The life-changing magic of Gen X moms who don’t give a damn
The last time Krista Johnston played water polo she was 10 years old in swimming lessons. Forty years later, looking for a workouonscreensn’t aquafit, she signed up for a Friday morning water polo drop-in at her local Kelowna, B.C., pool, expecting, at that hour, to swim with other people roughly her own age. Instead, she […]
The last time Krista Johnston played water polo she was 10 years old in swimming lessons. Forty years later, looking for a workouonscreensn’t aquafit, she signed up for a Friday morning water polo drop-in at her local Kelowna, B.C., pool, expecting, at that hour, to swim with other people roughly her own age. Instead, she stood poolside on the first day in her teal one-piece with tummy control, the only one with a float belt, watching super-fit, much younger swimmers expertly slinging the ball around. To flee or not to flee?
The dialogue in her head went something like this: Why am I embarrassed? Because I’m 50? Good for me. Because I have a little more around the middle? Well, I’ve had two kids. And then more loudly, insistently, this thought: I deserve to be here.
The women of Gen X (my friends and I included) share her defiance, as they arrive at middle age, their careers established, their families launched, or nearly so.
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Krista Johnston started playing water polo again at 50.Kathleen Fisher/The Globe and Mail
Our generation, now age 45 to 60, has officially hit the years of colonoscopies and mammograms. And we all know how it’s supposed to go. At the half-century mark, men get a power upgrade and become silver foxes. Women get turkey necks and bingo wings and become irrelevant, invisible and no longer you-know-what-able.
Gen X is having none of it. The mothers I spoke with for this story are starting businesses, taking up skateboarding, travelling with their adult children, dreaming up their next steps.
They are focused on personal agency and joy. They dropped more F-bombs than any batch of interviews I’ve done for a story. They’ve probably danced past midnight more recently than many twentysomethings.
The last thing they are is invisible or irrelevant. “Society wants to put us out to pasture,” says Ms.Johnston. “We’re not accepting that.”
Middle-aged motherhood has been long overdue for a female-friendly reboot, ideally a fearsome, liberated remake that stomps the crap out of what Ms. Johnston calls that “age-shaming baloney.”
This power move is already happening in Hollywood. Gen X directors and actors such as Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchettare producing on-screen storylines where middle-aged moms have hot sex with besotted younger men, or team up to mastermind heists and criminal cover-ups.
Add to the movement Michelle Obama, who at 61 gets honorary Gen X status. When her absence from public events prompted rumours of a marriage breakup, the former first lady explained on a podcast in April, “I chose to do what was best for me, not what I had to do, not what I thought other people wanted me to do.”
Even Stacy London, who for years dictated fashion advice on her makeover TV show What Not to Wear, has now hit middle age and menopause with second thoughts about her previously critical assessments of women as frumpy and too flashy. She’s just launched a cleverly marketed mea culpa: a new TV show called Wear Whatever the F You Want.
Points for the pithy title, although this doesn’t make up for “No miniskirts after 35.” Also, quick question: If we’re wearing whatever we want, do we still need instructions?
Because telling Gen X what to do is not going to fly. Based on the conversations I had for this story, the Big Change fuelling all this ferocity is not hormones and empty nests and culture wars and grey hair. It’s the unsung superpower of middle-aged womanhood: You stop giving a damn.
In Langley, B.C., Darla Halyk, 52, has zero damns left to give. (The actual expression she used was much more on brand.) “I’m not the girl walking down the street concerned about what anybody thinks any more.” she says. “I speak my mind clearly if someone says something I disagree with and I don’t fear the repercussions of making them uncomfortable.”
And so, you won’t be surprised to hear that at the pool that day, Ms. Johnston decided no one would put her in a corner. She climbed down the ladder, while everyone else dove in, and chased the ball until she thought her lungs felt like they would explode. “I didn’t want to strut out there, you know, like, ‘I’m ready,’” she says, “But I had to.”
Had to, Ms. Johnston says, because she remembers the way her mom spoke wistfully about missed adventures, and then died at 65, before she felt free enough to do them. Because Ms. Johnston wants to set a more empowered example for her own kids, and for the younger mothers trying to break the rules behind her.
Because why did we all work so freakin’ hard just to slink away from life now?
This expletive-laced remaking of middle age was probably inevitable. What else would you expect from a generation that leans hard on sarcasm and surliness, chafes at dumb rules and knows the world is, sigh, unjust.
And who better to lead this modern new middle-aged motherhood franchise than Generation X, my small yet feisty cohort that has always punched above its weight?
We were the first large group of grade-schoolers who went home to empty houses, and the last teenagers to get up to no good without social-media surveillance. The first female generation to surpass our male peers in educational attainment. (Although we still earned less than them.) The first mothers to get one-year maternity leave, and the second sandwich generation, caring simultaneously for still-growing children and fast-aging parents.
We saw the Tiananmen Square student massacre and the fall of the Berlin Wall happen six months apart, and watched 22-year-old Monica Lewinsky get the blame for the blue dress, so we learned early that borders change and tyrants rise, and that Pity Him would come after #MeToo.
But we also raised our sons to hopefully understand consent in a way our own dates sometimes didn’t. We warned our daughters not to take abortion rights for granted. And we took them both to the therapy we never got.
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‘The fact that like we’re not looking like the Golden Girls any more is good, but it’s also bad. Because now we have Jennifer Aniston at 50,’ Ms. Halyk says.FELICIA CHANG/The Globe and Mail
We perfected motherhood hacks well before TikTok glamourized them. One mom I know simmered Bulls-Eye Barbecue Sauce on the stove for years to home-cooking acclaim. (In case you’re interested, she also cleverly stocks her car with the gum flavour nobody in her family likes so she’s never disappointed by an empty pack.)
Doing it all still broke many of us early. But there was a silver lining. At daycare, the kids with mismatched socks and single mittens were friendship beacons for frazzled moms barely holding it together and the resulting wine-soaked girls’ nightsweretraining for seizing our own identities in mid-life.
But this isn’t a fairy tale: Getting old also sucks. You ache in new places. Your girlfriends get cancer. Marriages unravel. Parents die. The kids leave. Illness derails your plans.
