Elite Ice × HockeyStation

Hi, A note for HockeyStation

Elite Ice presented by HockeyStation

100% Hockey. Official Partner of Great Britain.

Elite Ice is the only EIHL companion app in the UK. 910 lifetime installs, zero marketing spend; 129 of them opened the app for the playoff final on 18 April. Six weeks in, the off-season WAU bottomed at 51 on 7 May, then recovered through mid-May, then an unexplained surge from 19 May onwards has added 513 more installs across five days and peaked at 186 DAU on 20 May, a quiet off-season Tuesday with no live hockey, beating the playoff-final peak. The surge has not faded: 135 installs on 23 May was the single biggest install day in the app's history, beating launch day's 71. WAU sits at 647 today, MAU at 764. September 2026 is the first full-season test, I want HockeyStation to be the founding partner for it, with one paid tier, transparent numbers, and a way out for both of us if the audience does not show up.

Read the idea See it in the app

Platform: iOS & Android
Coverage: All EIHL teams
From: Jamie · Built Elite Ice

Where things actually stand

910 installs. 764 MAU. 186 DAU peak on a quiet off-season Tuesday.

Four numbers up front, six weeks after launch: 910 lifetime installs (198 of them in launch week, zero marketing), 764 rolling-30-day MAU, 647 rolling-7-day WAU as of 24 May, and a 186 DAU peak on 20 May that beat the 18 April playoff-final peak of 129. The off-season WAU floored at 51 on 7 May, recovered through mid-May, and then an unexplained surge from 19 May onwards has added 513 new installs across five days (125 on 19 May, 85 on 20 May, 43 on 21 May, 125 on 22 May, 135 on 23 May, that last one is the single biggest install day in the app's history, beating launch day's 71) and lifted DAU to 181, 186, 107, 171, 168 across 19-23 May, all on a quiet off-season window with no live hockey. The playoff final on 18 April still pulled 129 of the install base back on one match night (14% of today's lifetime). 292 distinct users have set a favourite team across the lifetime, 177 have tapped a push notification at least once. The launch-cohort favourite-team rate is still ~85% on first open; the combined ratio drops because the late-May surge cohort has not finished onboarding yet. September 2026 is the first full-season test, and the numbers below are honest about the floor, the recovery, and the spike, not dressed up.

Lifetime installs (iOS + Android)

910

535 iOS, 361 Android, 14 iPadOS. 198 in launch week, then a steady drip, then 513 more across 19-23 May.
Rolling 30-day MAU (as of 24 May)

764

129 came back on the 18 April playoff final, 186 DAU peak on 20 May. The 19-23 May surge cohort is fully inside the 30-day window.
Weekly actives now (rolling 7 days)

647

Floored at 51 on 7 May, climbed through mid-May, then the surge: DAU hit 181, 186, 107, 171, 168 across 19-23 May, the highest five-day stretch the app has ever seen.
Favourite team set, lifetime

292

292 of 910 set a favourite team; ~85% of the launch cohort did so on first open. The combined ratio is dragged down by the 19-23 May surge still working through onboarding.

Elite Ice is free, ad-free, no subscription, no in-app purchases. The 19-23 May install surge is real, unexplained, and I am not going to pretend it predicts September. The price ladder and the symmetric exit below are written so we can both step out cleanly if the new cohort does not stick around, and so the conversation stays honest either way.

Why I came to you

You are the first conversation in this category.

I am holding off pitching any other UK hockey retailer until you have said yes or no. Three reasons it is you first, push back if any of them do not ring true.

Your catalogue is what they buy

The people opening the app are stick-and-blade buyers, replacing CCM Tacks, Bauer Vapors, True Catalysts, Bauer skates, helmets, every season. That is your top-line range. There is no creative gymnastics needed to make my users care about your products.

You are already where they shop

There are only a handful of UK shops where serious hockey players buy their kit, and HockeyStation is one of them. Native presence in the app is not introducing a new brand, it is removing the friction between seeing kit on the ice and getting it in their basket.

One shop in there, not two

Elite Ice has no banner ads, no programmatic networks, no Amazon affiliate fallback. On the paid tier you are the only UK hockey retailer in the surface for the term. The whole point is depth of placement, not a roster of competing logos.

In the app

What it would actually look like, mocked up properly.

I would rather show you specifics than wave my hands at "integration opportunities". Here are four moments through a typical EIHL match day, with the HockeyStation co-branding laid out exactly as I would build it.

