Island Cup bragging rights will not be the only trophy on the line this Saturday when Vineyard sports teams travel to Nantucket. This year the field hockey and boys and girls soccer teams will do battle for the inaugural Golden Anchor trophies, in what is now being billed as the Battle in the Atlantic.

Traditionally, the Island Cup football game had been held the Saturday before Thanksgiving, with the storied rivalry dating back to 1978, the year the Island Cup trophy was created — although the first football game between the two islands dates back to 1953.

That all changed, said athletic director Mark McCarthy, when the Cape and Island’s League was formed three years ago which required Nantucket and the Vineyard to meet during the regular season.

With the new date change to the end of October, Mr. McCarthy and his athletic director counterpart on Nantucket, Travis Lombardi, decided to coordinate schedules to create a new tradition.

“Two years ago, we structured it so all the fall teams — football, field hockey, boys and girls soccer ­— would play each other on the same day," he said. "The first version was played on Nantucket and last year they came here.”

The Vineyard versus Nantucket day was a big hit, Mr. McCarthy continued, but there was one problem.

“People wondered why it was just focused on the Island Cup trophy, and they had a good point.”

This fall, Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Lombardi worked together to come up with a more inclusive plan, creating the Golden Anchor trophies for the winners of the field hockey and boys and girls soccer games.

“There are a lot of interesting trophies out there between rivalries,” Mr. McCarthy said of the research the two men did. “The Paul Bunyan Axe, some sort of bucket somewhere.”

The Golden Anchor name reflects the nautical background of both islands, he said.

And while the Golden Anchor and the Island Cup trophies will both be at stake this year, for the football team the league championship will also be decided Saturday.

“Both the Vineyard and Nantucket football teams are 2-0 in league play so whoever wins the Island Cup also wins the league,” Mr. McCarthy said.

The fan ferry leaves on Saturday at 7 a.m. from the Vineyard Haven terminal. Roundtrip tickets are $35/adults, $25/students, $125/car, available at the regional high school during lunch period on Monday and Tuesday from 11:30 to 12:30, the touchdown club booth Monday at 5:30 p.m. and the boys soccer game starting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

There will also be a screening of the Island Cup documentary at the Loft on Tuesday at 7 p.m., with ferry tickets available there too.