Playing the field

SPORT: An event management firm thaws the ice in the coporate world by way of field games.

Having made its mark as an organisation that specialises in providing unique sports experiences, the event management firm, SportzVillage, now has come up with designer sports and adventure tourism packages called Dream Sports Tours.

Aimed at corporates, the packages promise once-in-a-lifetime experiences to key customers, high performing employees and channel partners. So, experience Wimbledon, follow the Indian cricket team, take adventure tours and make the most of these packages.

"Sport helps thaw the ice in a relationship. Leveraging sports to meet the business needs is catching up in India just as in the US," says co-founder and CEO of SportzVillage, Soumil Majmudar. In the US it is a $200 billion industry and in India it is slowly catching up. "It is bringing the magic of sport to the corporate world," Majmudar.

Co-founded by Saumil Majmudar, Jayashankar B and Jitendra Joshi, SportzVillage has been conceptualising, planning and executing sports activities for corporates for a while now. It was their passion for sports and entrepreneurial spirit that brought them on a common platform in August 2003.

Armed with degrees from IIT, IIM, IRMA and Clemson University in South Carolina, the team set out to "create champions in life through the magic of sports" and over a period of time earned work experience with Wipro, KPMG and HCL.

"With organisations looking at sports as a team-building and business building opportunity, most corporates these days look at sports as an important part of their human resource strategies. It helps employee retention, creates 'fun at work', an atmosphere of 'home away from home', encourages teamwork and helps in employee development," says Majmudar.

At a personal level, too, corporate sport helps meet the need for a break from routine work, meets the need of the employee for something more than a pay packet and helps make up for the lack of time for personal pursuits. And this is where SportzVillage comes in, says Majumdar.

According to him, SportzVillage creates a platform for employees to network, generate a competitive spirit among employees, develop healthy relationships and promote the culture of sportsmanship and fun all at the same time. This, he insists, is aimed at reducing pressures of "corporate ladder" and "growth at all costs".

Now, as the official hospitality agent for ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, SportzVillage is looking global. As the official agents, the firm is authorised to sell the official hospitality packages that combine the best available match tickets with world class hospitality services during the match. That's for a sporty start.