Deadline for Reporting Match Results

All,
Having collected data, from the start of the season, on the number of clubs failing to get their results in before the 5:00 pm deadline on a Saturday while we have 3:00 pm kick offs, it has become obvious that we really do need to change this deadline time. It is pointless having a deadline that cannot be justified and that we try to enforce despite hiccups both on the field with injuries and off the field with the technology.
With the “rush hour” on a Saturday after the games finish, the extra workload on the GMS with far more clubs using the system and the glitches that a number of users are encountering especially while using the mobile app., the 5:00 pm deadline has been a problem for a considerable number of clubs. On average we are into double figures of clubs each week who miss the 5:00 pm deadline. 99.9% of Midlands results are in by 5:30 pm. The problem is far less obvious when we change to
2:15 kick offs. That extra half an hour’s grace solves the problem of late result reporting.
Bob Morrison, as the Midlands Results Service Administrator, is quite happy to have the deadline at 5:30 pm throughout the season, and therefore it has been decided to utilise this kind offer made by Bob.
Paul Kaminski, Bob Morrison and I have therefore agreed to amend the MDAI to reflect this change in deadline time.
The MDOC website will be updated accordingly and we would ask league secretaries to let their clubs know of this change. We do need to address this 5:00 pm “pinch period” when matters can and do go awry.
There should therefore be far fewer clubs being warned or even fined for missing the deadline in future, as they will have this extra half hour in the difficult months of September, October, March and April when we have 3:00 pm kick offs.
We would hope that league secretaries would still adopt the unwritten MDOC policy of “three strikes and out” when it comes to those clubs who miss this new deadline in future.

Best regards to all.
Roger Rees