More Than a Game: How Esports is Changing Lives in Wishaw
May 7 2025
Callum Doyle
Wishaw has spent the last five years building a grassroots esports community that’s now transforming youth development across Scotland. What started as a simple Fortnite club for a handful of local kids has grown into one of Scotland’s most meaningful grassroots esports initiatives, empowering young people, building confidence, and turning a shared love of games into a tool for personal and community development.
Scottish Esports spoke to Emma Williamson, founder of Brave Esports and lead for the YMCA Wishaw Esports Academy, about how it all began, and why this isn’t just about gaming.
“It started with my daughter and her friends playing Fortnite,” Emma says. “They were about twelve at the time. I just saw how passionate they were, and I thought, we could build something around this.”
From Small Club to National Recognition
Emma launched Brave Junior in 2018, a local youth club focused on esports before esports was a buzzword in youth work. When the pandemic hit, the club moved online, and exploded in popularity.
With support from the National Lottery, Brave Junior expanded. Working alongside Edinburgh College, Emma helped create Scotland’s first SCQF Level 6 esports qualification, delivered to several youth groups.
“It wasn’t just about playing,” she explains. “We were working with young volunteers, building something educational, something with structure. They wanted a proper organisation, so we started Brave Esports.”
A New Home at YMCA Wishaw
In 2022, Brave found a long-term home at YMCA Wishaw, where Emma launched the Esports Academy, a dedicated space with top-end PCs, esports training, and a youth work framework that puts personal development first.
Credit YMCA Wishaw
Each week, the academy supports around 60 young people, aged 8 to 16, including many with additional support needs or those disengaged from school.
“It gives them something to be part of, something to be proud of,” Emma says. “The parents are really supportive because they see how passionate their kids are.”
A structured digital badging system tracks progress in Game Mastery, Teamwork, Digital Skills, and Esports Citizenship.
“We really work hard to keep them focused and use the passion they’ve got for esports to help them develop soft skills,” Emma says.
More Than Just the Boys
After noticing that 2023’s summer club attendees were all boys, the team launched a Minecraft for Girls club. The result: four girls now attend the academy regularly, with eight having joined during Easter.
“It has totally changed,” Emma explains. “We made a very clear effort to get girls involved. We started the Minecraft for Girls club, and that actually piqued some interest. Now we’ve got four girls in the academy and had eight girls attend the Easter club.”
Credit YMCA Wishaw
Looking Forward: Tournaments, Training, and More
Recently, the academy won a £5,000 grant from HP’s Gaming Garage. The upcoming project involves training young people aged 16+ in broadcast production alongside tournament play.
“We won a competition to pitch to HP to get $5,000, to encourage young people to undergo the HP Gaming Garage content,” Emma says. “We’ll get them into the content and create a tournament.”
“We got a waiting list last year, like, 85 people over 13. We’ve got two groups the now, but we need more staff to be able to run them.”
Brave Roots, Brave Future
Brave Junior is currently paused, with its programs now delivered through the YMCA. But Brave Esports continues to compete in grassroots leagues, including RSC and RLCS.
“Brave Junior is kinda not functioning at the minute,” Emma says. “Because everything that I would have done at Brave Junior, I’m doing it at YMCA, which was a really tough choice.”
“Brave Esports is different because of the community. Mon the brave. And that is why, honestly, the community is amazing.”
Changing the Culture
Emma has noticed a shift in how parents view gaming. Where once there was scepticism, now there’s support.
“It has totally changed,” she says. “A few years ago, parents were really negative. Like, we used to get comments that kids should be outside. Now I see parents starting to think, right, okay, this is a thing.”
Compared to countries like Denmark, where esports is embedded into education, Scotland is still playing catch-up.
“In Denmark, they are putting esports in schools. We’ve fallen behind. But hopefully Scottish Esports will be able to drive it forward.”
Follow and Support
Whether you’re a parent, educator, gamer, or someone curious about the power of esports in youth work, there’s more to explore from the team in Wishaw.
Follow Brave Esports and YMCA Wishaw Esports to stay up to date on events, tournaments, and opportunities:
