Celebrate the Fourth of July in true island style July 4-6 at South Seas as the island resort hosts a weekend filled with festive activities, live entertainment and spectacular waterfront fireworks, all set against the stunning backdrop of Captiva Island.

Throughout the holiday weekend and all summer long, South Seas offers special short- and long-term stay promotions that bring together the comfort of a waterfront home with the indulgence of luxury resort amenities. 

The South Seas Star-Spangled Celebration features a wide variety of events, activities and food and drink options available to Club Captiva and registered South Seas Resort guests. The celebration kicks off on Friday, July 4 at 9 a.m. with a Kid’s Fishing Tournament at Bayview Pier, followed by a full day of events, including a Watermelon Eating Contest at noon, live music at the Bayview Pool Complex, a Patriotic Resort Cart Parade from 3 to 5 p.m. and fireworks at 9 p.m.

Saturday, July 5 begins with a 9 a.m. patriotic Turtle Trot and One-Mile Fun Run/Walk at Sunset Beach, followed by family-friendly events such as a Patriotic Turtle Craft at 11 a.m., a Rubber Ducky Race down the slide at Bayview Pool at 5 p.m. and a Beach Party from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sunset Beach.

Sunday, July 6 features 11 a.m. Build-a-Beach-Buddy, Jumbo Beach Volleyball and Bingo at 3 p.m. For a full schedule of events for the Star-Spangled Celebration Weekend Activities, visit www.SouthSeas.com/Event/South-Seas-Star-Spangled-Celebration.  

For more information, visit SouthSeas.com, call 800-237-6000 or follow the resort on Facebook at @SouthSeasResort and Instagram at @SouthSeasResort.

2025 SETTECOLLI TROPHY

There are swim meets, and then there’s the Settecolli Trophy—a Roman institution that, for many Italians, marks the true beginning of summer. From June 26 to 28, the historic Foro Italico in Rome will once again host one of the most prestigious and emotionally resonant competitions in the European swimming calendar.

First held in 1963, Settecolli is the oldest annual international swim meet in the world, but its relevance today is as strong as ever. For swimmers, it’s often a crucial stop ahead of the major summer championships. For fans, it’s something more: an experience, a tradition, a moment to come together as a community.

In a country where sports like soccer dominate headlines, Settecolli is one of the few events that brings together swimming fans from all across Italy—from local swim clubs to national team supporters, from young kids in team gear to parents, coaches, and lifelong enthusiasts. It’s not just about times and medals: it’s about the shared passion, the atmosphere, the beauty of watching world-class swimming under the Roman sun (and stars).

Set in the open-air pool of the Stadio del Nuoto, surrounded by marble statues and the scent of Mediterranean pine trees, the meet feels like a postcard come to life. But what makes it truly unique is its audience: families arriving in buses from across the country, kids waving homemade signs, entire teams cheering from the stands. For many Italian swimmers, watching the Settecolli from the bleachers as a child is the first spark that lights the dream of an Olympic journey.

For the athletes, it’s a chance to compete against some of the best in the world in one of the sport’s most iconic venues. For the public, it’s a reunion. Year after year, Rome becomes the capital of Italian swimming—a place where elite performance and heartfelt fandom meet in one unforgettable event.

THE 2025 EDITION

This year’s edition carries particular weight. With the World Championships in Singapore (July 27–August 3) just a month away, Settecolli serves as a critical test and final qualifying opportunity for many athletes chasing a ticket to the global stage. It’s also a World Aquatics-approved meet, that is expected to draw over 20,000 spectators, thanks in part to its unique mix of sport, entertainment, and public engagement.

The host nation, Italy, will be fielding a powerhouse team featuring a full slate of Olympic and World champions.

Leading the way are Thomas Ceccon, Gregorio Paltrinieri, Simona Quadarella, Nicolo Martinenghi, Benedetta Pilato, Sara Franceschi, Alberto Razzetti, and rising star Sara Curtis.

The men’s 100 backstroke showdown between Ceccon and world record holder Kliment Kolesnikov (competing as a neutral athlete) is shaping up to be one of the weekend’s highlights.

Great Britain arrives in Rome with one of the deepest rosters of the meet, including Duncan Scott, Tom Dean, Matt Richards, James Guy, Jacob Whittle, Ben Proud, Freya Anderson, Lucy Hope, Eva Okaro, and Jacob Mills. With this mix of Olympic pedigree and emerging talent, expect fireworks across multiple events.

From Germany, open water ace Florian Wellbrock returns to the pool, joined by freestyle stalwart Isabel Gose, sprint backstroker Ole Braunschweig, breaststroker Lucas Matzerath, and versatile Julia Mrozinski.

