The Carl Talks Winterfest Weekend (Masks & Vax Cards required) Recap (2021)

And here we are, once again.

As we come to the end of yet another challenging term here at Backspin Academy, we've all come to truly appreciate and admire how the most trying times often bring out the best in our most enterprising and creative students, faculty members, alumni and benefactors. As difficult as 2020 proved to be, 2021 offered us a whole new set of obstacles to clear and issues to deal with. Ultimately, we think we managed to provide a rich scholastic and competitive, yet insistently communal, environment that provided a lush landscape on which all could thrive and develop the skills that will serve them *and* make us proud both now and into the future.

Of course, at the end of a year which saw us move away from last term's necessary virtual campus setting, our scheduled annual Winterfest Weekend celebration lingered in the final days of the calendar like an addictive dessert just waiting to be devoured in one setting. We'd looked forward to the event all year long, hoping for a return to the "old days" without quite as many precautions as last year. Our organizers *did* try to hold up as much of BSA's end of that dream as possible but, of course, recent events in the pandemic precipitated a few eleventh hour changes (i.e. a "new" new normal as opposed to the "old" new normal) in order to prevent any sort of outright cancellation, return to an appointment-only visitor construct or yet another remote edition of some of everyone's most cherished traditions.

Thus, with all the wintertime grass perfectly painted green for the festive occasion, and with notices sent out to all concerned about our updated "masks and vaccination cards required" policy, the Academy recently swung open its doors to the general public for the first time in nearly two full years in what turned out be an all-outdoor, liberally-spaced (we utilized corners of the campus we've *never* considered before!) celebration that against-all-odds managed to bring back heartfelt memories of days of yore when we'd all gather around a fire in the darkness, drinking cocoa and roasting marshmallows on sticks while listening to the original telling of the now-fabled tale of "The Search for Caro's Roo," occasional visits from "Serena Claus" and ol' JJ and other such community-building activities and memorable experiences.

Our Beloved Backspin Academy





Traditionally, over one weekend each December, the past, present and future of BSA -- along with some special invited guests and anyone who wishes to join us -- congregate across the campus grounds for a well-earned respite and time to pause, reflect and recuperate from all the work undertaken over the course of the prior eleven months.

As we've come to understand that not *everything* can *always* remain the same, and that the concerns of the collective far outweigh the sniveling, selfish concerns of the few in trying times, some changes had to be made to the originally released schedule for this year's Winterfest.

After regrettably setting dormant last year, the recently expanded (and partially converted) Sugarpova Multiplex -- now known as the Sugarpova Museum of Contemporary Arts and Entertainment -- was set for its grand reopening during this year's event. But, unfortunately, newly passed-down guidelines from the Academy's health department, after a series of discussions, led to the would-be celebration being pushed back to an undetermined future date due to the desire for opening night to be a full-on experience held without assigned protocols or restrictions (a notion subject to change should we find ourselves in a similar situation a year from now).

Unofficially, we expect to develop an online digital exhibit in 2022 designed to highlight the brilliance of the BSA student body in anticipation of the more tactile museum experience we hope that everyone will be able to enjoy at the *next* Winterfest. We've even gotten the go-ahead from the museum's benefactor to announce that she'll be on-site for the big night, whenever it may arrive.

Henin Hall

While the welcome decision was made to continue to move forward with the plan to once again make the Winterfest an on-campus event, the ongoing status of the pandemic had also made it an easy decision to require vaccination cards to be displayed at the entrance. We are happy to say that no invitee failed to RSVP that they would be absent due to this stipulation, nor did any silly protests evolve as a result of such a minor and temporary inconvenience, as the BSA community is eager to move on from this nearly two-year ordeal and is willing to do their part to make the return of the unencumbered freedom of what used to be our "normal" lives however more likely, and as quickly as possible. We respect the *public* in "public health issue."