Every open 01

Home tab

"Presented by HockeyStation" on the home tile

Right under the favourite-team card on the home screen, the first thing every user sees on every open, a "Presented by HockeyStation" tile with your logo, tagline and a forward chevron. Tappable, deep-linked to hockeystation.com through your existing Awin or CJ tag. Same lockup mirrored on the About screen and footer of every page.
Saturday 6:55pm 02

Team page · Guildford Flames

HockeyStation partner card on every team page

Five minutes before puck-drop, a user pulls up their team page to check the schedule. Beneath the team stats, a "Partner · {team} fans" card sits permanently, full HockeyStation lockup, one-line product pitch, "Shop the range" CTA, tappable through your tracked URL. The same card pattern fires on all 10 EIHL clubs so attribution lands in your normal reporting per team.
Final whistle 03

Match summary

"Coverage brought to you by HockeyStation"

When the buzzer goes and users open the match summary for the result, the page leads with a slim "Coverage brought to you by HockeyStation" attribution strip above period scores and team stats. No competing brands on the page. Same pattern fires on every match through the season, every result a user reads is co-credited.
Whenever they want kit 04

Bottom nav · Shop

A dedicated Shop tab, your site, inside the app

A persistent Shop tab in the bottom navigation, alongside Home, Schedule and Standings. The tab opens to a HockeyStation-branded landing screen, "Official shop partner", logo, tagline, an "Open hockeystation.com" CTA, plus a curated team block and shop-by-category grid (sticks, skates, protective, apparel). Every tap deep-links into hockeystation.com through your tracked URL, so checkout and reporting stay yours.

The idea

An opening proposal, open to a different shape.

Two things up front. First, this is a starting point for a conversation, not a take-it-or-leave-it offer, every term and surface below is open to discussion, and if a completely different shape works better for you (fewer surfaces, longer or shorter term, performance bonus, flat fee, anything) I would much rather hear it than have you walk away. Second, the maths, modelled honestly: one Shop-tab visit per active user per month, 10% click into a product, 5% conversion at £85 AOV. At today's 764 MAU (rolling 30 days, off-season, lifted by the 19-23 May surge) that is roughly £325/month gross referred to you, the honest read at today's scale. At 1,000 MAU (a modest September restart), ~£425/month. At 5,000 MAU (launch-week pace sustained through a season), ~£2,100/month. The symmetric exit below is how the downside is bounded if September never lands. Whatever fee fits the audience size you're betting on is the conversation, not a fixed number on this page.

Founding partner, opening proposal

What I'd ask of you

6 months locked in on the paid tier, then month-to-month with 30 days notice
Category exclusivity for the whole term, no other UK or EU ice hockey retailer in the app
Monthly check-in on what's converting, what's not, what to change
If MAU passes 2,500 during the term, either of us can ask to renegotiate up
If MAU drops below 100 for two consecutive months, you can exit early with no further fees

What you get on the paid tier

Co-branded splash, footer and About screen across every build
A partner card on every team page (all 10 EIHL clubs)
Match-day final-score pushes credited to HockeyStation
A persistent Shop tab in the bottom nav loading hockeystation.com inside the app
Affiliate links use your existing Awin/CJ tag, attribution lands in your normal reporting; I never sit between you and the affiliate flow
Monthly dashboard: installs, WAU, MAU, screen impressions, Shop-tab taps, push opens, affiliate referral counts

What I'd need from you

Logos in SVG and brand colours
Your existing Awin or CJ tracked URL into hockeystation.com
A named contact for creative approvals (48-hour SLA either side)
A signed one-page founding-partner agreement, draft attached as a PDF on request
Brand assets within seven days of signature so the integration ships in the next build

The offer

Founding partner

Splash, team-page cards, push attribution, Shop tab, category exclusivity

Let's talk

Everything described in the four scenarios above, all surfaces
Category-exclusive across every paid surface in the app
6-month term, then monthly with 30 days notice
Symmetric exit: if MAU averages below 100 over any two consecutive months, you can exit with no further fees

Billed monthly in GBP, ex-VAT, invoiced from Jamie Rees (sole trader, UK; not VAT registered at the time of writing). The fee is intentionally a conversation rather than a number on this page, send what would actually make sense for you given today's audience size and the bet on the September restart, and the symmetric exit ends the term either way once MAU stays below 100 for two consecutive months. Push back on the term, what is bundled, the exit floor, anything. I would much rather end up with a deal that works for both of us than a clean signature on a draft you only half-believe in. Happy to jump on a call to talk it through if that is easier than email.

Term 6-month term · category exclusive · symmetric exit at MAU < 100 · monthly thereafter

Hit reply

Excludes VAT. The 2,500 MAU renegotiation trigger and the 100 MAU exit clause are mirror images of each other, designed so both sides can ask to revisit if reality moves materially in either direction. MAU is reported from PostHog and the dashboard is shared monthly so the numbers are not my word against yours.