Switzerland brings a focused team headlined by Olympic medalist Noe Ponti, along with Roman Mityukov, Antonio Djakovic, Nina Kost, and Lisa Mamié—all key figures in the nation’s recent swimming surge.

Spain adds depth to the women’s field with África Zamorano, Carla Carrón, Emma Carrasco, and Paula Juste, while distance specialist Carlos Garach leads their men’s contingent.

In Italy, there are very few sporting events where swimming feels like a national celebration. Trofeo Settecolli is one of them.

So whether you’re watching from the stands or following along from afar, keep an eye on Rome this June. Because when Settecolli comes around, all swimming dreams lead to the Eternal City.

Two Fox C-6 graduates competed in the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on June 11-14.

Arkansas State University sophomore Noa Isaia, a 2023 Seckman graduate, threw the hammer 65-08 meters (213-feet, six inches) on the first day. Isaia’s 19th-place finish, in his first NCAA Championships, earned him honorable mention All-American honors. University of Minnesota senior Kostas Zaltos won the event at 78.08, the sixth-longest throw in NCAA history.

Isaia qualified for nationals at a regional meet in College Station, Tex., placing ninth in 65.97 (216-5). He was the Sun Belt Conference champion this spring.

Isaia threw a personal-best 66.22 at the Arkansas State Alumni Classic in April. His PR in the shot put was 15.34 in February, during the indoor season, and he tossed the discus 53 meters, another PR, in March at an outdoor meet.

As a senior at Seckman in 2023, Isaia won the Class 5 state title in the discus with a throw of 59.23 meters and placed seventh in the shot put at 16.55. A high school discus weighs 1.6 kilograms (3.53 pounds) compared to the collegiate weight of 2.0 kilos (4.4 pounds).

Isaia was a freshman last year and took fifth place in the hammer throw at the Sun Belt championships in 56.24. He also was runner-up in the discus at the Music City Challenge and third in both the discus (52.21) and hammer (55.49) at the Alumni Classic.

Luke Hatfield-Jackson, a Fox 2019 alumnus, also made his first appearance at the NCAA Championships for Southeast Missouri State University. Hatfield-Jackson competed in the high jump competition on June 13, finishing 15th in 2.15 meters, earning him second team All-American honors. Athletes who place ninth through 16th earn second team honors.  

Hatfield-Jackson earned his NCAA nationals ticket in the regional meet at College Station, clearing 2.17 meters (7-1.5). The national college record of 2.38 was set in 1989 by Hollis Conway of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

“The (regional) competition was really good,” Hatfield-Jackson said before the NCAA championships started. “I snuck in on my last attempt at 2.17. I had missed the two attempts before. It was my first time at a regional meet.”

At SEMO, Hatfield-Jackson earned a bachelor’s degree in general education and a master’s certificate in trauma and resiliency. He has a fiancée, lives in Cape Girardeau full time and will be a volunteer coach for the Redhawks in 2026.

During his senior year at Fox, Hatfield-Jackson finished fourth in the state in the triple jump and second in the high jump, at 1.85. The first time he cleared seven feet was when he competed for Maryville University.

“Honestly, (seven feet) became consistent after that,” he said. “I was hitting 2.15 (meters) every other meet. That’s been consistent at SEMO. When you get to a new height, you figure out the different runways because we thought we had hit a plateau at 2.15, but my PR (2.19) was in 2023.”

During an indoor Ohio Valley Conference meet in 2024, Hatfield-Jackson tore an Achilles tendon. That cost him the rest of that season, the 2024 outdoor season and the 2025 indoor campaign. He did earn top OVC male field honors, for the second straight year, before the injury. At the 2024 indoor Redhawk Invitational, he was first in the high jump and long jump at 2.05 and 7.34. He also finished first in the long jump (6.96) at the Bellarmine Classic and placed in three events at the Illini Challenge.

“(I had) no pain (with the tear),” he said. “(It was) a full rip, a very confusing moment. It sounded like a piece of plastic breaking in my shoe. (I had) a lot of anger afterward.”

It was six months before he was able to start running again. Being a student-athlete means compartmentalizing athletics and academics. He still had classes to pass.

“Thankfully, the teachers were very lenient and helpful,” he said. “Now a lot of stuff is done (online).”

He said the injury has robbed him of some run-up speed.

“We’ve been building on that all season. It was a mental battle. My proudest achievement is making it (to Eugene). I was always one step away in regionals. Nothing is close to this.”

In the 2022 indoor season, Hatfield-Jackson had 14 top-five and eight first-place finishes. During the 2023 outdoor season, he broke the SEMO record in the high jump in 2.19 at the Mississippi State Relays. At the OVC meet, he was second in the high jump (2.11), first in the long jump (7.98) and third in the triple jump (15.21).

Once the collegiate season is over, Hatfield-Jackson hopes to qualify for the USA national team trials in August, back in Eugene.

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California, the Golden State, is renowned for the beautiful weather that draws people to its stunning landscapes and multiple sports opportunities.

Californians are frequently out in the open thanks to their sunny climate, running, hiking, climbing, cycling, paddling, skating, golfing, swimming and surfing. People play beach volleyball at the seaside, or steel their bodies in open-air gyms. The Pacific coastal state in the west of the United States is a paradise for active holidaymakers.

Santa Monica is the Mecca of the body cult. Bikers, inline skaters and joggers prefer to do their sport bare-chested or in extremely skimpy outfits on its lengthy cycle path. With a backdrop of the Los Angeles skyline, the beach is a catwalk for all those who have trained to chisel their bodies to the common ideal of beauty – some perhaps aided by a good dose of silicone.

Everyone meets on the beach

The hustle and bustle on the beach is lively, colourful and diverse. New performances are put on every minute on the free stage. Sometimes muscle packs run through the deep, fine sand in front of the lifeguards’ red Baywatch towers. Then a whimsical bon vivant skates past in the direction of Malibu, where the Hollywood stars from Beverly Hills have their beach villas.

Everyone meets on the beach – celebrities and no-names, up-and-comers and drop-outs, rich and poor. Just like on the parallel Ocean Avenue, the parade mile for horsepower freaks.

Customized souped-up cars with screeching tyres pull away from classic cars and rusty clunkers at traffic lights. Behind them, Harley-Davidson bikers with long beards chug away after casting a longing glance over to the Santa Monica Pier. After all, this is where the famous Route 66 ends, which begins almost 4,000 kilometres in Chicago to the east. Route 66 will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026.

Surfing hotspot and ‘small sharks’

For those not into motorcycles, there’s a great alternative: Surfing, the most Californian of all sports. At the Aqua Surf School, coaches like Chad Bonsack get beginners on the board in just a few hours. All you need is a bit of fitness, a little talent and some courage. “There are actually only ever small sharks in Santa Monica Bay,” Bonsack tries to reassure his students, who naturally ask about the infamous great white sharks first.

The feeling of happiness when you ride the first small wave for a few metres will dispel any doubts. Until then, countless failed attempts to get onto the board from the lying paddle position to the bent standing position require perseverance and willpower.

“Don’t get discouraged,” says Bonsack. “The ocean always shows us who’s boss!” Gradually, the plunges become fewer and the surf rides longer. Bonsack knows his trade. After all, the surf instructor has already guided two young wave riders into the top 20 in the world.

Where bodybuilding and beach volleyball grew up

To get anywhere near there, most of his surfing students would first have build up their body strength. The place for this is Muscle Beach, a legendary open-air gym originally built in Santa Monica in the mid-1930s. Arnold Schwarzenegger also trained there when the beach area was the centre of the bodybuilding boom in the 1970s. As one of the most successful bodybuilders of all time, Schwarzenegger became a Hollywood star and later governor of California.

But there’s not only body-building on Muscle Beach. There is also beach volleyball, a game invented in Hawaii in 1905. The first club was founded in Santa Monica, where the first official beach volleyball tournament was held in 1944. Beach volleyball will return to Santa Monica for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The climate in south-west California is perfect for sport, usually sunny and warm, but never hot and humid. If it does get too hot, head to the mountains for climbing, rafting or hiking. From Death Valley to Yosemite, California has nine national parks, more than any other state.

More choices: Skiing or golf?

And when it gets a little chilly on the coast in winter, some sports fans head go skiing at for well-known resorts such as Heavenly and Palisades on Lake Tahoe or Mammoth on the edge of the Sierra Nevada.

Others, namely golfers, are drawn to the warm desert. Their destination is Palm Springs, around 180 kilometres east of LA. The city in the Coachella Valley at the foot of the more than 3,300 metre San Jacinto Peak was long the home of Hollywood stars such as Ava Gardner, Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra.

Sven Wiedenhaupt worked there as managing director of the Indian Wells Golf Resort, one of the top golf addresses in California.

Golf is very popular in the US and Pebble Beach on the cliffs of the the Monterey Peninsula is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. But the choice is huge in the greater Palm Springs area, with around 100 golf courses, Wiedenhaupt says.

If all this physical activity is not your thing, there is still the classic way of enjoying California’s stunning scenery and way of life: Motoring on the legendary coastal road Highway 1.