And more than you like to admit, you grieve for your prettier self.
“I didn’t think I would feel so sad about getting old,” says Ms. Halyk. “I didn’t think I was that vain. I have never been a high-fashion, wear-a-lot-of-makeup lady.” She hates that “a little bit of grey hair” makes her feel insecure. Some days, she catches her eyes in the mirror, unprepared for the reflection. “Like two days ago, I looked 10 years younger.”
Having hit middle age with independence and financial means, and still just enough insecurity, Gen X women have become a lucrative demographic. Menopause has gone mainstream, selling books and lux lubricants. From a new company started by Gen X actor Naomi Watts, there’s the Vag of Honor intimate moisture gel and the Oh My Glide play oil, a top seller, according to the website.Unfortunately, much like easy access to consistent medical care for a health issue guaranteed to affect half the population, neither are available in Canada.
Meanwhile, according to social media, a middle-aged woman’s wish list is reduced to miracle winkle cream, wall Pilates, incontinence underwear and pelvic floor therapy. That last one would feel like progress, if it wasn’t immediately followed by an ad of a plastic surgeon drawing on a woman’s face to mark the parts he would fix. (Only the neck, chin, cheeks, eyes, nose and forehead.)
“Pretending that it doesn’t ever bother us that our necks are getting saggy isn’t helpful,” says Krista O‘Reilly-Davi-Digui, a 53-year-old mom and wellness coach in Edson, Alta., who leads an online mentoring community for middle-aged women. At the same time, “If you stop spending 80 per cent of your waking hours hating your body, trying to change our body, trying to find clothes to make your body look a different way, you’ve got a lot of space now to do your creative work.”
Life also has a way of minimizing the smaller problems – and clarifying our priorities -by burdening us with larger loss.
Ms. Halyk, for example, abandoned her writing career after receiving death threats for telling a story about a sexual assault she experienced as a young woman. “You know, we all go through stuff,” she says. “You go though it, and you heal.”
Ms. O‘Reilly-Davi-Digui lost her 23-year-old son to suicide in 2019. In therapy, she worked hard on self-compassion, and how to carry a terrible grief that will be with her forever. “It was not a pretty journey,” she says. Feeling joy again was difficult and emotional work. She moved through it with thehelp of professional mental health care and women who gave her space to be honest – the kind of collective embrace, she says, we need to foster more in society.
Oorbee Roy, a Toronto mom who took up skateboarding in her 40s and is now known around the internet as Aunty Skates, has an inherited condition that means she could have a heart attack at any time.“I’m hyper aware of the fact that these are good years,“ and she refuses to waste them.
Early this year, Ms. Roy, 50, announced to her husband she would not be folding the laundry any more. “And he’s like, ‘But that‘s adulting,’” she recalls. She stood her ground: The clothes come out of the dryer, get dumped in a basket and she doesn’t care. “I don’t want to do all this mundane stuff any more.” Two weeks ago, however, she came home from visiting her mother, and her folded clothes had also been put away. “That,” she says, “was like foreplay.”
A laundry strike may not be world-changing, but Ms. O‘Reilly-Davi-Digui sees this middle-aged tension as our true selves saying, “Stop. No more devaluing myself, no more putting myself last, no more performing.“
This “reimagining of how we move through the world” can be messy, she says. Sometimes “you need to scream and get that rage out of your body.” (Insert F-bomb where appropriate.)
When I asked Gen X women for their best sources of perspective and meaning, they looked in two directions – their parents aging ahead of them, and their kids coming up behind. “I think we’re very lucky to be Gen X,” Ms. Halyk told me. “We’ve gotten to see history and the future, and really live in the line between them.”
From that vantage point, you see what it‘s like to get older, for better and worse. Maybe you start lifting weights, not so much to lose weight, but to dodge your mom‘s knee surgery at 70. Or you invest in friends who will remind you of past adventures when your memory fades like your father‘s.
With your kids, there’s common music and culture – a shortcut to closeness. You’ve likely been getting IT support from them for years already – why stop listening now?
Gen X moms are quick to say yes – to concerts with their kids, or pub nights with their millennial co-workers. When Ms. Halyk‘s daughter wanted to go with her to Disneyland for her 21st birthday, she made it happen, and even went on her most terrifying ride, the Ferris wheel. At work, younger colleagues have taught Ms. Johnston about bubble tea and the shows they liked, and energized her natural curiosity. “Sometimes, I would forget that I was more than twice their age.” And at water polo, the players were generous and welcoming; she was soon joining them for post-scrimmage conversation in the hot tub.
Ms. O‘Reilly-Davi-Digui says her daughters, both in their 20s, are a primary motivator for how she chooses to live. “I want something better for them, or at least, I want to model a brave way of being in the world.”
For Ms. Johnston, a more empathetic understanding of her mother also looms large in her decisions today. She sees now that her mom was forced to be the serious parent because of her fun-loving father, yet always pushed her daughters to be independent and adventurous. At 58, her mom went back to school, to upgrade her skills, an act of bravery her then 28-year-old daughter didn’t fully appreciate. And Ms. Johnston now clearly recognizes a yearning for what might have been, when her mom listened to accounts of her children’s travels.
She thinks of this when she sticks with water polo, when she proposes renting out the house and working on a sheep farm in Scotland, and realizes she would go, in a heartbeat, except her husband isn’t keen, and she still feels selfish spending money to chase her own desires.
“I’m not as brave as I think I am, or want to be,” Ms. Johnston says. And yet, this is now or never time. “Do I take a chance? Do you go out on a limb? Do I want to just be accepting things that I’m not okay with until I die?”
Her fear is that she’ll get to her mom‘s age, with the same regrets. “That definitely lights a huge fire under me.” Her mother‘s story also reminds her how abruptly that fire can go out. “I’ve survived. I’ve seen. I’ve done,” she says. “I’m lucky I’m here.”