Things you might want to ask

Saving you the typing.

Have a question we have not answered? Email tidusjar@gmail.com and we will reply within 48 hours.

Is there any IP or trademark risk with EIHL?

I have proactively reached out to EIHL to introduce the app and have not had a response. The app uses each club's logo to identify their team, those logos remain the property of each club, displayed in a fan/editorial context with a clear not-affiliated disclaimer on the launch screen and the About screen. No EIHL-level branding is used (no league logo, no 'EIHL' wordmark in the app's identity), and the fixture and stats data shown is the same publicly available data anyone can see online. Fan apps for other sports leagues operate the same way without objection, the legal distance from anything resembling official endorsement is deliberate.
What if we want a completely different shape of deal?

Then let's talk. The founding-partner shape above is what I think makes sense at today's audience and the work involved, but it is one shape, not the only shape. If you would rather pay less for fewer surfaces, more for an exclusive launch push, a performance bonus instead of (or on top of) a flat fee, a different term, monthly invoicing in a different currency, anything, send what would actually work for you and I will come back with whether I can make it work. Much more interested in a partnership that lands than a clean signature on this draft.
Is this exclusive, really exclusive?

Yes, for the full 6-month term and every rolling month after. No other UK or EU ice hockey retailer appears anywhere inside Elite Ice. No banner ads, no rotating sponsors, no Amazon affiliate fallback, no marketplace search. The category lock covers ice hockey gear, apparel and equipment retailers.
Can you plug into our existing Awin or CJ tracking?

Yes, and simpler than a full feed. The Shop tab loads hockeystation.com through your tagged URL, so every tap and purchase from inside the app is attributed in your existing Awin or CJ reporting as normal. Same for the team-page partner card. No product feed to maintain, no SKU mapping on my end. I never sit in the middle of the affiliate flow, your existing share is unchanged.
Six months feels like a lot, can it be shorter?

Six months is the shortest term I can offer on this particular shape of deal, the build effort and category exclusivity only make sense across a meaningful slice of the season. The downside is bounded by the symmetric exit: if MAU averages below 100 for two consecutive months, you can leave the term with no further fees. If six months is still a non-starter even with that exit, the answer is not 'no', it is 'let's talk about a different shape' (see the question above). A shorter term at a different price, a performance bonus instead of a flat fee, monthly with no commit at a higher rate, all on the table.
What is the actual ROI math at today’s numbers?

Conservative model: 1 Shop-tab visit per active user per month, 10% click into a product, 5% conversion at £85 AOV. At today's 764 MAU (rolling 30 days, off-season, lifted by the 19-23 May surge) that is roughly £325/month gross referred to you, the honest read at today's scale. At 1,000 MAU it is ~£425/month; at 5,000 MAU ~£2,100/month. The bet is on September; the symmetric exit clause is how the downside is bounded if it never lands.
How are MAU and the dashboard numbers verified?

MAU and Shop-tab tap counts come from PostHog, which is the analytics tool already running in the app. The monthly dashboard is generated from the same source you would use to challenge it, happy to give you read-only PostHog access for the duration of the term so you can audit the figures yourself rather than take my word for them.
Is Elite Ice officially affiliated with the EIHL?

No, and I am clear about that everywhere. Elite Ice is a fan-built app, not endorsed, affiliated, or licensed by the EIHL or any club. Anything we put together has to make that clear too. I will not let either of us imply official endorsement.
How quickly can you go live after signing?

Native integrations ship in the next app build cycle, usually 7 to 10 days from signature, assuming brand assets and your tracked URL are in my hands. Match-day pushes get scheduled per fixture with 48 hours lead time.
Who am I actually contracting with?

Jamie Rees, sole trader, UK. Not VAT registered at time of writing. Invoices issued from that name. If you need to contract through a limited company for procurement reasons, I can incorporate before signature, let me know in the first reply.

Reply when ready

Up for a conversation?

The whole point of this page is to start a conversation, not to land a signature on the first read. Reply with what works, what does not, what you would change, or just hit reply with 'let's get on a call' and we will talk it through properly. If it is a yes in principle, I will send the one-page founding-partner agreement and a creative-asset checklist the same day. If it is a 'maybe at a different shape', send the shape that would actually work for you, there is a real chance I can make it work.

Email tidusjar@gmail.com

If now is not the right time, tell me what 'right time' looks like, what proof you would want to see, what the September data would need to show, and I will come back when it does.

Thanks for reading,
Jamie · Built Elite Ice