Privacy Policy

HockeyChamps is an independent field hockey platform. We value your privacy and aim to collect as little personal data as possible. This policy explains what data we process, why, and what rights you have.

Data controller

HockeyChamps, reachable at info@hockeychamps.nl.

What data do we collect?

1. Website visits

We measure anonymous visitor behavior with two analytics tools:

Google Analytics 4 in privacy-friendly mode: IP addresses are anonymized, no advertising cookies are set, and no profiling takes place. The data helps us understand which articles are read, not who reads them.

Microsoft Clarity for heatmaps and anonymized session recordings: we see where visitors click and how far they scroll, not who they are. Text entered in form fields and password fields is automatically masked before it reaches Microsoft. Clarity sets the cookies _clck, _clsk and MUID for this purpose.

2. Functional cookie

We set a single first-party cookie called hc_owner. It is only set when an editor wants to flag internal traffic for exclusion from analytics. It contains no personal data.

3. Embedded videos

We embed YouTube videos via the privacy-enhanced youtube-nocookie.com domain. As long as you don't click play, YouTube sets no cookies and sends no data. Once you play a video, YouTube sets the cookies VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, YSC and possibly others, for video functionality and viewing preferences. These cookies fall under Google's privacy policy.

4. Community account (coming soon)

Once the community feature is live, at registration we ask for:

• Email address (required, for login and notifications)
• Username (publicly visible on comments and posts)
• Preferred language (NL / EN / ES)

Optionally you can extend your profile with:

• First and last name (private)
• City and country
• Profile picture
• Short bio (public)
• Hockey club, role (player / coach / supporter / parent), age category

We automatically store: registration time, last login, your IP address at registration (maximum 30 days, for fraud prevention) and activity counters (number of posts and comments).

What do we use this data for?

• Analytics (GA4 + Microsoft Clarity): insight into which content is read and how pages are used. Legal basis: legitimate interest.
• hc_owner cookie: exclude internal traffic. Legal basis: legitimate interest.
• YouTube embeds: video playback. Cookies are only set after your click on play. Legal basis: consent through interaction.
• Community account: login, profile, community participation. Legal basis: contract performance.
• Email notifications (replies, mentions, newsletter): opt-in only. Legal basis: consent.

We do not use your data for sale or onward sale to third parties, for advertising or ad profiling, or for automated decision-making.

Who do we share data with?

We use a number of processors that make our platform technically possible:

• Sanity (Sanity.io, Norway): content management system for articles.
• Supabase (EU region): database for rankings, matches and, soon, accounts.
• Vercel (United States): website hosting.
• Google Analytics 4 (Google Ireland Ltd.): anonymized visitor statistics.
• Microsoft Clarity (Microsoft Corporation, Ireland/US): anonymized heatmaps and session recordings.
• YouTube / Google (Google Ireland Ltd.): video embeds, cookies only on play.

We have a data processing agreement with each of these parties.

Retention periods

• Analytics data: maximum 14 months (GA4 default), Clarity session recordings maximum 30 days.
• IP at registration: 30 days.
• Community account data: as long as your account is active. Upon account deletion all data is removed within 30 days, except where legal retention obligations prohibit this.
• Comments and posts remain after account deletion as anonymized contributions, unless you explicitly request removal.

Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to:

• Request access to the data we hold about you.
• Have incorrect data corrected.
• Have your data erased (right to be forgotten).
• Object to processing.
• Receive a digital copy (data portability).
• File a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl).

Send a request to info@hockeychamps.nl. We respond within 30 days.

Changes

This policy may be updated. We announce changes on the homepage and, for community members, by email. The version date at the top remains the authoritative reference.

Contact

Email: info@hockeychamps.nl