Registration Opens for 3rd Annual East Coast Open & East Coast Handicap Women’s Polo Championship WCT Qualifiers

 

May 15, 2020, Newport, RI….  Newport Polo is pleased to open registration, offering prize money plus official team uniforms to the first 4 teams to register for the 3rd Annual East Coast Open Women’s Polo Championship (14-20 goal) and East Coast Handicap Women’s Polo Championship (8-12 goal) Sunny Hale Legacy WCT Qualifier tournaments this summer.

Slated for July 28-Aug 2, 2020, the semi final rounds for both tournaments will be hosted by Myopia Polo Club in Hamilton, MA,  and the Consolation & Finals of both tournaments will be hosted by Westchester Polo Club in Newport, RI.

Sanctioned by the United States Polo Association, sponsoring $2,500 prize money to the winning team of the Open.  Prizes, MVP and Best Playing Pony recognitions will be awarded in each tournament.  The first 4 teams in each tournament to register by June 24 will receive official team jerseys sponsored by USPA Global Licensing Inc.

Tournament registration deadline is 5PM Monday, July 20, 2020 or sooner if the maximum number of teams is reached.  Entry form, requirements, schedule, tournament fees and details can be found at: https://goo.gl/forms/7gRO5RjjANDjUPmN2.

These tournaments are made possible, in part, by the United States Polo Association Tournament Stimulus Program.  Additional sponsors to be announced.

A live draw of teams for their respective opening rounds will be live-streamed on the tournament’s Facebook Group page and on Newport Polo’s Facebook fan page on Saturday, July 25 at 7:30pm.

“It is exciting to get women’s polo competition back into action with these medium and high goal US tournaments this summer, hosted by two partnering clubs that have done a great job establishing these tournaments as fixtures in the Northeast polo season,” stated Leighton S. Jordan, USPA Northeast Circuit Governor. “It will be a highlight again this summer and two of the oldest clubs in the country will add to their legacy.”

“Each year we have raised our game, and this year will be no exception.  All available resources are in effect to provide a first-rate competitive experience, from prize moneys to our best field conditions, professional USPA Umpires, expert video production, the cooperative strength of two neighboring Clubs, a veteran Host Tournament Committee, and trusted advisory Managers at each host site,” states Dan Keating, Westchester Club President and USPA delegate. “It has been epic to host these tournaments for the past couple of years, with top players participating. We are doing everything we can to support the progress of women in the sport of polo, and provide forums of upper levels of competition for players to advance.  We invite you to make your mark in polo history.“

A professional video production of the Open Final and Consolation matches will be submitted to the USPA’s Chukker TV for consideration for live or delayed broadcast.

Each tournament will feature top level teams competing for the prestigious Sunny Hale and Anne Hutchinson silver trophies, and the winners recorded in the United States Polo Association annuls.  Hale is remembered as a passionate ambassador for the players and horses of polo, and considered to be one of the all-time greatest female polo players and role model for many women in the sport.  Hutchinson, a champion of civil liberty and toleration in the colonial era, became the first woman to found a community in the New World (Portsmouth, Rhode Island – 1638) and is revered in New England as a heroine of freedom.

Players seeking to connect with other players to form a team are encouraged to post on the tournaments’ Facebook Group page and also contact agnes@nptpolo.com for more information.

All tournament participants will automatically qualify to play in the “Sunny Hale Legacy WCT Finals”. 

Newport Polo is the home of the Westchester Polo Club, America’s first polo club, offering exhibition polo and club member services for outdoor & arena polo, and polo instruction.  Est. in 1876, charter member of the United States Polo Assoc, and host of the Newport International Polo Series.   

About Newport, Rhode Island:  For more than 375 years, Newport has been welcoming visitors from near and far to its charming New England coastal harbor, earning its reputation as America’s First Resort.  Evolving from a colony for religious freedom to a prominent colonial port to a seaside destination ripe with sport, culture, history, art, entertainment and scenic beauty, distinctive shops, renowned restaurants, diverse accommodations and world-class events, its past, present, and future make this international resort uniquely legendary.