Of course, as the weekend approached, the widening spread of the more contagious Omicron variant led to the "double-protection" rule (well, *triple* if one chooses to count -- as some steadfastly do -- the withdrawal of the initial invite to the ATP world #1 to attend simply because, well, we didn't truly trust his judgment and, quite frankly, wanted to avoid getting a "collective migraine" over any potential needless back-and-forth between his and our people) that meant that while it had already been decided that no events would be held indoors, it was believed to be most prudent to require masks to be worn by visitors even at our outdoor venues in order to feel better about the protection of our guests as well as all the students and visiting alumni, as many were scheduled to head Down Under and elsewhere immediately after the festival's conclusion. Have fun, we always say... but be safe, not stupid.

We're happy to say (fingers crossed) that things appear to have gone well, as no visitors have reported any new positive results that could be traced back to the BSA campus since everyone went about their merry way.

With the early-bird-catches-the-worm crowd having arrived "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" (and for those who weren't, we handed out complimentary beverages from the on-campus Starbucks) on Saturday, the opening ceremonies were dutifully conducted by one of our star pupils of the past year, Barbora Krejcikova, who opened the proceedings with some clear-headed (and, we think, totally unscripted) comments about the sense of belonging and togetherness we all were feeling at that precise moment. As the first student to be given such a responsibility in the history of celebratory weekend, her first-rate, thoughtful performance appeared to clearly establish the start of a new Winterfest tradition.

Last year, only a small group of dedicated alumni and supporters were able to personally witness the formalities, but this time around a burgeoning crowd -- one of our warmest gatherings ever according to some, even as the December sunrise temperatures hovered only slightly above freezing -- reveled in the raising of our sacred "Church of Simona" banners (once more removed from their climate-controlled underground storage unit at an undisclosed bunker located somewhere on campus), simultaneously hoisted above Henin Hall on the west campus as well as at the main entrance on the east end.

It goes without saying that there was nary a dry eye in sight.

Church of Simona crest flag, flying high above the campus entrance

As in pre-pandemic years past, Dean Emeritus Billie Jean King once more greeted visitors (and posed for photos, of course... as well as signed copies of her autobiography) as they first arrived on the BSA grounds, welcoming all to our inaugural "avenue of champions," a walkway into the heart of campus lined with pole banners honoring all the most successful students of the past year, from the four highest-achieving athletes to those whose hard work allowed them to earn more modest honors.

Each pole was equipped with a large, sidewalk-level blank canvas beneath the banner, allowing visitors to sign personal messages to their favorites. During the festival's closing ceremony on Sunday evening, each canvas was presented to the champions in attendance (the rest were sent as gifts to those who couldn't be with us) as a keepsake and reminder of all the support they have back at their "second home."

While visitors were encouraged to explore the many features set up at all corners of campus -- from tennis ball machine games to carnival style attractions and even a "Dunk-the-Czech" stand where players attempted to hit the target with a serve and send one of the many generous-with-their-time Maidens into a tank filled with chocolate pudding (thanks Petra, Karolina and the Fruhvirtovas) -- the largest crowds tended to follow the continually winding path directly to this year's Cover Wall art installation, an annual Winterfest point of excitement and inspiration highlighting the representations of past and present students and faculty members, just outside the fabled Navratilova Hall of Records.

Navratilova Hall of Records (earlier this year)

This year's Cover Wall is now included for all to view online (or during an in-person visit to one of the many viewing rooms available upon a visit to the impressive Serena Place Media Center adjacent to Navratilova Hall) in our greatly expanded media library of offerings, including previous BSA film school products, exclusive live recordings of student-produced plays and musicals, and nearly every Carl Talk in the festival's history (catalogued by year, as well as alphabetized).

Serena Place Media Center

The big highlight of Saturday was the midnight drive-in like showing of "King Richard," projected onto the back wall of Serena Place and introduced by special messages to the BSA crowd from *both* Williams sisters and film star Will Smith. The parking lot was filled with automobiles, while the the rolling hill between the pavement and the screen proved to be a wonderful gathering area perfectly suited for such an occasion (some even favorably compared it to Wimbledon's Henman Hill). Areas lined with portable heaters were provided for the less hearty in the crowd, while complimentary BSA mittens, scarves and winter beanies were passed out to all those who needed them (or simply wanted something by which to remember the evening).

