After
a two day ‘breaking the mould’ tour Venus and Serena Williams were
hosted to a dinner party on November 2, 2012 at the banquet hall of the
Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island. The party was the climax of a
two-day visit that included a tennis clinic, visits to important
dignitaries, and an exhibition match where the two sisters played
against each other.
Snippets
Question and answer session
Right after the event took off, the two
sisters were placed on a podium from where they responded to questions
on how they were able to break out of the mould to become world
champions in a sport that is both male and white dominated.
Unveiling the Williams’s mother
Even though she is also an American
tennis coach, Oracene Price is best known as the mother of the two
sisters. All through the dinner, Oracene kept an eagle eye on her
daughters. She was never out of eye shot from them and more or less
played the role of mother hen to them.
The award presentation
The dinner party also afforded the
organisers the opportunity to honour two Nigerian women who have
distinguished themselves in their chosen fields. Both Nike Okundaye of
Nike arts gallery and Dr Ola Orekunrin, CEO, Flying Doctors, were
singled out for award presentations.
Molade Okoya-Thomas, a rallying point
The chairman of CFAO who is very
passionate about the uplift of tennis was very much available all
through the stay of the Williams sisters. He was not only a fulcrum of
support to the organisers; he was seen as a rallying point between the
old and the new generation of tennis players.
Musical performances
There were musical performances by one
of the Nigerian Idol judges, Yinka Davies and Timi Dakolo. Though they
performed separately, they later did a duet in honour of the sisters.
Punch
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