Barry Cawte used to run an indoor tennis centre in Wales that was struggling. He noticed a gaming outlet across the road with long queues of people waiting to get in. That’s when he got the idea to host a gaming event at the tennis centre. It turned out to be a success, with some of the young people even picking up a tennis racket.
Fast forward 12 years, and one of the participants from that event received a wild card for a competition at Wimbledon. This became the catalyst for a new project in Scotland, where Scottish Hockey teamed up with Esports Scotland, an event company dedicated to competitive gaming. Their goal? To encourage more young people to get into hockey and increase their membership, which currently stands at around 14,500.
To test the waters, Scottish Hockey organized an event in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, where young people from non-traditional hockey backgrounds took part in both hockey games and video games at Glasgow’s National Hockey Centre. The event was a success, and Scottish Hockey plans to deliver similar experiences next year.
In fact, they have even bigger plans. Scottish Hockey aims to create a £20,000 multi-role Esports hub at Glasgow’s National Hockey Centre to further boost their profile. They believe that this innovative approach will help them reach a more diverse audience for the sport.
The statistics back up their strategy. According to Scottish Hockey, 91% of UK under-15-year-olds and 60% of British adults play video games regularly. Barry Cawte, the CEO of Scottish Hockey, said, “We want to do something different to attract more people to our sport. The success of the test event shows that there is potential in combining hockey with gaming. We want to bring people who wouldn’t normally play hockey to our beautiful venue here in Glasgow.” He added, “When the children saw the stadium, they were blown away. That’s the reaction we want. We want them to come here and say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know hockey was this cool.'”
The young participants at the event not only played video games but also had the opportunity to play hockey on the same pitch used for international competitions. Barry Cawte expressed his delight, saying, “I just came in from outside, and the kids were all smiles. They were enjoying themselves, running around, and picking up hockey sticks.”
Scottish Hockey sees esports as a Trojan horse, a way to bring in more people who may not have considered playing hockey before. By leveraging the popularity of gaming among young people, they hope to introduce them to the world of hockey and create a lasting interest in the sport.
So, if you’re a young gamer in Scotland, keep an eye out for the exciting events that Scottish Hockey has planned. Who knows, you might just discover a new passion for hockey while having fun playing your favorite video games!