The Washington Township High School Athletics Program, a New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 4 program and 56-year member of the Olympic Conference, has been accepted into and will realign as a member of the Tri-County Conference (TCC) for the start of the 2022-23 school year.
Though it is called the Tri-County Conference, the TCC includes public and parochial high schools located in Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties. Originally founded in 1928, it is the oldest athletic conference in the State of New Jersey. The Conference currently sponsors 23 sports.
TCC high school affiliates now will include Arthur P. Schalick, Clayton, Clearview, Cumberland, Delsea, Deptford, Gloucester County Institute of Technology (GCIT), Glassboro, Gloucester Catholic, Highland, Kingsway, Overbrook, Penns Grove, Pennsville, Pitman, Salem, Salem County Vocational Technical, Timber Creek, Triton, Wildwood, Williamstown, Woodstown, and Washington Township.
Washington Township will maintain its Group IV status as a member of the TCC Royal Division, along with Clearview, GCIT, Kingsway, Timber Creek and Williamstown.
Of note, WTHS Football will remain in its affiliation with the West Jersey Football League, an alignment the Minutemen formed in 2010. Boys and girls lacrosse will compete through the South Jersey Lacrosse League, along with other TCC lacrosse schools. WTHS gymnastics will maintain its membership in the Olympic Conference.
“This is a move for the future of Washington Township Athletics, our student-athletes and our community,” WTHS Athletic Director Kevin Murphy said of Township’s move away from its original and sole conference affiliation. “I had many discussions with Charlie Earling (formerly Washington Township athletic director and Monroe Township superintendent of schools, and he said you always have to look forward to the future. This move does that. It positions our school for the next two or three decades to be part of a conference with schools that are experiencing tremendous growth and success. The move also makes geographic sense for WTHS, as four of the six original Olympic Conference Schools (Deptford, Glassboro, Triton and Williamstown) are now part of the TCC.”
“This realignment is a good fit for WTHS and our community, which has historically supported our athletic programs,” Washington Township Superintendent of Schools Joe Bollendorf said. “Our community is very sports-minded and takes great pride in our sports-related accomplishments. Joining the TCC gives our student-athletes the opportunity to compete regionally against high-caliber programs from communities that they routinely have faced in youth sports. We were the only Olympic Conference School located in Gloucester County. Now, we will be back with our peers while continuing the tradition of being able to still compete against Olympic Conference schools.”
“I am pleased to announce that Washington Township High School and Salem County Vocational Technical School have officially been accepted into the Tri-County Conference,” TCC President Michael McAleer said. “After thoroughly completing the process, including on-school site visits and conducting interviews, the TCC member schools’ Boards of Education unanimously voted both schools into the conference. Washington Township brings a traditionally strong sports program which includes a multitude of sports, most of which include three levels. Salem County Vo-Tech, which has only recently started its sports program, will be coming in as a partial member and is hoping to add to the present sports that they offer. Each school offers different qualities which will assist in making our conference stronger overall.”
