U-PLAY•blog

TAKE YOUR COMPETITION FURTHER

[uplaypro]

University Sports Newsletter - October'13

Hello there,

October edition is out. Features FISU's Knowledge Transference Programme.

Get it now, or subscribe to the newsletter at www.uplaypro.com/newsletter

[uplaypro]

Web Summit wrap up

This amazing conference is over and we're back to work. It was a staggering experience: every major tech player was there, super interesting speakers, lots of hot startups, exciting fresh new startups, etc. The list goes on.

Exciting

It isn't everyday that you can talk and discuss great products with great companies. It was amazing to speak with the guys from Engine Yard, PayPal, SquareSpace, Wayra, Microsoft, etc.

Interesting

With 7 different stages and so many interesting speakers it was a real challenge choosing what to see. These great minds were talking about cutting-edge technology developments and their effects in the world. From technology to real life lessons, we were thrilled to watch and be in the same space as speakers like Elon Musk (Space X, Tesla Motors), Shane Smith (Vice), Chad Fowler (6Wunderkinder), Drew Houston (Dropbox), Fred George (Outpace Systems), Phil Libin (Evernote), Scott Harrison (charity: water), Kevin Rose (Google Ventures), Tony Hawk, Aaron Levie (Box), and many more. 

Inspiring

Everywhere you looked there was a company/startup pushing the limits of technology. From private family social networks (Keepy), to crowd product design (Fab All Things), to personal clouds (importio, mamoth), there was an overwhelming variety of ideas, really disrupting the tech world.

Not only were we astonishingly inspired, we were humbled to share the same stage as them.

Connecting

Oh, boy did we meet a lot of people. Entrepreneurs from the five continents were at the Alpha Village stage. Although extremely crowded, this stage gathered more entrepreneurs per square feet than I ever imagined. I can't tell how many people we met. We're already in touch with many of them.

Also, this was a great opportunity to meet some compatriotic startups like Misikki, Bugasport, Mezzolab, Tymr, iMobileMagic, Skilleo, beWarked, etc.

An amazing experience to repeat soon. We brought many ideas and practices to apply to U-PLAY. The next months will be exciting!

If you are an entrepreneur, book yourself a ticket to the next big conference, you'll be amazed with what it can do for you.

[uplaypro]

WebSummit, here we are!

10.000+ of the worlds greatest minds are at the Web Summit, and we are 3 of them.

So many exciting startups and companies are here as well, it's great to be at Europe’s largest festival of ideas and events.

Tomorrow we showcase U-PLAY at the Alpha Village room. If you are at the Summit please come by the stand 548.

[uplaypro]

U-PLAY has joined forces with Group Buddies

That's right, we are thrilled to announce we're partnering with Group Buddies to improve the quality of our product.

Sure, we've done some things here and there that we're really proud of. But it isn't until we get the support from a company like Group Buddies that we took our game to a whole new level.

That's right, we can't tell you how trilled we are to announce we're partnering with Group Buddies.

Group Buddies is an amazing company located in Braga. These guys have done impressive things, they have an outstanding team of developers and we love how they work.

They believe in U-PLAY and share our vision of empowering University Sports with modern tools. Group Buddies is opening it's expertise in web and product development to U-PLAY, this is the start of something big!

This partnership is a real milestone for U-PLAY, and we foresee productive and surprising months to come.

[uplaypro]

U-PLAY Profiles, get your Sports Profile now!

Today, we launch a unique web app for University athletes.

Create your sports profile now and show them what you're made of! Go to profiles.uplaypro.com

[uplaypro]

University Sports Newsletter - September'13

On more issue is out. This month we feature the dispute for the 2019 Universiades. Russia will be once more the host of the Winter Universiade, while Baku, Brasilia and Budapest are fighting for the Summer Universiade.

Also on this issue, we announce the release of U-Play Profiles for later this week. Stay tuned!

[uplaypro]

The second issue is out. In this edition we feature the innovative Trentino Winter University crowfunding challenge, and the Fisu/Eurosport CAMPUS Tv show.

This edition came a few days later because we were waiting on the new Trentino Crowdfunding Challenge to start. Let's make it worth a while and help those guys.

Stay on the top of your game!

[uplaypro]

We're moving to GNRation

This monday U-PLAY, together with 20 other inspiring projects, started a new stage. We're on of the projects that will be moving into GNRation for a year or so.

GNRation is an amazing regenerated building in the city centre, and it will be home to the epicentre of arts and entrepreneurship of Braga.

We also had some media attention, here and here.

[uplaypro]

University Sports Newsletter

Weekly, on your e-mail.

