Open National Interscholastic Championship
Tournament History
The USPA Open National Interscholastic Championship tournament is part of the United States Polo Association's Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) polo program, which is dedicated to growing the sport by providing maximum exposure, recruiting collegiate and scholastic institutions, coordinating activities and organizing competition. Supporting this mission, the I/I program has experienced tremendous growth in recent years.
Established in 1928, the winners of the Open National Interscholastic Championship are awarded the George C. Sherman trophy. Cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Open National Interscholastic Championship was last played in 2019 when Prestonwood Polo Club defeated Houston Polo Club 13-11 behind the duo of Johann and Niklaus Felhaber.
After an unconventional 2021 Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) season where the traditional preliminary and regional tournaments were unable to be hosted due to local and state COVID-19 restrictions on Youth Sports, the I/I program offered clubs USPA I/I Circuit Level events to host throughout the season. With no regular regional format for teams to qualify for nationals, the National Host Tournament Committee (NHTC) opted to use a wildcard system in selecting teams to advance. The Committee used results from both Circuit Level I/I Challenge Cups as well as any games qualified teams played from September 1 through April 18 to be used in consideration. In addition, the Committee welcomed teams to submit game footage for review. The NHTC, select umpires and committee members poured over hours of video, hundreds of scoresheets, and rosters to make their selection.
Returning in 2021, a new champion will be crowned when the seven competing teams descend upon Virginia Polo Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. Houston will look to avenge their loss in the 2019 final and will be challenged by six other competitive teams including Gardnertown Polo Club, Central Coast, GFS Ruda A, Lancaster-WTR, Lakeside and Myopia Varsity.
2019 Open National Interscholastic Championship Winners: Prestonwood Polo Club - Niklaus Felhaber, Johann Felhaber, Vance Miller III, pictured with Coach Vaughn Miller. ©Kaylee Wroe Photography