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‘I think Gen Xers we’re a little bit reckless. We kind of fly under the radar anyway. So why not do whatever we wanna do?’ Ms. Roy says.Jess Deeks/The Globe and Mail
Every Halloween, Ms. Roy and husband host a rager in their home. They hire two bartenders, and glow-in the dark Jello syringes are the custom cocktail. They invite all the neighbours so no one calls the police. There’s dancing and karaoke, until the guests are sent home at 2 a.m. A couple of years ago, a younger mom in attendance found Ms. Roy, then dressed as the creepy, crooked-necked ghost from The Haunting of Hill House, and thanked her, proving it‘s possible to still have fun as an adult.
And yet, for years Ms. Roy sat on the sidelines, while her husband and children whizzed around the skateboard park, talking herself out of having fun by joining them. She told herself: “I won’t be very good. It‘s too late for me. I’m going to hurt myself. People will laugh at me.”
And then, at 43, she decided she wanted to be a participant in, not a witness to, her family’s life. The joy she felt from that first clumsy ride was unexpected. She thought, “I want more of this in my life,” And life, she realized, was a lot like skateboarding – you fall a lot, you think about what you did wrong, you go again. If you’re lucky, you eventually land the trick. “But it‘s really about the journey.”
Ms. Halyk, who handles accounts for a tax services company, is currently launching her own business, Pawsh Trail Co., a pet product line designed to help woman walk and care more easily for their large dogs
“I just see myself in my power, more than ever,” Ms. Halyk says. “You’re not strapped to the toddler or even the soccer practices. You have more you.”
More room, for “what next?” as Ms.O‘Reilly-Davi-Digui likes to say.
On that front, Ms. Roy is starting an Aunty Skates podcast. Ms. Halyk dreams of buying an acreage with her kids, and raising chickens and canning her own tomatoes. Ms. Johnston injured her rotator cuff during water-polo drills; she plans to return in September, but has joined a competitive dragon boat team in the meantime.
All this example-setting and boundary-moving, personal and public, is important: Middle age can be a grim and lonely place, the time of life with the highest suicide rates for women.
That‘s why women need to come together and share, says Ms. O‘Reilly-Davi-Digui, for their own benefit, but also so that their example trickles down. She notes that her 25-year-old daughter is following hormone specialists and pelvic floor therapists on Instagram. Her middle age has already shifted, just like Gen X evolved from the activism of their mothers’ generation.
“The more that we all practise a new way of being, we’re just sort of pinging off each other,” says Ms. O‘Reilly-Davi-Digui. “We’re creating a new cultural narrative.
We might wonder why we waited so long. Considering her own reasons, Michelle Obama suggested that women too often worry about disappointing people. “I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago, but I didn’t give myself that freedom.”
Giving yourself the freedom to choose is but one lesson of Gen X aging that‘s also a lifelong happiness practice. Among the others: Mind the hour, and be grateful for the day; learn from the people you value, young and old; be bold and brave and silly as often as you can.
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Ms. Roy with her kids Rohan, 12, and Avnee, 15, took up skateboarding when she was 43.Jess Deeks/The Globe and Mail
And then there’s this one, from which all of those others flow:
On a recent evening, I stood in a kitchen with a group of Gen X women. One mom, an accountant, described once begging the local baker to make three lasagnas in her own casserole dishes so she could pass them off as home made at the school bake sale – prompting laughter, à la “we’ve all been there.”
But in the pause that followed, a second mom, who had stayed home with her kids and whose talents I have long admired, quietly spoke up: She’d also felt judged, by the working-outside-the home moms, for bringing in the lasagna she supposedly “had so much free time” to cook herself. The moment landed hard: Mothers, of every age, get enough blame for being too warm, too cold, too absent, too present. Why do we add to it?
“We are all feeling the same way, and have come through so much,” says Ms. Halyk. “We need to be gracious with each other and ourselves.” If Gen X, while rebranding middle-aged motherhood, passes down any lesson, may it be this one.
York Beach Maine summer 2025: New eateries, shops, events
YORK, Maine — With summer just around the corner, York Beach is gearing up for a season packed with exciting changes, fresh attractions, and beloved traditions. The Purple Palace, one of York’s longtime institutions, has changed hands, introducing a new menu featuring Mexican breakfast and burritos. Meanwhile, Short Sands Beach will see major upgrades, including […]
YORK, Maine — With summer just around the corner, York Beach is gearing up for a season packed with exciting changes, fresh attractions, and beloved traditions.
The Purple Palace, one of York’s longtime institutions, has changed hands, introducing a new menu featuring Mexican breakfast and burritos. Meanwhile, Short Sands Beach will see major upgrades, including new volleyball courts and enhancements to Ellis Park’s pavilion.
For the first time, the Nevada Hotel is offering surf lessons, while the ViewPoint Hotel’s luxury spa—overlooking the iconic Nubble Lighthouse — welcomes guests for its first full summer.
On Route 1, music fans can catch Jakob Nowell, son of Sublime’s Bradley Nowell, headlining the town’s annual craft beer festival, Oddity by the Ocean.
York’s Wild Kingdom welcomes new critters, while the Parks and Recreation Department gears up for its annual road races and artisan market.
Here’s a look at what’s coming to York this summer.
York Beach’s ‘Love, Lois’ says goodbye: ‘I’m so glad that we have you as friends’
Mexican food coming to ex-Purple Palace spot
The Purple Palace on Railroad Avenue, a longtime breakfast staple known for its $3.95 specials, has sat empty for the past two summers due to a family dispute. Now, new owner Bill Shaheen is set to breathe new life into the space in 2025.
The paint on the building will no longer be purple, and the 17 seats inside will be replaced with an area for food prep for a new Mexican breakfast and burrito spot.
“It’s kind of a work in process,” Shaheen said.
While the new restaurant has yet to be named, it will operate as an extension of Molly O’s, featuring matching awnings and siding when it opens this summer.
Shaheen said he hopes the new eatery can also serve fried dough, as well as Mexican breakfast sandwiches in the morning and burritos in the afternoon.
“Do some fried dough and some muffins in the morning. Hopefully, we do some doughnuts,” Shaheen said. “Then break into some Mexican food, which is all takeout.”
