NATIONAL EIGHT GOAL
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The National Eight Goal was established in 2014 and was played for four consecutive years at Houston Polo Club in Houston, Texas. After a two-year hiatus in 2018 and 2019, the tournament returned in 2020, relocating to Beverly Polo Club in The Plains, Virginia. Capturing three victories (2014, 2016, 2017), Chrys Beal holds the most titles in the tournament's history, followed by Jorge Fernandez "Tolito" Ocampo Jr. with back-to-back wins in 2020 and 2021.
Hosted by Beverly Polo Club, this year's edition of the National Eight Goal will be managed by the Virginia United Polo League with games played at participating clubs including Beverly Polo Club and Foxlease Polo Club LLC (Upperville, Virginia).
In 2022, Dragonfly/Pineapples (Audrey Wilde, Merrall Echezarreta, Marcos Bignoli, Martin Ravina) faced off against Point to Point/Highfields (sub. Breanna Gunnell, Francisco Rodriguez-Mera, Bautista Micheletti, Michael Smith Liss). Dragonfly/Pineapples earned their ticket to the final on an undefeated run. Point to Point/Highfields were in search of redemption suffering their only loss of the tournament at the hands of their final opponent 8-7. Despite trailing at the half, Point to Point/Highfields evened out the score in the fifth. A forceful Point to Point/Highfields defense held Dragonfly/Pineapples to one goal in the final two chukkers to complete the comeback and claim the National Eight Goal title 11-9. Read article here.
Featuring many familiar faces, six competitive teams will vie for title including reigning champions Michael Smith Liss and Francisco Rodriguez-Mera seeking to deliver Highfields their second consecutive title. 2022 finalists Audrey Wilde and Merrall Echezarreta will unite for Pineapples & Pussycats/Point to Point, Marcos Bignoli joins Dragonfly, and Martin Ravina will compete for Royal Bank Canada. La Mariposa and Santa Aurelia round out the competition.
Beverly Polo Club will be taking advantage of the USPA's Tournament Support Program (TSP) for the National Eight Goal, which provides eligible USPA Member Clubs with waived tournament fees, trophies or trophy reimbursements up to $1,200, one professional umpire and $2,500 in prize money at no extra cost.
The USPA originally created the Tournament Stimulus Package (TSP) to help member clubs host USPA events when the United States was emerging from the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis. The USPA wanted to continue to support member clubs with TSP benefits in 2022. Therefore, it extended and expanded TSP under a new name - the Tournament Support Program. Each USPA Member Club can obtain TSP benefits for two USPA events, with the option of a third under specific circumstances.
Photo: 2022 National Eight Goal Champions: Point to Point/Highfields - Breanna Gunnell (Rosalie Grace), Francisco Rodriguez-Mera (Francisco Jr.), Bautista Micheletti, Michael Smith Liss (Leon and Maddox). ©Joanne Maisano
