HITIQ’s National Hockey Deal Raises Stakes in Player Safety Tech

A Landmark Partnership in Player Safety

HITIQ Limited (ASX – HIQ) has announced a significant milestone with an exclusive three-year partnership as the Official Player Safety Partner of Hockey Australia. This agreement marks HITIQ’s first national governing body collaboration in Australia, embedding its PROTEQT™ technology across all levels of hockey participation; from grassroots clubs to elite national teams.

Hockey Australia oversees one of the country’s largest structured sports communities, boasting over 105,000 registered players. The partnership specifically targets approximately 92,000 players aged 12 and above, the core demographic for PROTEQT™, HITIQ’s instrumented mouthguard and analytics platform designed to monitor head impacts and support brain health.

Revenue Potential and Market Strategy

This exclusive deal represents a substantial $20–25 million multi-year revenue opportunity for HITIQ. The financial upside is driven by initial hardware sales and ongoing repeat purchases as players upgrade or replace their PROTEQT™ units to maintain continuous brain-health monitoring. This model aligns with HITIQ’s broader strategy of embedding its technology within national sporting ecosystems, creating a scalable blueprint for future expansion into other sports and federations.

By integrating PROTEQT™ into Hockey Australia’s pathways, HITIQ gains prioritised access to a large and engaged player base, enhancing its data collection footprint and visibility. The partnership also supports the development of educational initiatives and player welfare resources, elevating safety standards across the sport.

Elite Adoption and Broader Impact

The Hockeyroos and Kookaburras, Australia’s elite women’s and men’s hockey teams, will adopt PROTEQT™ technology for training and competition. This elite-level integration provides coaches and medical staff with objective data on head-impact exposure, enabling better management of player safety and performance. It also serves as a powerful platform to raise awareness and engagement around brain health throughout the hockey community.

Given hockey’s fast-paced, high-contact nature, the sport is a natural fit for PROTEQT™’s advanced safety technology. The partnership’s success could influence broader national and international discussions on player welfare and concussion management, potentially setting new standards for other sports to follow.

Leadership Perspectives

HITIQ’s Executive Chair, Earl Eddings, highlighted the strategic importance of the deal, noting it as a key step in deploying world-class brain-health monitoring technology across one of Australia’s largest participation sports. Meanwhile, Hockey Australia CEO David Pryles emphasised the partnership’s role in empowering players with better tools and education to manage head-impact risks, reinforcing the organisation’s commitment to player wellbeing.