In order to keep the spirits high throughout the weekend, numerous performance stages were placed throughout the campus grounds, as various students scratched their performing itch in a series of skits, dances and musical numbers repeated at the top of each hour. There was something for everyone, from a celebratory dance routine/instruction session led by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Iga Swiatek (who also taught the steps to the assembled crowd)...

...to an exuberant series of crowd-pleasing renditions of "The Hand Shove" featuring Camila Osorio and Maria Sakkari (dressed in actual match-worn tennis dresses of Camila Giorgi, purchased on Etsy for an unreasonable sum) on a fabulously-constructed tennis court set with an accompanying all-female "officiating crew" (including alumni named Strycova, Safarova, Vaidisova, Peer & Jabeur, who cheekily dubbed themselves "3 Czechs, a Jew & a Muslim" for the weekend) serving as background dancers along with a rotating guest performer co-starring as the production's clear antagonist, known only as "The Italian."

Great win for Camila Osorio, but what the heck is this handshake. #ImJustHereForTheHandshake pic.twitter.com/7jJNoZH6Bs

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) October 23, 2021

The act was highlighted by "The Italian" running down a line of dancers, "hand-shoving" each one... then at the end of the line faux-punching her final "opponent," who'd immediately fall down on stage only to pop up a moment later with a smile and rejoin the dancing line. At the end of each performance, everyone bowed to great applause while a wild-haired older gentleman seemed to glare at it all from various locations (the front row, just off stage, peering menacingly through the curtains at the back of the stage) while the dancer playing the role of the chair umpire seemed to call for security with a worried expression on her face. We *think* that was part of the act, but none of us were completely sure.

Meanwhile, longtime campus poet laureate Diane Dees took a brief respite from her usual Carl Talks convocation address duties (Carla stepped in for the first time!) to take to the campus stage and deliver a series of live readings, including that of her always well-received "Billie Jean King's Glasses." One performance was even witnessed by BJK and several members of the Original 9, all sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the front row, warming their hands with a mug of piping hot cocoa. They gently tousled the two-time Hall of Famer's hair as Diane read the final line, "if only for a little while, I want to wear Billie Jean King’s glasses."

At that moment, Rosie Casals impetuously snatched King's glasses off her head, climbed the steps onto the stage and placed the spectacles on Diane's face! The crowd erupted! Needless to say, it was quite the moment to experience for everyone in attendance. We hope *someone* recorded it on their phone for everyone else to see. (If you did, we urgently beg you to please contact the BSA Society of the Arts at your convenience.)

Of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't take this moment to also highlight some of Dees' latest work, including the Pushcart Prize nominated microchap "Missing Amy" (commemorating the 10th anniversary of the death of singer Amy Winehouse) as well as a rare piece of creative nonfiction entitled "Storm Damage." Go on, take a look!

Note: At the conclusion of the festival, it was announced that 2022 with see work begin on the inaugural Contemporary Winterfest Theater Festival (CWTF), which will run concurrently with the regular Winterfest activities, but also during the holiday weeks preceding the event in order to produce a mini-season of six debuting plays in rotating repertory in the hopes of attracting a national and international audience to the creative talents of the BSA student body.

Hopefully, the coming year will be kind and the appropriate atmosphere will exist for the CWTF to make its debut less than twelve months from now!

Fingers (perpetually) crossed.



Continuing the new tradition we picked up last year with our online raffles, we carried the idea over to this year's event by having visitors place their names in the many red kettles (each with its own personal ringer-of-the-bell) placed stragetically near all of our many attractions, hoping to match up as many individuals as possible with a gift that they'd surely enjoy. All sorts of treasures found new and appreciative homes, from books penned by BSA campus faves (Francesca Schiavone, as well as the English version of last year's Alize Cornet autobiography) to dolls in the likeness of one of our winningest students...

...and even one-of-kind donated collector's items such as Hsieh Su-wei's dragon mask, Jaqueline Cristian's "Countess" cape and the rarest of all items, the ATP's soul and integrity (just kidding, though we heard that it *was* publicly up for bids earlier this year before everyone one was out-bid by a wide margin by a deep-pocketed bidder).

