• 10 female lawyers get free registration, as Lawyer table tennis Opens kick off in Lagos

In a bid to ensure diversity, the promoters of the Lawyers Table Tennis Opens, also known as the Mfon Usoro Cup, have offered free registrations to the first 10 female lawyers who show interest to compete in the Opens. Special training sessions are also being offered to participating female lawyers.

Since the official announcement of the Opens in September 20 13, the National Stadium Surulere Lagos, venue of the competition, has been opened to legal practitioners at 8:00am every Saturday, for training towards the quest for the 2013 Trophy.

The Cup, named after the former Chair of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Business Law and Partner, Paul Usoro & co, Mrs. Mfon Usoro, is in its fifth edition.

A keen lover of sports and a health buff herself, Usoro has fully supported and sponsored the games from inception in 2009, until last year when a couple of organisations joined in as Co-sponsors.

Speaking about the games, the promoter and coordinator of the games, Anthony Atata, explained that the Table Tennis Opens  which has been designed for lawyers, was not so much about competition, than it is of healthy living, leisure, sportsmanship amongst lawyers, fitness, networking and generally having happy hours with colleagues, far away from the courtroom,

“The first three editions of the Table Tennis Opens had no cash prizes; only Law Reports were given away and lawyers played with so much enthusiasm – prize or not, “ Atata said.

“The Law Games are developed to promote fitness goals and enhance interpersonal relations amongst lawyers,” he added.

Speaking further about the on-going training at the National Stadium, in Lagos, Atata explained that the training will carry on for a number of weeks, followed by the group matches, the quarter finals, semi finals and the final run for the trophy.

 On the issue of age variation of the participants, Atata informed BusinessDay that there were no specific age requirements, as participants ranged from young legal practitioners, to the middle-aged and the older lawyers.

“The winner of the 2010 trophy, Olusegun Fabunmi is over 22 years at the bar, and we have had much older and younger lawyers come into the Opens,” he stated for emphasis.

The Law Games include cycling, snooker & Billiard, and board games. According to the promoters, the games are focused on sporting activities outside the everyday games that appeal to lawyers, such as soccer, golf, squash, etc.

The competition which is still in its budding stages, is fast gaining recognition amongst Nigerian lawyers; particularly those in the Lagos metropolis.

The finals will take place in November at the National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria.