Lakewood High is joining the Great Lakes Conference for the 2020-2021 school year. This means that Lakewood High will be leaving the Southwestern Conference after being involved with it for five years.

Joining the Great Lakes Conference means Lakewood will play against teams such as Rocky River, Elyria Catholic, and Bay Village.

Lakewood High’s principal, Mark Walter, said, “We look forward to joining the Great Lakes Conference and providing our student-athletes with spirited competition coupled with less travel time, allowing a better balance for students and families. We thank the SWC for its support over the last four years”. He said this according to a post on the district’s website.

A hope with this change is to reignite local rivalries to schools such as Rocky River and Lakewood’s “Battle of the Bridge” (when the schools will travel just across the Detroit Avenue bridge to face their competition).

When asked about her opinion on the change, Junior Rachael Strmac, who participates on the track team said, “I think it is a waste of time. It doesn’t really affect us.”

Junior Abby Tuleta, who participates in soccer and softball said, “I mean, it’s good competition. However, the conference that we are in now really pushes us to do our best.”

Sophomore Sean Teets, who plays soccer and runs track said, “It’s going to be a lot of fun beating up on new teams. I support this change, because why not?”

The Great Lakes Conference currently involves Bay Village, Buckeye (Medina), Elyria Catholic, Fairview, Holy Name (Parma Heights), Normandy (Parma), Parma, Rocky River, and Valley Forge (Parma Heights).