For the first time, the HSNI is headed west!
December 1, 2022 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 0 comments
Ultiworld and Competitive Ultimate Training (CUT) are pleased to announce the fifth annual High School National Invite!
The tournament is set to be held on June 16-17, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the event continues a geographical rotation on a rolling three-year basis. The all-grass fields, including a showcase field with bleachers and a scoreboard, will be at the Regional Athletic Complex, less than 15 minutes from the SLC airport and downtown Salt Lake.
“Sports Salt Lake, Division of Visit Salt Lake, is excited to welcome the HSNI to our destination in 2023,” said Clay Partain, Executive Director of Sports Salt Lake. “Our ultimate community has been extremely successful in growing the sport in Utah, and this event is proof that Salt Lake is on the map as a premier ultimate destination! Athletes and attendees will love Salt Lake’s new $4 billion airport and be welcomed by a clean, vibrant city well suited for sports tourism.”
HSNI 2023 will remain on a Friday-Saturday schedule, rather than the standard Saturday-Sunday. This allows the tournament to accommodate teams that do not compete on Sunday for religious reasons and enables the tournament to host the finals later on Saturday evening with a chance for the rest of the tournament’s players to enjoy the games.
32 high school teams — 16 open, 16 girls — will again be invited to play in the event based on performance during the 2022-2023 fall and spring seasons. Beginning in February, Ultiworld will begin releasing biweekly high school top 25 power rankings for each division. Rankings will be based on performance during the season and compiled with a combination of Ultiworld editorial judgment and coaches’ input. Bids will be offered on a rolling basis, particularly to teams that finished their season in the fall or to those at greater distances that require more time to plan travel.
In early May, a final set of power rankings will be released; any remaining bids will be offered at that time. If teams decline their invitations, more slots will be opened up in order of the rankings.
“Competitive Ultimate Training is excited to announce the 2023 High School National Invite will be held in Salt Lake City, UT,” said HSNI tournament director and CUT Camps project manager Juan Acosta. “With the help of the Utah Sports Commission, Sports Salt Lake, and Utah Ultimate, we will be able to provide athletes, families, and the local community with a championship event experience. We can’t wait to see you all there!”
New This Year: Qualifying Tournaments
We are excited to announce the High School National Invite qualifying tournaments. These tournaments will provide a new way for teams to qualify for HSNI earlier in the season and start planning for their trip earlier: the winners from each elite division will earn an automatic bid to the High School National Invite.
This year’s qualifying tournaments are:
– YULA Invite (March 25-26, Arlington, VA)
– Neuqua Knockout (April 22-23, Montgomery, IL)
– Amherst Invite (April 29-30, Granby, MA)
– Spaghetti Western (May 6-7, Tracy, CA)
2023 qualifying tournament rules:
– Invitations only extended to high school teams or approved consortiums
– Only the winner of the top division will be invited. Ex: If there is an Open A and Open B division, only Open A winner will be invited
– Winners of both the Open and Girls divisions will be invited
- HSNI retains the right to withhold an invite
Invited Teams & More Information
Last year’s champions, the Lone Peak (UT) open division team and the South Eugene (OR) girls division team, will both receive an automatic invitation to the 2023 tournament. Additional teams that concluded their competitive seasons this fall will receive invites in the coming days.
Ultiworld will continue its high school reporting in 2022 in the lead up to the event and will again be on the ground for reporting and live video coverage.
More information about the tournament is available on the HSNI website. If you have questions about the event or want to provide information about your team’s interest in the event and/or results this season, please email [email protected].
Check out all of the Ultiworld video and UltiPhotos photo coverage from this year’s HSNI in Richmond, Virginia!
