WOMEN'S EAST COAST OPEN PRESENTED BY DELOREAN AI
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Women's East Coast Open presented by DeLorean AI (formerly the East Coast Open Women's Polo Championship) is a prominent 14- to 18-goal tournament. First introduced in 2018 at Westchester Polo Club in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Women's International Polo Network (Cindy Halle, Dawn Jones, Alyson Poor, Anna Palacios) defeated Avalon Farm (Amanda Poor, Terri Campbell, Tiamo Hudspeth, Paige McCabe, Athena Malin) 9-5 for the inaugural title. Originally established as a USPA-sanctioned event and hosted across multiple USPA Member Clubs, the Women's East Coast Open has been elevated to national status for 2024.
In 2023, Leviate Air Group (Alana Benz, Anna Palacios, Ali King, KC Krueger) earned the victory against Battlefield Park Polo (Maddie Grant, Meghan Milligan, Katelyn Pelaia, Jessica Schmitt) 6-5 at Roseland Polo Club in Crozet, Virginia.
Proudly making its national debut at New Bridge Polo & Country Club in Aiken, South Carolina, five talented teams will battle for this year's Women's East Coast Open presented by DeLorean AI including G3/Garrison Forest, Icon Global/Midstate Roofing, LBL, Memphis Polo and Mint Eco Car Wash. Representing Team USPA is Active USPA Member Sophie Grant (LBL) and alumna Kylie Sheehan (Mint Eco Car Wash).
New Bridge Polo & Country Club will be taking advantage of the USPA's Tournament Support Program (TSP) for the Women's East Coast Open, which provides eligible USPA Member Clubs with waived tournament fees, trophies or trophy reimbursements, 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: 2023 Women's East Coast Open Champions: Levitate Air Group - Alana Benz, Anna Palacios, Ali King, KC Krueger, pictured with Michael Barber. ©Zach Gallitz