Everyone seemed quite pleased if their name was chosen for the gift they desired (each was personally bestowed upon the winner by "Simona Claus" herself!), while the rest were given the opportunity to sift through the voluminous boxes of unsold "WTA For the Game" gear that had been collecting cobwebs in the basement of the BSA Bookstore for most of the past year. (Whew! It's so great to have all that storage space back again.)

Eventually those boxes were emptied by the close of the weekend, but we found out afterward during clean-up that quite of few of the aforementioned "For the Game" items ended up being used as replacement for many of the disposable napkins that hadn't been received in time (due to supply chain issues, of course) in order to stock the many snack stands spread over the grounds. Oh, well... at least they got *some* use.

The BSA Bookstore, always the exclusive outlet (check out the newly redesigned digital download store!) for the musical ventures of our current and former students, once again had some hot sellers. This year's new offerings didn't disappoint, as an artist many believe is about to explode over the new year -- she goes by the name "Badosa" -- dropped her intriguing debut album, "Incognito," while former best-selling girl band member Kiki is hoping her latest release -- "'A' is for Awry" -- will finally prove to get her back on the path toward success. It's said to be a heavily autobiographical account of her recent, oft-trying times as a solo artist.

The Maria Collection -- which quickly sold out a year ago -- is now back in stock, as well, with a fancy new box set cover and the inclusion of her 2020 offerings along with all of her previous releases.

What with all her business ventures and planning for her upcoming wedding, we figured that Maria surely wouldn't have the time to produce any new music for '21, but we were wrong. In fact, she's offered up a *double*-release, with the first half of the album featuring newly-recorded versions of some of her old Christmas hits, with the second half a batch of all new songs as she takes a step toward whatever her life brings her around the *next* corner. The release(s) are called "Settling Down" and "...and taking flight."

She continues to astound us with her personal versatility.





Of course, as always, the centerpiece of the Winterfest Weekend was the "Carl Talks" lecture series. While the seats at the HANAJANA Center were unfortunately empty once more this year, the traditional BSA esprit de corps that has existed within those walls in the past remained as the Talks followed up 2020's all-remote, Carl-hosted edition with a return to the more visceral live experience of previous winters. Held outdoors for the very first time, the cold temperatures kept the lengths of some Talks fairly tidy while the enthusiasm they received remained high, with each speaker receiving warm (and sometimes rambunctious -- but that sort of comes with the package of a certain fist-raising Canadian these days) applause as they walked on stage, getting immediate feedback during their presentations, and even taking a moment to answer a few questions once they were through.

The HANAJANA Center

From the newly constructed circular stage erected at the center of the tennis court complex at the heart of the BSA campus, this year's Talks had a theater-in-the-round feel as the audience fully surrounded the stage, configured ala the stadiums where so many of our students have, do and hope to one day find great success.

The proceedings began with mistress of ceremony Carla arriving on stage to welcome everyone back as a full group to the BSA campus after such a long interval. Almost immediately, after mentioning the importance of her personal ongoing mission to offer full educations to the less fortunate (compared to herself) members of the indigenous cavepeople communities both near and far, Carla broke the news that her dream of operating a dedicated facility for such goals has come to fruition and that the coming year will see the breaking of ground on the site of the Carla Academy for the Visionary Education of Indigenous Native Societies (CAVE-INS)... just across the river from Backspin Academy!

We welcome our new neighbors with open arms.

Carla's success in her home education of her husband Carl during last year's long lockdown period, displayed so brilliantly when Carl hosted the 2020 Talks, helped to open the bank accounts of many of our former students. With tears in her eyes, Carla thanked them all for making her dream come true, saying that she hoped to return ten-fold (and more) to her students the faith that her donors have placed in her abilities and vision.

For a bit, we all wondered whether Carl was going to show up for this year's Winterfest. After several years on the run from the law he'd been (officially... though there *were* purported "sightings") absent from campus for a while before surprising us last year by hosting the Talks from a remote location. It was then that we all were taken aback by the far more articulate, lockdown (and Carla)-enhanced version of the longtime monosyllabic caveman as he put together grammatically correct phrases on at least two out of every six sentences. Now free of legal difficulties (while we're against the concept, we've all come to appreciate a little Carl in our lives -- no matter his many, many faults -- and felt that his 2020 all-compassing presidential pardon was likely a good thing for all, from Carl himself to the existing structures of the courtrooms in which he was set to appear to the justice system itself as a whole), it was anticipated that he'd attend.