Shaheen, husband of U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, purchased the building earlier this year for $500,000, expanding his real estate holdings to four adjacent properties, including Molly O’s, Bill and Bob’s Jewelry, and a former ice cream shop.
That vacant ice cream shop will also see new life — it’s set to become a sub shop, leased by the owners of Moe’s Italian Subs. Though Shaheen has no involvement in the business, he expects it will not retain the Moe’s name, adhering to York’s local ordinances, which prohibit national chain openings.
More: York Beach’s Nevada named one of the ‘Best New Hotels in the World’ by Esquire
York hoteliers unveil new surf lessons and luxury spa
The ViewPoint Hotel and the Nevada Hotel, operated by Joe Lipton and Michelle Friar, have earned spots in TIME and Esquire for their luxury appeal— hosting high-profile events like Lady Gaga’s sister’s wedding.
Now, both properties are rolling out exciting new amenities for the summer season.
The ViewPoint Hotel, which overlooks the historic Nubble Lighthouse, will have its new spa open for its first summer in 2025. The spa is located in its own separate building, offering guests scrubs, massages, facials, waxing, and other services.
Meanwhile, at the Nevada, Lipton is introducing surf lessons through Long Sands Surf School, led by Luis and Jessi Gattgens, veteran instructors with over 20 years of experience teaching in Costa Rica.
York has long been known for surfing, with local shops like Liquid Dreams offering lessons.
The lessons at the Nevada will cost $125 and be for a half-day, or 3.5 hours, designed to get beginners standing up and riding within the same session. Each lesson includes real-time video and photo feedback to build confidence and improve technique.
“These classes mix surf theory, hard work and, obviously, fun,” Jessi Gattgens said.
Other hoteliers in York are continuing to upgrade their facilities. At the Grand View Hotel, owner Jimmy Asprogiannis’ work on building eight new units is in the works, though those will not be open until 2026.
At the Anchorage Inn, several upgrades have been implemented since last season, including a brand new sun deck at their office building for guests to enjoy this season.
Leavitt Theatre at 100: From silent films to drag shows, still thriving in Ogunquit
York’s Wild Kingdom unveils new reptile house for 2025 season
York’s Wild Kingdom is gearing up for its summer season, opening May 24 with a new reptile house replacing the former gift shop. The exhibit will feature snakes, a tegu lizard, and a resident arachnid — a tarantula.
Located at Short Sands Beach, the zoo and amusement park span 82 acres, with a main entrance off Route 1 and an exit leading guests onto Railroad Avenue, just a short walk from the shoreline.
York’s Wild Kingdom also features a variety of animals ranging from pregnant goats set to give birth in the coming weeks to Moxy the tiger and the park’s two lions. Fennec foxes, gibbons and other animals are on display in the zoo area, which is adjacent to its amusement park with rides and food.
“We look forward to a summer where families can enjoy the Maine outdoors, our animals and time together,” said Samantha Sauls, general manager of the park.
Ellis Park sees new volleyball courts, return of concerts
Each summer, visitors to Short Sands Beach find themselves drawn to Ellis Park, where its gazebo, pavilion, and parking lot serve as familiar landmarks along the shore. This year, the Ellis Park board of directors is adding to the experience, overseeing the construction of brand-new volleyball courts near the basketball court.
“Hoping they’ll be up by the end of the month,” said David Bridges, Ellis Park board of directors chairman.
While the volleyball courts were announced last year, construction is only now underway. The park also saw the addition of a new children’s playground last season, and further upgrades are continuing. Park Superintendent Corey Hawthorne said that work is being completed this year on the pavilion, which doubles as a wedding venue.
Ellis Park’s summer concert series will once again bring live entertainment to the gazebo every Thursday through Sunday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., featuring a variety of acts, including an Elvis Presley impersonator on July 11 and Aug. 22, as well as the Beatles tribute band All Together Now on Aug. 29.
“Ellis Park is such a nice place for the town to enjoy,” Hawthorne said. “It’s really such a treasure of the town.”
Brewers bring music festival, ‘best in show’ dog competition
Jakob Nowell, the son of the late Sublime singer Bradley Nowell, will be headlining the fourth annual Oddity by the Ocean craft beer festival on Route 1 in Cape Neddick on June 7. Nowell has taken over for his father as the lead singer and guitarist of Sublime, having performed with them at shows like Coachella.
Nowell will be performing at the festival in York with his other group Jakobs Castle. Other acts slated to perform include Spray Allen, featuring the bassist for Sublime, Eric Wilson, and the Roots of Creation’s Grateful Dead project, Grateful Dub.
The festival is hosted by Cape Neddick’s Odd by Nature Brewing and features four hours of live music and unlimited craft beer. Brewers from around the world, from as far as Japan, come to the festival as vendors to share their beer.
York’s other local breweries, SoMe Brewing Company and York Beach Beer Co., are also ramping up for a summer of live music and events. Both are owned by the Rowland family, with SoMe located on Route 1 and York Beach Beer Co. at Short Sands Beach.
SoMe will host its third annual “York’s Best in Show” dog show on June 8. The brewery’s parking lot will be shut down for the afternoon to make room for the show, which will include categories like “senior dog,” “mutt,” “doodle,” “trick” and “costume.”
“At the end of the day, it’s just being able to raise money for local rescues,” Dave Rowland said, “And being able to get together and drink beer and watch a bunch of dogs do fun stuff.”
Both breweries host regular live music at both locations. York Beach Beer Co. will also host makers’ popups on selected weekends.
Rowland said his team is eager to bring back a special beer they created last year with the help of the University of New Hampshire’s Sustainable Seafood Systems. It is a gose-style beer that features dried kelp harvested from the UNH program’s farm.
‘Number one priority is safety’: York’s new lifeguard captain ready for summer
Parks and Rec brings movies, York Days, races and bonfire
York’s Parks and Recreation Department is gearing up for a vibrant summer season, packed with community events, celebrations, and outdoor fun.
The highlight is York Days, a week-long festival kicking off July 25 with the Lighting of the Nubble and running through the following weekend. The festivities include the return of the York Days Wellness Fest on Aug. 2, featuring yoga, meditation, reiki, and martial arts at York High School. Parks and Recreation Events Coordinator Nick Darby said that the department is partnering with Welcome Haven and Rise Wellness Collective to organize the event.
