History
The U. S. Field Hockey Association (USFHA) in 1922 began holding a national tournament, in which teams of all-stars from the assocation's various geographical divisions competed for the national championship.
In 1975, the USFHA and the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) co-sponsored the first national collegiate field hockey championship as part of the national tournament. That continued until 1979, when the AIAW tournament became multi-divisional.
The national tournament was renamed the National Hockey Festival in 1981. The first U. S. Women's Open championship was held that year. A championship for mixed teams was added to the festival in 1982. A mixed team has five men and five women in the field with a goaltender of either sex. The mixed championship wasn't held in 1983, but was restored in 1984 and has been an annual event since then.