Finally, as Carla mentioned his name, we heard the familiar sound. Carl's lumbering footstps could be heard above the din of the crowd, getting louder and louder as he approached the stage. As a cheer rose up, quietly at first and them building upon itself as if a monster wave crashing against the shoreline, the crowd parted to make a (large) path as THE BIG MAN HIMSELF had arrived, peeling off $50 bills from a large wad and shoving them into every outstretched hand that lined the borders of his path.

Finally, Carl reached the stage, arriving wearing a dress jacket (!), a long red tie (!!) and a red cap (!!!) emblazoned with Make the Festival Great Again. For a moment, we were worried and anxiously eyed Carla, standing on the side of the stage, searching for a glimmer of hope in her face to calm our edgy nerves. Before a word was said, though, Carl threw off his jacket onto the stage, doused it with lighter fluid and tossed a match on the pile, followed by the hat.

Within seconds, safety personnel arrived with fire extinguishers to smother the blaze.

Carl walked up to the microphone and said, "Haha. I had you going there, didn't I?" He then laughed a laugh that carried across the expanse like a deep rumble of thunder. Though (still) nervous, the assembled guests applauded, mostly because it seemed like the right thing to do (or at least what Carl *wanted* us to do). With all the "excitement," we'd almost overlooked the fact that Carl's removal of his jacket had revealed that he was wearing what appeared to be a Viking outfit underneath (or maybe it was an elking uniform... we weren't quite sure, and didn't really want to ask). Again, we held our breath and hoped for the best.

As it turned out, over the next fifteen minutes Carl once again enthralled the crowd as he showed off his still more improved public speaking abilities, only occasionally dropping prepositions or various modifying words from his sentences, and when he did happen to err almost always catching himself and re-stating what he'd just said in a more grammatically correct fashion as a proud Carla watched from over his shoulder.

His annual update on the still tight-knit family included news of Carl's new role as the talent agent of the twins, whose names are now attached to a lucrative marketing deal that includes a line of children's apparel and video games following the instantly huge success of their TLC reality show and debut album of nursery rhymes for the preschool (age 3-5) set. Carl also seemed to confirm Carlita's involvement as a potential contender on the forthcoming season of "American Idol." We've known she was a talented girl for ages.

Curiously absent from the address, as well as the sidelines of the stage (where the family's three other children appeared next to Carla), was Carlo. Carl & Carla's first-born has been known to have spent much of '21 rehabbing from his second major knee injury since his Rookie of the Year/MVP season in the now-defunct World Elking League, while recent rumors on the remaining WEL messageboards have said that Carlo had entered a treatment facility for an addiction to prescription painkillers. Either way, we all hope for the best for him, and hope to see him again on campus soon, in whatever capacity he desires (we've literally watched him grow up, after all, and will always have his back).

As Carl wrapped things up and began to officially begin this year's Talks, though, things got strange. He seemed to look down at the front row, and apparently saw an audience member not paying attention and with his face buried in his phone. After at first trying to ignore the slight, Carl noticably soon couldn't take his eyes off the man. Soon Carl spoke in his direction, trying to get his attention. But the man never looked up, causing Carl to become visably angered. Suddenly, Carl stepped toward the edge of the stage and apparently pointed at the individual, reportedly making not-so-vague threats about "squishing" him and using him as "bait for Carl's next elking run."

It was then that (thankfully) the man looked up and smiled at Carl, clearly happy to see his attention directed his way. It seemed to diffuse the situation. Mistaking Carl's approach as one of a friendly nature, the man removed his earbuds and reached up his arm toward the stage to shake Carl's hand. As we all held our collective breath, Carl reached down and gently shook his hand while eyeing him up and down, gauging his sincerity. He seemed to be satisfied, and then felt the tug of Carla's hand on his arm.

Carla then led Carl away from the microphone, and he soon walked off with Carlita and the twins, looking back at the man in the front row with a hint of a lingering snarl on his face, but nothing more.