That same day, the York Days Craft Fair begins at the York Beach Ball Field, featuring food vendors, photographers, pottery makers, and artisans selling their goods from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 2 and 3. The American Legion Post 56 will provide food, and the festival will wrap up with fireworks at Short Sands Beach at 9 p.m.
Parks and Recreation will also host three movie nights this summer at the York Beach Ball Field. The department plans to post an online survey allowing residents to vote on which films will be shown.
For runners, the department will hold two road races— Four on the 4th, scheduled for July 4, and the York Days Road Race on Aug. 3. Proceeds will support the Old York Historical Society and the York Youth Cheerleading program, respectively. The Four on the 4th will be preceded by a bib pickup party at York High School on July 3 from 3 to 5 p.m., featuring live music and food.
Closing out the season, the department will host its annual Beach Bonfire Benefit at Long Sands Beach, where guests can enjoy the bonfire between 9 and 10 p.m.
“A summer sendoff,” Darby said.
Darby also encouraged residents and visitors to look forward to events honoring York’s first responders.
On Aug. 5, National Night Out will take place at Bog Road Field, where York police officers will engage with the community. Kids will get the chance to explore police vehicles, enjoy food, play games, and bounce in an inflatable house.
Later in the month, the York Village Fire Department will host its 109th parade and muster, with the parade traveling from Woodbridge and York Street to the York Public Library. The muster, a firefighter competition featuring tactical challenges, will be held at Moulton Park.
“I’m just really excited to see people out, getting into the community, and enjoying the nice weather,” Darby said. “York, Maine, in the summer is the best place on earth.”
Wells, Maine summer beach preview 2025: Food trucks, festivals, concerts and more
Historic Nubble Lighthouse to be lit for summer
Tourists flock each summer to the Nubble Lighthouse located across from Sohier Park. The lighthouse will be lit up as a part of York Days, from July 25 until Aug. 3, allowing people to see it lit up as it would be during the winter holidays.
Brenda Knapp, chair of the Sohier Park Committee, said York is lucky to have the lighthouse still well intact. It was last rebuilt in 1879, and she said the town is fortunate it has not seen significant damage from storms.
Knapp said the Sohier Park Committee works closely with Parks and Recreation on plans to protect the Nubble and improve Sohier Park. A major project is in the works to fix damage to the park from major storms in 2024 that will eventually go before voters. The project, as presented to the Selectboard in January, would include changes to parking, benches greenery and walking paths.
This summer, guests can enjoy a scavenger hunt at the Nubble’s gift shop, according to Knapp. The game leads guests to investigate items that allow them to learn about the Nubble, like why the lighthouse has two bells.
“We have an opportunity to serve our guests and residents who come,” Knapp said. “They can sit by the ocean, they can look at the gorgeous lighthouse and just breathe and take it in.”
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DAVIS, Calif. – Recruited from warmer, tropical climates, Chelsea Johnson and Georgia Daly have brought with them elite skills in the pool while representing their home countries on the highest levels of international competition. That experience and level of knowledge has carried over to Schaal Aquatics Center and flirted […]
DAVIS, Calif. – Recruited from warmer, tropical climates, Chelsea Johnson and Georgia Daly have brought with them elite skills in the pool while representing their home countries on the highest levels of international competition.
That experience and level of knowledge has carried over to Schaal Aquatics Center and flirted through the ranks of their UC Davis women’s water polo teammates.
Johnson hails from Brisbane, Australia, while Daly calls Auckland, New Zealand home and the two Aggies have goals of playing for their respective countries under global lights this coming August at the 2025’s edition of the World Aquatics U20 Women’s Water Polo Championships, located in Salvador, Brazil.
It’s no surprise this pair have been called to action for their homeland teams. This season alone, these international athletes have numbered up some impressive stat lines. Johnson, the Aggies’ starting defender, has registered 26 goals, 32 assists, 42 steals, and drawn 35 exclusions across the in-season games. Daly, putting up big numbers as a freshman, has logged 24 goals, 32 drawn exclusions, and has made seven steals.
Johnson has been a part of great success in her home country of Australia, being crowned Queensland State Champion, Australian National Club Champion, a U18 and U20 Brisbane Championship winner, and she has competed in the Australian Youth Championships for multiple years.
In summer of 2024, she traveled with a U20 squad for a European tour in preparation for this year’s world championships with the Australian team.
“Even though it wasn’t the official world champs we played in, it was nice to travel with the girls I’ve been playing with my whole life” says Johnson. “It was nice to play against other teams and experiencing the European style of water polo.”
Known for a rougher, quicker sort of game where calls will not always go the way you want them to, “we had to adjust to fact you can’t play to the whistle; but to just get the ball in the back of the net.’
“Because the U19 at the time will be the U20 this year, the coaches thought it’d be good to start scouting the teams we’d play at champs, so it was good exposure to play the teams we could face this year” notes Johnson.
Daly was selected for the 2023 U20 traveling team with the Tūīs, named after a bird native only to the island of New Zealand. For years, Daly had been competing and moving up the ladder and just a mere eight months before the Portugal championships, she was called up to play in the U20 squad.
“When I had gotten that email, I was so grateful and excited to be going. Months before, I didn’t even think that I would be training with the group at all” says Daly. However, Daly was called to action after the main center drew out of the roster due to injury, making Georgia the official 15th member of the national team.
“That all happened within three days, it was a weird getting all these emails with massive news. It was also my first time representing New Zealand, so it was nerve-wracking, but I was mainly excited for the opportunity to play.”
She still recalls the electric game against Canada, where the New Zealand team crossed the threshold to become part of the top eight competitors in the tournament.
It’s undeniable that they have brought their foreign expertise to the small California town, eager to share their knowledge and elite experience to the pool deck every day. “In Australia, we had a chat about what it meant to be a Stinger and legacy we want to leave.
“Showing leadership, emphasizing nutrition, leading by example, and leaning into different styles of play is important. Even though we all play the same game, it ultimately differs from country to country and there’s so much to learn.”
