Girls HS Club Nationals Selects Location

The annual Girls’ High School Club Rugby National Championship will be held Friday-Saturday, May 19-20, 2023, at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., just outside of Asheville. The tournament will also feature a U14/middle school division, which was introduced at the 2022 event.

With the event being held in southeastern corner of the country, the hope is more east coast teams will feature in the nationwide event. The SacPAL Amazons from Sacramento, Calif., are the current high school club and U14 champions, having swept the field in Wayne, Neb., in May 2022. [Remember that there are two separate high school national 15s tournaments on the third weekend of May. The 2023 single-school championship occurs Saturday-Sunday, May 20-21 at a TBA location. DSHA is the reigning single-school champion.]

Warren Wilson College is the latest institution to add women’s rugby as a varsity sport, and the program is currently building momentum for a fall 2023 debut in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA). Katie Wurst is the current assistant athletics director at Warren Wilson, and was the founder/head coach of the Queens University of Charlotte women’s rugby program, the current NIRA D2 national champion. (Read more about how Orchard Park HS alumna Rylee Langdon helped bring rugby to Warren Wilson.)

The event website has not yet been updated so it’s not possible to register for the tournament just yet; however, teams should expect a $500 non-refundable registration fee. The tournament host has compiled some logistics information for interested teams:

AIRPORTS

AVL (Asheville) – 25 minutes to campus
GSP (Greenville-Spartanburg) – 1h25m
CLT (Charlotte) – 2 hours
TYS (Knoxville, TN) – 2h30m

LODGING

The following is a partial list; click here for more options. Hotels group rates are being negotiated.

Cambria Hotel Downtown Asheville
15 Page Avenue, Asheville, NC, 28801
(828) 348-4850

Haywood Park Hotel
1 Battery Park Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 252-2522

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson
22 Westgate Parkway, Asheville, NC 28806
(828) 772-3188

For less traditional lodgings, Carolina Mornings offers unique homes ranging from studios to 6 bedrooms in size. Pet friendly homes, hot tubs, pools, mountain views and more amenities are available.

Carolina Mornings Vacation Rentals
Various Locations Near Campus
(855)-398-0712