Hi, we're excited to present to you our new product, the University Sports Newsletter.

It's a monthly newsletter that we'll build especially for you, University Sports lovers.

From here we pretend to understand better what University Sports spectators like, want, and need.

All just to build a better U-PLAY for you. Hold tight, we're coming!

Update: 1st issue is already out. Check it here.

[uplaypro]

27th Summer Universiade

For 12 days Kazan, Russia hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade. With near 12.000 participants, 160 countries, 5 new sports, and 158 new Universiade Records, it was the biggest edition ever.

Russia was the star of the event, scoring a whopping total of 292 medals. Here's the medal table:

The next Summer Universiade will take place in Gwangju, Korea. Kang Un-Tae, mayor the city and co-chairman of the Gwangju 2015 organizing committee, already promissed a successful Summer Universiade in 2015.

(Video from FISU, photo and medal table from 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan)

[uplaypro]

U-PLAY at the Web Summit'13!

That's right, we're excited to announce that U-PLAY will be showcasing in Dublin, at the Web Summit.

U-PLAY was one of the 10 selected this week, from thousands, to the Web Summit's Alpha Program.

We are psyched about this opportunity. Three years after starting with only 500 attendants, the Web Summit is already the biggest tech conference in Europe.

Amazing speakers, investors, and the biggest tech companies will be there.

We'll be exhibiting U-PLAY in the same stage many hot startups have passed before.

Tickets and hotel already booked. We can't wait for October to come.

We hope to see you there!

[uplaypro]

A «U-Play» é uma plataforma para atletas e organizadores de competições de desporto universitário. Um projeto com assinatura da Universidade do Minho que deverá arrancar em força no início do ano letivo. 

Today U-PLAY got featured in Canal Superior (in Portuguese only). The interest in our area is increasing, and we're certainly working for that.

There will be some exciting news in the coming weeks.

Stay tunned!

[uplaypro]

We need your help to forever change the university sports world. We want to build the platform that will take university sports to the next level, and we’d like to learn how to do it from you.

Hi,

we're gathering everyone interested in university sports in a Facebook group.

There we'll be letting you know what we're developing, and listen to what you think. We're also developing some exciting smaller web applications for university athletes, join the group and don't miss them out.

If you have a friend that is or was an university athlete (or that might just be interested in U-PLAY), please share this group with him. And don't forget to show him our video as well.

[uplaypro]

U-PLAY at #PortoPubSummit (at 1ª Avenida)

[uplaypro]

U-PLAY at #BragaGeekNights (at Velha-a-Branca)

[uplaypro]

Do you see yourself working amongst great minds, creating a product that's gonna change something out there?

Do you want to see your work on screens across the world?

We are building an app for international university competitions. Pretty soon we'll put our name out there, and we need a front-end developer to help us make this platform even better.

Join us. Apply here!

[uplaypro]

In the last couple of weeks U-PLAY was at the National University Championships 2013, Covilhã.

It was hosted by University of Beira Interior, together with FADU and AAUBI. All major universities were present in this event, and so was U-PLAY.

Competition was really stiff, here are the medals:

Basketball M: 1. AAC; 2. AAUAv; 3. AEFMH;

Basketball W: 1. AAUAv; 2. IPP; 3. AAUM;

Football M: 1. AAUM; 2. IPLeiria; 3. AAC;

Futsal M: 1. AAUM; 2. AAC; 3. AAUAv;

Futsal W: 1. AAUM; 2. AAC; 3. AAUAv;

Handball W: 1. AAUM; 2. AAUAv; 3. AEISMAI;

Handball M: 1. IPLeiria; 2. IPP; 3. U.Porto;

Hockey M: 1. AAC; 2. U.Porto; 3. AEIST;

Rugby 7 M: 1. AAC; 2. AEFCT; 3. AEIST;

Rugby 7 W: 1. AAC; 2. AEISMAI: 3. U.Porto;

Volleyball M: 1. IPP; 2. AAC; 3. U.Porto;

Volleyball W: 1. AAUM; 2. AAC; 3. AEIST;

Worth notice is the top gold scorer, AAUM with 5 gold medals, and the top general scorer, AAC with 9 medals. We hope the 1st place winners bring more medals back to Portugal from the international competitions to come.

We were happy to notice that U-PLAY is already creating some buzz in the university sports community, and we took this opportunity to ask some questions to athletes.

The feedback was very positive. Athletes fully identified with the problems we're trying to solve and wished they had a platform like U-PLAY in this competition.

We hope to get back to them as soon as possible. In the meanwhile, let's get back to work.

(Photo: AAUM Futsal W. Gold Winner, CNU2013 - FADU)