Cedar Park Christian athletic teams that now compete in the 1A North Sound Conference will join 13 other teams in the new 1A Emerald Sound Conference beginning in the 2020-21 season.

Fellow North Sound schools King’s, Sultan, Granite Falls and South Whidbey will merge with 1A Emerald City League schools Overlake, University Prep, Seattle Academy, Bear Creek, Bush, Eastside Prep, Northwest School and Forest Ridge (girls only) along with Seattle public charter school Summit Sierra to form the District 2 league.

That number of schools was finalized after the WIAA final opt-up deadline closed on Jan. 15.

League officials noted in a press release the benefits of the merger “include divisional play leading to more competitive equity and more opportunity for student-athletes in all sports and at all levels.”

The league will focus on providing education-based athletics, emphasizing sportsmanship and fair play and building relationships with neighboring schools and communities.

Cedar Park Christian athletic director Todd Lundberg said the school is excited about the merger.

“In the sports where we will have enough schools to format in divisions (girls soccer, boys soccer, girls basketball, boys basketball, volleyball), it will be the norm that teams will know they have a chance to play a competitive game that night. This will ideally help all of our programs grow because kids won’t fear lots of blowout wins or losses and it will just be more fun,” he added. “When it’s more fun, more kids will come out and play.”