Write-up from Sport 360: “Brazilians Display Silky Samba Skills in Dubai” by Reem Abulleil

Brazilian teams stole the show at the Footvolley World Cup UAE 2011 yesterday, stunning the crowds with some mind-blowing skills at Jumeirah Beach Residence.

The sport which combines both football and volleyball originated from the beaches of Brazil and it’s no surprise they came to Dubai with nine teams in total, five men’s and four women’s.

The day started with group stage matches that were left over from Thursday, before things heated up in the last 16.

All five men’s teams from Brazil were placed in one group, which meant that Group A saw the hottest matches of the tournament. Brazil1 and Brazil2 advanced to the last-16 before they dominated in their matches against Netherlands1 and England2.

Both Brazilian teams will face-off again in the quarter-finals today.

“It’s always very tough to face another Brazilian team,” said Brazil1 star Piao. “But we are looking forward to a good match and we are hoping to give the crowd another entertaining match.”

The ladies of Brazil wowed the audience with two exhibition matches, and one of the contestants, Vanessinha, who has been playing footvolley for 11 years, said she was amazed by the reaction from the stands and how far the sport has come.

She said: “It’s so amazing to see footvolley here, and seeing people watching with surprised eyes. It makes me feel really happy because footvolley was created in Rio and now to see it being played here in Dubai by all these people, it’s just great.”

The tightest affair of the day was between Paraguay1 and Portugal2, where Paraguayans Victor and Oddi pulled off a terrific comeback to win 23-21 and book themselves a quarter-final spot against their compatriots Jesus and Quicho (Paraguay2), who beat Netherlands2.

“The tournament is number one, it’s very special,” said Victor. The UAE team comprising of Jamal Seif – also the tournament director – and Mohammed Rashed Al Sewedy had lost all their group stage matches the previous day to Spain, Norway and Uruguay, but Seif said he finds solace in the fact that the tournament has proven a big hit amongst both the players and the spectators.

“I would like to apologise for our level in the matches, but if we are talking about the level of organisation, we have done a fantastic job.

“The feedback has been great and the players and their teams explicitly told us that this is the best footvolley event they have attended across the world,” said Seif.

The UAE team is ranked 11th in the world and have won some impressive matches prior to the World Cup but unfortunately could not replicate that form in Dubai.

Alongside the FootVolley World Cup, DUPLAYS organized a 2 day beach volleyball tournament – JBR Beach Sport Fest. Enjoy these photos of the action:

DUPLAYS handled everything from planning, ticketing, and promotion to setup, manpower, event day management. Want DUPLAYS involved in your next large scale event? Contact us at info@duplays.com.

Enjoy these photos and videos from the game below:

• 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!

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.

Choose one of the three:

1. This survey is for the EXTREME ATHLETES.
2. This survey is for people who like to STAY FIT AS PART OF THEIR LIFESTYLE.
3. This survey is for the RUNNERS.

Thanks!

Team DUPLAYS

DFL 10 – Fly Carpets 3.  Ryan stars as DFL retain Spin Doctors title. By Mohamed Suleman

14 June, 2010, Dubai. Nine weeks of grueling Ultimate Frisbee culminated in a re-match of last season’s final, with the Dubai Flying Carpets taking on the DFL’ ers.

Although the match did not live up to the nail-biting encounter the two teams produced last time around, high quality Ultimate was still in the cards and in the end, it was DFL who took the crown.

The game got off to a tentative start as both teams passed the disc around in search for an opening. The Carpets Patrick tried to hit Chilly going long, but the throw was just wide.

A victorious DFL team

It was DFL who got on the board first through a towering Ryan catch. But the Carpets equalized soon after through Andrea, who finished off a pretty passing play.

However, the tie did not last long as Jack set up Dina in the end-zone to get DFL up by one again. The point opened the floodgates as they started to dominate proceedings, and were soon ahead by a handful.

Chilly got one back for the Carpets when the ever-reliable Led hit him with a delectable forward-flick from a whopping forty feet.

The Carpets tried to seize on the momentum, but were met by airtight defense from the DFL boys. They restricted them to short passes and kept the disc away from their end-zone. “We tried to keep the disc moving and stay smart on defense,” said DFL’s Robin after the game.

DFL were strong offensively as well. They circulated the disc superbly and hit the open man more often than not. The height of Ryan helped as well, as he made a few smart catches closer to the stars above, than the grass below.

Paul gave the Carpets supporters’ something to cheer about when he made a splendid jump and pick in the end zone

The game ended with Chilly, who once broke the sound barrier with a forward flick, holding on to a tight catch in the end zone to salvage some pride for the Carpets.

“I think we played pretty well,” said Chilly after the game. “Congratulations to DFL, they played a great final.”

All in all, it was an enjoyable final to watch between the two best teams in the league.

The season ended with Captain Led enlightening the players as to how he invented the game of Ultimate Frisbee decades ago, and how he proudly introduced it to the ‘nation of Dubai’.

It was a cracking end to what had been a memorable season. Spin Doctors III kicks off on June 28th. Expect some more pulsating disc action from DUPLAYS, the UAE’s largest sport and social club. http://duplays.com/ultimate-frisbee

The indoor football action was intense with lots of great goals and gritty defense.  Congratulations to all the teams and a special thanks to Gillette for making the tournament possible with their generous support.

1st place: UAE Legions

2nd place: Iran Fabexi

more photos from the event below…

DUPLAYS is the UAE’s largest sport & social club with over 14,000 members.

Play sport. Be social. DUPLAYS.com

DUPLAYS is hosting the UAE Nations Cup by Gillette, a true World Cup tournament, with 48 teams playing indoor 5-aside futsal.  Each team’s player must be from the same nation.  We know that there are lots of Emirati, English, and Egyptian teams but who else is up to the challenge? With over 50 nationalities currently playing in DUPLAYS football leagues, we expect  25+ nations to compete for the title. Don’t know any countrymen? Sign up as an individual and we’ll help connect you.

Register online at http://duplays.com/gillette

Date: June 4/5
Location: Soccer Circus in Mirdif City Centre, Dubai.
Details: 48 teams, 5-aside, men >16 years of age, min 5 players/max 8
Cost: 800 AED per team, each team gets 8 Nike team kits (jerseys and shorts)
Prizes: national pride + 18,000 AED in Sun & Sand Sports vouchers for top 3 teams

• Each member of a team must be from the same nation (one team member is allowed to be a wildcard — from any country). Passports/copies must be provided on event day.
• Friday June 4 – round-robin in groups (8), Saturday June 5 – top 8 qualifiers advance to knockout stage
• All team members must sign up online. If they are not registered, they will not be permitted to play.

How do you sign up? 1. Sign up online http://duplays.com/gillette 2. Pay online or at one of the designated locations starting May 23.

Join as a team or as an individual.  Individuals — you MUST indicate your country in the comments box and if we find enough individuals from your country, we’ll place you together on a team.

Why sign up first? Registration closes June 2nd but we forecast country slots will fill up immediately. Only the first team representing each nation is guaranteed a spot. The 2nd, 3rd, etc teams per nation may be removed if a new, previously unrepresented nation signs up. We want to show the UAE’s diversity and include teams from as many nations as possible.

Which country will come out on top? Represent your nation! Sign up online: http://duplays.com/gillette