At Carla's urging, the crowd then gave Carl a round of applause and he waved as he walked out of sight, saying, "Happy Winterfest to all and to all a good night!"

As we all breathed a sigh of relief, the two-part lecture series finally got underway.

"Do You Recognize Me? Don't Worry, You Will." - Marta Kostyuk

"I Still ❤️ Australia, but Now I Hate Mice (and have a grudge against Rennae Stubbs): A Down Under Quarantine Tale Tail-turned-Nightmare" - Yulia Putintseva

"???" - Timea Babos [CANCELLED DUE TO SPEAKER BELIEVING BSA WAS IN AUSTRALIA]

"The (Auto) Biography of Sisyphus" - Bianca Andreescu

QUOTES FROM AROUND CAMPUS: "I have to be honest, it was a bit rough for me to watch both of their runs (U.S. Open finalists Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez). I want to be where they are. I am sure it’s going to happen, I didn’t feel nice looking at them playing finals (laughs). I realized that I can do the same" - Marta Kostyuk


"Respect Me (or my dad will sit down right behind your shoulder and threateningly stare at you)" - Camila Giorgi

"Yes We (Still) Can (and Will)!" - Ons Jabeur, Mayar Sherif & Renata Zarazua

"First, Earn Their Respect. Second, Knife Them in the Back in the Yard. At least that's the plan." - Sara Sorribes Tormo

"I Don't Know How It's Possible That I Could Sneak Up on Anyone, but I'm Good with It if I Can" - Coco Gauff

QUOTES FROM AROUND CAMPUS: "I fight fire with fire." - Coco Gauff


"Bad Roads with Potholes Sometimes Make Good Roads Feel Even Smoother" - Diede de Groot

"Margaret, What's the Frequency?" - Serena Williams (ended her Talk early because her allotted time had run out)

"Father Knows Best (apparently, until further notice)" - Sofia Kenin

"Sometimes the Best Course of Action is to Just Say Nothing" - Dayana Yastremska

QUOTES FROM AROUND CAMPUS: "For me personally, how I cope, how I deal with it, is that I know every single person asking me a question can’t play as well as I can and never will. So no matter what you say, or what you write, you’ll never light a candle to me." - Venus Williams


"If I Put up a Big Win in a Major, Someone Please Tell Gilbert Not to Call Me 'Parks & Rec/Wreck,' 'kay?" - Alycia Parks

"Dealing with New Expectations that Now Scrape the Sky (2022 version)" - Emma Raducanu

I feel I can put in great work together with my team, with patience I believe we’ll get there.

Huge thanks and big appreciation to my team & people who have supported me! This wouldn’t have been possible without you.

Love Emma pic.twitter.com/oSPPjj7mcL

— Emma Raducanu (@EmmaRaducanu) November 17, 2021

"My Life as the Last Original Hordette Standing (weeeell...)" - Vera Zvonareva (still waiting for Sveta)

"The Truth is (the rest has been CENSORED BY THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT)" - Peng Shuai, who unsurprisingly failed to appear

As the Day 1 session ended, several observers in the front row noticed a singular wisp of white smoke that seemed to prance and dance across the stage, twirling in the air in graceful patterns as it caught and held their attention until suddenly flaming out on the edge of the stage. Several swear that they heard a disembodied female voice say, "...and Tilden is still an asshole." It was a very eerie, but oddly exhilarating, experience for all involved. Even more odd, those who witnessed the wisp suddenly had a craving for a sip of brandy, and proceeded to get together to visit a local bar to sate their desire before heading to bed for the night. Hmmm.