Making the Aggies and the Stingers proud, Johnson filled big shoes and started at defender for the Aggies all season in just her second year.
Daly credits the national team for teaching her resiliency. “It showed me how much hard work pays off, and I don’t think I would have been pulled up to the squad if I didn’t stay motivated and chose to go extra mile every day.
“It also made me really appreciate my coaches and family and showed me how much I love this sport and how great it is to represent my country.”
Johnson looks forward to the final selection camp in June, where the Stingers will solidify their final team for the U20 tournament in Brazil. Meanwhile, Daly will head back to New Zealand in May for her final selection camp to be part of the recently rebranded New Zealand White Caps, paying homage to the peaks of the waves surrounding their country.
The pair of internationally experienced Aggies have also gained priceless experience from what Davis has offered them for them to carry into this summer’s stretch of competition and on to the international stage.
This story is an example of UC Davis Athletics’ commitment to the Ignite Strategic Plan Pillar of “Competitive Excellence” by recruiting and developing high performing student-athletes on the international stage. Read more about our strategic plan here; IGNITE.
Triton’s Connerty hurdles to history with NJCAA DIII title
Ava Connerty Credit: Triton College athletics In just over a year, Triton College sophomore Ava Connerty of Riverside has seen her track and field fortunes change drastically. They did so the same way for the finals of the women’s 100-meter high hurdles at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Championships May 10 in […]
In just over a year, Triton College sophomore Ava Connerty of Riverside has seen her track and field fortunes change drastically. They did so the same way for the finals of the women’s 100-meter high hurdles at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Championships May 10 in Utica, N.Y. after a disappointing fourth-place preliminary finish in cold and gloomy conditions May 8.
“(Finals) was such a nice day. It was warm. It was sunny. I just had a different mindset,” Connerty said. “I was so confident, just in the right headspace that day. I knew I would do good and I did.”
Connerty captured the national title with a huge lifetime-best of 15.24 seconds to become the first women’s track and field national champion in Triton history. In 2024, Connerty was second at nationals after joining the team mid-season.
Special Olympics Nebraska serves up volleyball on opening day
Special Olympics Nebraska serves up volleyball on opening day Opening ceremonies are jam-packed with entertainment, and a banquet is the winner at closing ceremonies Updated: 3:53 PM CDT May 20, 2025 WELCOME BACK. THANKS FOR STICKING WITH US. THE SUMMER OLYMPICS ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. AND HERE TO TELL US MORE IS PRESIDENT AND […]
Special Olympics Nebraska serves up volleyball on opening day
Opening ceremonies are jam-packed with entertainment, and a banquet is the winner at closing ceremonies
Updated: 3:53 PM CDT May 20, 2025
WELCOME BACK. THANKS FOR STICKING WITH US. THE SUMMER OLYMPICS ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. AND HERE TO TELL US MORE IS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS NEBRASKA, CAROLYN CHAMBERLAIN. CAROLYN, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AT NOON. WELL, THIS IS EXCITING. YOU JUST MADE ME AWARE THAT SPECIAL OLYMPICS START WEDNESDAY HERE IN THE METRO. YES. OUR ANNUAL SUMMER GAMES KICK OFF ON WEDNESDAY AND WILL BE COMPETING THROUGH SATURDAY. OVER 700 ATHLETES. FOUR DAY EVENT. TAKE US THROUGH SOME OF THE EVENTS THAT WILL BE STARTING WEDNESDAY. YEAH, WE HAVE ATHLETES AND PARTICIPANTS COMING FROM ALL OVER THE STATE AND THEY WILL ARRIVE AT CREIGHTON ON WEDNESDAY, AND THEY’LL BE WELCOMED WITH A BARBECUE. AND THEN WE WASTE NO TIME. VOLLEYBALL STARTS THAT NIGHT. NICE. AND THE NEXT MORNING, SWIMMING ALL DAY. AND THURSDAY EVENING OUR OPENING CEREMONIES, WHICH IS A NIGHT OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR OUR ATHLETES IN THE COMMUNITY. OH I BET. YEAH. AND THEN FRIDAY. OTHER FIELD EVENTS. WE HAVE A HEALTH SCREENING ALL DAY FRIDAY AND THEN SATURDAY TRACK ALL DAY. WE CLOSE WITH A FORMAL SIT DOWN BANQUET AND CLOSING CEREMONIES AND A DANCE, AND THEN EVERYBODY GOES BACK HOME ON SUNDAY. CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THE THE EMOTIONS YOU SEE FROM THE ATHLETES BEING ABLE TO COMPETE, JUST LIKE AT THE WORLD STAGE, ALL THE ENERGY AROUND WHAT IT MEANS TO THEM? YEAH. OUR ATHLETES TRAIN HARD ALL YEAR. A LOT OF THE SPORTS THAT YOU’LL SEE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, THEY HAVE TO QUALIFY FOR, SO THEY COMPETE ON THE LOCAL LEVEL AND THEN QUALIFY TO COME TO STATE. THIS WOULD BE CONSIDERED A STATE COMPETITION. BUT IT’S IT’S REALLY POWERFUL TO SEE OUR ATHLETES BE CELEBRATED FOR WHO THEY ARE AND EARNING THEIR SPOT. WE DON’T JUST GIVE THIS AWAY, THEY HAVE TO EARN IT. AND THE BEAUTIFUL PART IS THAT IT GIVES OUR ATHLETES A CHANCE TO SHINE AND TO TRAIN, TO SET GOALS, TO HIT A PERSONAL BEST RIGHT, AND TO BE CELEBRATED FOR THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. I LOVE IT, AND A FOUR DAY EVENT LIKE THIS CANNOT GO ON WITHOUT ALL THE VOLUNTEERS. I’M SURE YOU HAVE AND STILL OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHERS TO COME OUT AND VOLUNTEER. IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, THIS EVENT TAKES A LOT OF VOLUNTEERS, AND IF YOU HAVEN’T SIGNED UP, YOU STILL CAN AT OUR WEBSITE, WHICH IS S O E DOT. THERE’S A LITTLE BUTTON THAT SAYS GET INVOLVED. IF YOU CLICK THAT, IT’LL GIVE YOU WAYS TO SIGN UP. OH THAT’S PERFECT. CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH AS A VOLUNTEER FOR THESE VOLUNTEERS, WHAT IT MEANS TO THEM, THE REWARDS OF BEING ABLE TO HELP THESE ATHLETES COMPETE. SEE THEM TRIUMPH, AND WHAT THEY GET OUT OF IT, BECAUSE I’M SURE IT’S JUST AS REWARDING AS THE ATHLETES. YEAH, THE FEEDBACK I GET FROM OUR VOLUNTEERS IS OFTEN