GIRLS' NATIONAL INTERSCHOLASTIC CHAMPIONSHIP
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Established in 1991, the Girls' National Interscholastic Championship (GNIS) is part of the United States Polo Association's Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) polo program, which is dedicated to growing the sport by providing exposure, coordinating activities, recruiting collegiate and scholastic institutions and providing organized competition at regional and national levels with an emphasis on sportsmanship, fairness and safety.
Decorated winners include Garrison Forest School (GFS), located in Owings Mills, Maryland, leading the Girls' National Interscholastic Championship with 14 titles, including a dominant run of seven coveted victories from 1992 through 1998. GFS is followed by Maryland Polo Club located in Freeland, Maryland, accumulating an impressive nine wins spanning from 2005 through 2019.
In 2022, the Girls’ National Interscholastic Championship hosted by Brookshire Polo Club in Brookshire, Texas, featured defending champions Aiken Polo Club (Brianna Jordan, Robyn Leitner, Reagan Leitner, Summer Kneece) going head-to-head against Maryland Polo (Jordan Peterson, Sierra Blevins, Rory Knox, Kylie Beard, Izzy Brockett). In a rematch of the previous years' final, Aiken got off to an early lead from Kneece and despite a push from Maryland, a six-goal run for Aiken in the final chukker sealed their championship repeat 16-10. Read article here.
Returning to Brookshire Polo Club for the second consecutive year, five teams will vie for the national championship, including Wildcard entry and defending champions Aiken from Aiken, South Carolina, seeking a rare three-peat achievement. Southeastern Regional champions Maryland will attempt to add their interscholastic club name to the heralded trophy for a tenth time. Another Wildcard team, Hillside, hailing from Richfield, Wisconsin, joins Northeastern Regional champion Kingswood based out of East Kingston, New Hampshire, and Western Regional champion Maui, all the way from Makawao, Hawaii. Each team will be vying for their first Girls' National Interscholastic Championship title.
2022 Girls' National Interscholastic Championship Champions: Aiken Polo Club - Brianna Jordan, Robyn Leitner, Reagan Leitner, Summer Kneece. Pictured with Coach Tiger Kneece. ©David Murrell