Academy Hall

"Win and the World (and Conchita) Wins with You" - Garbine Muguruza

"You Be You (or "How to Walk the Fine Line Between Being Cool & Chill and Having No Discernable Dissenting Opinion on Anything at All")" - Ash Barty

"A New Theory of Russian Supernovas" - Liudmila Samsonova

"They had a privilege. They abused the privilege. They lost the privilege." - Naomi Osaka (actually, this was the speech we were *hoping* she'd deliver, but she was a last minute cancellation because someone told her she *might* be asked about her outfit -- that was actually a Deion Sanders quote from 1992)

QUOTES FROM AROUND CAMPUS: "Djokovic? I honestly don't know what his position is, neither his nor that of the others. The important thing is that I will be there." - Camila Giorgi


"Daenerys Targaryen is My GoT 'Spirit Animal,' Yes?" - Hsieh Su-wei

"How to Become a Better You By Learning From Your Partner's Success" - Katerina Siniakova

"Never Give Up" - Ana Konjuh (w/ a brief introduction from Carla Suarez Navarro)

"To All the European Geography Teachers Out There... you're welcome" - Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva

QUOTES FROM AROUND CAMPUS: "I feel loved." - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova


"Rock. Paper. Scissors. Comeback?" - Aga Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki

"I'm Here to-" - Danielle Collins (Collins' Talk was interrupted by Gabriella Ruse briefly taking the microphone and noting that she greatly respected her, no matter what sh*tty things Collins had needlessly said to her in the past)

"Back Again for Another Go-Round" - Kim Clijsters (Talk CANCELLED - the Belgian was last seen entering the campus Urgent Care facility)

"(see note)" - Peng Shuai (a representative of the Chinese tennis federation delivered a message "from" Shuai saying that she never scheduled a Carl Talk at all and, anyway, "I’m so rumbly in my tumbly.")



"I Didn't Bake My Wedding Cake, but I COULD Have!" - Jo Konta

"Sometimes a Duck is Just a Duck and Will Forever Remain a Duck" - Elina Svitolina

"Sorry, Not Sorry (My Trip to Tokyo)" - Marketa Vondrousova

"Living in a (Somewhat Slightly) Shortened Shadow" - Clara Tauson (accompanied onstage by Leif Mortensen, visiting from BSA's Nordic Outpost, who brought along some charts that showed Clara's ranking at age 19 compared with those at the same age for several former/current #1's and the 2021 Top 10)

"Sometimes Objects in the Rear View Mirror Are Just as Close as They Appear" - Leylah Fernandez

"Sorry I'm Late (or, "You, Too, Can Start Your Day at the 11th Hour")" - Anett Kontaveit

"I'm Finally Here. Let's Go." - Paula Badosa

The final Carl Talk of the weekend wasn't really a talk at all. For a moment, the lights surrounding all the tennis courts were slightly dimmed, then a single spotlight mounted on an outstretched crane shined down on the stage, where a single man wheeled out a large upright object draped with a bright red tarp. Without a word, as everyone whispered amongst themselves, the man went about unstrapping the tarp on all sides. After a few moments, a murmur began to sweep through the crowd as several had since realized the individual's identity. It was the dissident Chinese political cartoonist, artist and rights activist known as Badiucao (巴丢草). Suddenly, we all realized what was happening.

While remaining silent, Badiucao lowered the tarp to reveal a work of political cartoon art representing someone known by many in attendance, Peng Shuai. Allowing his art to speak for itself, once the canvas was fully uncovered, Badiucao simply turned and walked off the stage, leaving behind him a crowd both stunned into silence as well as confidently straightening their collective spine after being presented with a strong dose of reality to ponder to round out the weekend's popular activities.

dont leave Peng Shuai fighting alone pic.twitter.com/huxm4w5cwJ

— ??? Badiucao???? (@badiucao) December 2, 2021

The weekend concluded with our traditional festive "parade of stars," as the remaining top students (or at least the ones not too tired to join in) walked under the lights, through town and across campus, from the east side to the west, along a path lined with visitors (and some fellow students) applauding their past efforts and wishing them well in the future.

A small (but still impressive) gathering of individuals met one final time late Sunday night as we put 2021 to bed outside Henin Hall. Diane returned to lead a hearty (but, at times, both somber and wistful) version of "Covid Wonderland" while the ceremonial act of lowering the flag was completed.

As everyone exited the grounds of BSA for the final time this year, all looked forward to a time in the (near?) future when we could once again enjoy ourselves while celebrating Winterfest without also having to deal with the harsher reality just outside our gates.

Oh, perchance to dream. But first we live again.