I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO GO THERE AND HELP. I THOUGHT I WAS GIVING, AND WHEN I LEFT, I REALIZED I WAS FED. I REALIZED I RECEIVED FAR MORE THAN I GAVE, AND WE HAVE SO MANY RETURNING VOLUNTEERS BECAUSE IT’S SUCH A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE. ABSOLUTELY. THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT. HOW ELSE CAN PEOPLE GET INVOLVED? MAYBE THEY CAN’T VOLUNTEER. CAN THEY COME AND WATCH AND PARTAKE IN SOME OF THE EVENTS AND SEEING AND CELEBRATING THESE ATHLETES? YEAH, ALL OF OUR EVENTS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. WE DON’T CHARGE FOR ADMISSION. SO IF YOU WANT TO JUST COME BE A FAN FOR A COUPLE HOURS, YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME DO THAT. IT’S A COME TO OPENING CEREMONIES. IT’S OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. WE HAVE. LEMON FRESH DAY, LOCAL LOCAL ARTISTS ENTERTAINING. WE HAVE ALL-STAR STUNT DOGS, WHICH WILL BE PART OF THE SHOW. SO IT’S A GREAT WAY TO CELEBRATE SOMETHING AMAZING IN THE COMMUNITY IN OMAHA TO SUCH A GREAT PART IN SUPPORTING THIS. I LOVE TO HEAR IT.
Special Olympics Nebraska serves up volleyball on opening day
Opening ceremonies are jam-packed with entertainment, and a banquet is the winner at closing ceremonies
Updated: 3:53 PM CDT May 20, 2025
Special Olympics Nebraska has served the community for over 50 years.Its annual summer games kick off with volleyball on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. More than 700 athletes from around the state will arrive at Creighton University to compete in the four-day event. After the welcome barbecue, athletes will hit the court at the Kiewit Fitness Center Wednesday night. Swimming begins Thursday at 9 a.m. in Elkhorn. The evening’s opening ceremonies will entertain the athletes and the community. Friday is the field events day. Special Olympics Nebraska president and CEO Caroyln Chamberlin sat down with KETV’s Jack Keenan to discuss the opening ceremonies and the summer games. For more information, go to sone.org.
OMAHA, Neb. —
Special Olympics Nebraska has served the community for over 50 years.
Its annual summer games kick off with volleyball on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
More than 700 athletes from around the state will arrive at Creighton University to compete in the four-day event.
After the welcome barbecue, athletes will hit the court at the Kiewit Fitness Center Wednesday night.
Swimming begins Thursday at 9 a.m. in Elkhorn. The evening’s opening ceremonies will entertain the athletes and the community.
Friday is the field events day.
Special Olympics Nebraska president and CEO Caroyln Chamberlin sat down with KETV’s Jack Keenan to discuss the opening ceremonies and the summer games.
The 2025 AVP League has a national slate of beach volleyball matches in nine cities across the United States, with the season culminating in a championship weekend at Chicago’s Oak Street Beach. Each venue will host a full weekend featuring the organization’s franchises including the Palm Beach Passion, Brooklyn Blaze, LA Launch, Dallas Dream, San […]
The 2025 AVP League has a national slate of beach volleyball matches in nine cities across the United States, with the season culminating in a championship weekend at Chicago’s Oak Street Beach.
Each venue will host a full weekend featuring the organization’s franchises including the Palm Beach Passion, Brooklyn Blaze, LA Launch, Dallas Dream, San Diego Smash, Austin Aces, New York Nitro and Miami Mayhem.
The season kicks off at Delray Beach Tennis Center in Palm Beach, Florida (May 23–24) and then heads to the Viejas Arena in San Diego (June 6–7). The tour then returns to Florida with competition at the Wayfair Arena in Miami (June 13–14).
New York will have two events, with the first coming at EHP Resort and Marina in East Hampton (June 21–22) and the second in Central Park in New York City (July 19–20). Between the two New York events is a stop at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles (July 11–12).
The final two events before the championship are in Texas — the H-E-B Center in Austin (August 1–2) and Comerica Center in Dallas (August 8–9). The 2025 AVP League Championship will be at Oak Street Beach in Chicago from August 30–31.
“Each of these venues was hand-selected to deliver something truly special — not just for the players, but for our partners, the fans and the cities we’re coming to,” said Robert Corvino, AVP commissioner. “From the Intuit Dome to Central Park in New York City to Oak Street Beach in Chicago, the 2025 AVP League is putting beach volleyball on some of the biggest stages in sports and entertainment. It’s the kind of exposure this sport deserves, and we can’t wait to bring the energy to every venue.”
AVP has also announced a multi-year deal with Wasserman to create sponsorship and fan experiences at every venue.
“We’re excited to collaborate with the AVP to take the partner experience to new and unforeseen heights and help bring the sport to premier venues across the country,” said Chris Foy, executive vice president, managing director at Wasserman. “These are incredible locations that reflect the rising profile of the AVP League and its incredible athletes.”
2025 AVP Schedule
May 23–24: Delray Beach Tennis Center, Palm Beach, Florida June 6–7: Viejas Arena, San Diego June 13–14: Wayfair Arena, Miami June 21–22: EHP Resort and Marina, East Hampton, New York July 11–12: Intuit Dome, Los Angeles July 19–20: Central Park (Wollman Rink), New York City August 1–2: H-E-B Center, Austin August 8–9: Comerica Center, Dallas August 30–31: Oak Street Beach, Chicago (League Championship)
Track and Field Sends 11 to NAIA Outdoor Nationals
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The Keiser Seahawk track and field team will conclude their 2025 season this weekend at the NAIA Outdoor National Championship meet, hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University. The Seahawks come into this meet with a total of 11 athletes in their competition party, and will be hunting for national championship glory.
