3) we take care of the rest — you’re ready to play!

Play sport. Be social. DUPLAYS.com

If you’re new to Abu Dhabi or are just looking for opportunities to get involved in sport then Duplays could be for you. It organises mixed- and single-gender sports leagues in and around the UAE. Many of the leagues are recreational rather than competitive, which means that it’s more about sport, fun, and exercise and less about skill, technique, and competition.

The good news is that Duplays is now signing up for new leagues starting in the middle of January. Among some of the leagues starting in January are men’s and women’s basketball leagues and a mixed touch rugby league at Yasmina School in Khalifa City. There is also an eight-a-side cricket league and men’s and women’s five-a-side football leagues taking place at the Dome at Rawdhat, in the Grand Mosque area, and a new mixed volleyball league is being formed at the Sheraton Hotel on the Corniche.

“A summer fling: Time Out sweats it out in one of DUPLAYS [ultimate frisbee] ‘sauna’ leagues” Time Out Dubai (18-Jun-2009)

Developed in the heady days of ’60s America, Ultimate Frisbee has garnered something of a cult following in Dubai. ‘I got to get in some ‘ultimate’ before heading home,’ says one expat to us before high-fiving a subbed teammate and sprinting on to the pitch. The sport manages to draw a consistently strong crowd of equally easy-going sorts to a floodlit softball field off Sheikh Zayed Road, even at the height of summer.

Ultimate frisbee was the league that DUPLAYS launched with last year, and it has since established a number of other very relaxed, popular leagues in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“Pitching into a league of good sports” The National (4-May-2009)

What started as a loose grouping of about 30 friends has now developed into a sports portal with more than 6,000 registered members across the UAE.

“Friends brought friends, who brought colleagues, who brought their wives, who joined the leagues.”

Personal interaction between players, and between Emiratis and expatriates, is just as important as the sports themselves.

In any one season, DUPLAYS organises sports leagues for more than 1,500 active members, with others using the portal to connect with each other for everything from squash to scuba diving. DUPLAYS.com offers an eclectic list of games, from cricket to ultimate frisbee and dodgeball. The website lists leagues that players can join – for example, in Abu Dhabi the ultimate frisbee group called “Disco-no-ball”, for mixed teams, meets on Tuesdays at Zayed Sports City from 8pm onwards.

“DO PLAY” LiveWorkExplore (Apr-May-2009)

Dubai and Abu Dhabi-based sportsmen can now get back into fitness or try their hand (or feet) at a new hobby. DUPLAYS organizes leagues [and connects sport lovers] in a huge range of activities from archery to ultimate frisbee plus all the usual five-aside football and racquet sports you would expect. With leagues starting throughout the year you just need to gather your teammates together, pay the fee (it works out to around Dhs.30 per person per game for a team of 11 taking part in an eight week league) then play your socks off for glory.

“Women’s Sport in Dubai” TimeOut Dubai (9-Mar-2009)

Basketball: ‘I come all the way from Ajman to play,’ says Kirsty. ‘I was so surprised when I first turned up. Other women have been forced to play mixed games or haven’t been able to play at all before now.’

Netball: You can enter as a team, if you’re lucky enough to have one all ready to go, or as an individual. If you come along by yourself you’ll be placed in a team of like-minded ladies. ‘Our aim,’ says organiser Emma Moffat, ‘is to enjoy the game in a fun and social setting.’

Indoor Volleyball by DUPLAYS in Dubai, UAE. Video segment aired on “Sport on 7″ on City 7 TV in July, 2009. Host Graham Clews gets on the court to interview some players and co-founder Derv Rao.

Play Sport. Be Social. DUPLAYS.com

Women’s Basketball by DUPLAYS in Dubai, UAE. Video segment aired on “Sport on 7″ on City 7 TV in July, 2009. Host Graham Clews interviews some female players court side and gets some great action footage from the games.

Play women’s basketball in Dubai or in Abu Dhabi — sign up here!

Play Sport. Be Social.  DUPLAYS.com