Superintendents from eight local school districts have agreed to move forward with plans to form a new athletic conference, the Northern Shores Conference, in all sports but football. The new conference would begin competition in 2024-25.
In a press release from Kalkaska superintendent Rick Heitmeyer, it was announced that the eight schools planning to join the new conference include six from the Lake Michigan Conference (Harbor Springs, Elk Rapids, Charlevoix, Boyne City, Grayling and Kalkaska) along with Kingsley from the Northwest Conference and Cheboygan from the Straits Area Conference.
Conference membership in football will not be affected by the creation of the new conference, according to the press release.
The move effectively ends the eight-school Lake Michigan Conference. With East Jordan leaving to join the Ski Valley Conference and these six schools forming their only conference, Traverse City St. Francis would be the only school in the Lake Michigan Conference as presently constituted.
According to the press release, discussions of forming the new conference began in February. This month, a letter of agreement was signed by Superintendents of the eight schools declaring their intent for membership in the new conference.
The press release also laid out important aspects of the new league, stating “key aspects of the new conference will be the support of students and student events including athletics, but extending into the arts and academics as well. With similar demographics between the districts, the competitive balance between schools should be equitable in the long-run.”