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The Keiser Seahawk track and field team will conclude their 2025 season this weekend at the NAIA Outdoor National Championship meet, hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University. The Seahawks come into this meet with a total of 11 athletes in their competition party, and will be hunting for national championship glory.
NAIA Outdoor National Championships
Indiana Wesleyan Track and Field Complex
Marion, Ind.
Live Results
Live Video
Hugo Biget, Junior, Quimper, France
Biget will be making his fourth career NAIA National Championship appearance
He will be racing on KU’s 4x100m relay team
The Keiser 4×100 relay team qualified for NAIA Nationals with a B-standard 40.85 mark at the Sun Conference Outdoor Championship meet
The prelim round for the 4×100 relay is set for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and the final round is scheduled for 1:50 p.m. on Friday
Devin Christopher, Junior, St. Rose, La.
Christopher will be racing as a part of Keiser’s 4x100m relay squad
During indoor season, he was a key component of Keiser’s record breaking, conference champion DMR team
The Keiser 4×100 relay team qualified for NAIA Nationals with a B-standard 40.85 mark at the Sun Conference Outdoor Championship meet
The prelim round for the 4×100 relay is set for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and the final round is scheduled for 1:50 p.m. on Friday
Alex Cruz, Freshman, Wesley Chapel, Fla.
Cruz will be racing as a part of Keiser’s 4x100m relay squad
This will be his first NAIA Nationals appearance
The Keiser 4×100 relay team qualified for NAIA Nationals with a B-standard 40.85 mark at the Sun Conference Outdoor Championship meet
The prelim round for the 4×100 relay is set for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and the final round is scheduled for 1:50 p.m. on Friday
Francesco De Nicola, Freshman, Casalnuovo di Napoli, Italy.
De Nicola will be racing as a part of Keiser’s 4x800m relay squad
This will be De Nicola’s NAIA Nationals debut
The Keiser 4x800m relay claimed their spot in NAIA nationals at the STU Under the Lights meet
The 4x800m prelim round is set for 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday, with the final slotted for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday
The 800m prelim is slated for 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, with the final set to begin at 4:00 p.m. on Friday
Dallas Desouza, Freshman, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Desouza will be competing as part of the A-standard 4x800m relay squad, and the 4x100m relay squad
During the indoor portion of the season, Desouza was a part of Keiser’s record breaking 4x800m relay squad
He was also an NAIA All-American in the 600m dash
The 4x800m prelim round is set for 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday, with the final slotted for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday
The Keiser 4×100 relay team qualified for NAIA Nationals with a B-standard 40.85 mark at the Sun Conference Outdoor Championship meet
The prelim round for the 4×100 relay is set for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and the final round is scheduled for 1:50 p.m. on Friday
Sacha Gangloff, Sophomore, Metz, France.
Gangloff will be making his return to NAIA Nationals after missing most of indoor season with an injury
The sophomore returned from his injury at the Keiser Twilight Invitational, and quickly logged a B-standard 7.29m mark
He will be taking part in the long jump, an event that he became an NAIA All-American in during the 2024 indoor season, as well as a Sun Conference champion that same year
The men’s long jump championship is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Thursday
Gorata Gabankitse, Freshman, Gaborone, Botswana.
Gabankitse will be making his second nationals appearance of the year
The freshman punched his ticket to NAIA Nationals with a B-standard 1:51.73 mark in the 800m
Gabankitse also holds a spot on Keiser’s A-standard 4x800m relay squad
The Keiser 4x800m relay claimed their spot in NAIA nationals at the STU Under the Lights meet
The 4x800m prelim round is set for 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday, with the final slotted for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday
The 800m prelim is slated for 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, with the final set to begin at 4:00 p.m. on Friday
Sigmund Le Fjeld, Freshman, Kolsås, Norway.
Le Fjeld will make his second NAIA nationals appearance of the year
The freshman has six top-10 finishes in the triple jump this season
He punched his ticket to NAIA Nationals with a 14.61m triple jump at the Emory University Thrills in the Hills Meet
The men’s triple jump is set for 1:30 p.m. on Friday
Yanis Le Mouillour, Freshman, Vannes, France
Le Mouillour will be making his second NAIA nationals appearance of the year
He was chosen as the Sun Conference Men’s Indoor Freshman of the Year, and was named Sun Conference Cross Country Men’s Freshman of the Year this past fall
Le Mouillour set a Keiser program record in the 800m
He is also a part of Keiser’s 4x800m relay team
The Keiser 4x800m relay claimed their spot in NAIA nationals at the STU Under the Lights meet
The 4x800m prelim round is set for 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday, with the final slotted for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday
The 800m prelim is slated for 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, with the final set to begin at 4:00 p.m. on Friday
Adrian Rivadulla, Freshman, Ferrol, Spain.
Rivadulla will be racing on Keiser’s 4x800m relay team
This will be his second appearance of the year at NAIA nationals
The Keiser 4x800m relay claimed their spot in NAIA nationals at the STU Under the Lights meet
The 4x800m prelim round is set for 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday, with the final slotted for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday
The 800m prelim is slated for 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, with the final set to begin at 4:00 p.m. on Friday
Claudio Pugnetti, Freshman, Udine, Italy.
Pugnetti will be making his NAIA Nationals debut
He qualified for nationals with an A-standard 62.43m javelin throw at the Keiser Twilight Invitational
That mark is fifth best in the nation, and a Keiser record
The freshman has placed fifth or better every time he has thrown the javelin in outdoor season, and was the Sun Conference Outdoor Champion
The javelin throw will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday
For all the latest on Keiser track and field, follow @keisertf on X and Instagram and like us on Facebook.
General athletic news can be found at KUSeahawks on Facebook, kuseahawks on Instagram, and kuseahawks on X.
Tim Kurkjian on WHAT’S NEXT after MLB amends ineligible list | SportsCenter
