What is the difference between a published status and non-published status fixture?
Unpublished fixtures are manually-entered matches created by your club currently with a 'draft' status, which can be created by a coach or team manager. Once this has been completed, it is 'requested' by the club's 'Fixture secretary' and 'approved' by the opposing team in GMS, these will then display a status of ‘approved’ and ‘published’.
How do I, or why can’t I edit or change the fixture for a manually-entered fixture from ‘draft’ status?
Only one of the eight Fixture Secretary or Fixture Secretary Assistant roles with relevant permission level can request the 'draft' fixture and change the status. A relevant role and permission are required to ‘request’ a fixture which will send the fixture for ‘approval’ to the opposition. Once requested and approved these will display a status of ‘approved’ and ‘published’.
I can create the fixture, but I don’t have the ‘Request Fixture’ button?
Please ensure you have one of the eight Fixture Secretary, or Fixture Secretary Assistant roles with relevant permission level. A relevant role and permission are required to ‘request’ a fixture which will send the fixture for ‘approval’ to the opposition.
Why do we need to request the fixture?
The reason it is just a ‘draft’ fixture is so that the club can check, specifically for home matches that it has sufficient pitches, changing rooms etc to fulfil the fixture, and make any changes before contacting the other club and “requesting the fixture” with the opposition club.
What happens after I request a fixture? What happens if the other club does not approve or action the fixture request?
An email is sent to the opposition's relevant Fixture Secretary; this is done to both notify the opposition Club of the fixture on their Team Management module, and to request that it is 'Accepted' or 'Rejected'. If the opposing team takes no action, then fixture will auto accept in GMS after 7 days from the initial fixture request date.
How can I locate the draft fixtures we have not requested yet/approved?
Using the standard grid filtering within GMS, a Club can filter Fixtures by these statuses. For example, you may filter for all ‘Draft’ fixtures that have been entered, in order to select and then request them to be approved.
Who can then ‘approve’ or ‘reject’ that fixture?
This can be done by the relevant team manager/coach, relevant fixture secretary or assistant. If the club takes no action for seven days after the fixture has been “requested”, it will automatically be ‘approved’.
Why can’t I create the fixture again/We are not sure if the opposing team has created this fixture already?
GMS won’t allow duplicate fixtures to be created and will only allow one club to record the result against the opposition on a particular date. You should get the duplicate fixture alert and not proceed, please contact the opposing team to ask them to request the fixture in the system.
We don’t have sufficient players at a particular age group to run our own team, so we combine with another club to put out an age grade side. How do we list those matches on the GMS Team Management module and record the results?
Firstly, the RFU is very supportive that you have been innovative and flexible in combining with another club to ensure that these youngsters have regular games. However, the system cannot record on each club’s module each match.
The GMS Team Management Module will only allow one club to record the result against the opposition on a particular date. So that there is a fair split, the 2 clubs need to agree to each having a fair proportion of the matches played. This would normally be half each, but if one club provides 2/3 of the players the number of games might be proportioned to reflect that. So if a combined team U16s team played 22 matches in the season and it was agreed that they be proportioned evenly, one club would enter 11 of those matches played onto its Team Management Module and the other club would enter the other 11 fixtures onto its Team Management Module.
This recognises each club's contribution and that, without each other, those players may have played no games.
What should be done if that fixture is cancelled?
It should be removed from a club’s Team Management Module. This can be done by a relevant a fixture secretary or assistant role holder, and by a club administrator such as a team manager/coach (with the appropriate permission level of 1, 3 or 5) from the club that created the fixture. In doing so, it also removes the fixture from the other club’s Team Management Module, and then allows each club to enter a replacement fixture if one can be arranged.
However, if the match is cancelled by one team within 48 hours of the planned kick off time, then other conditions apply (Regulation 13.6 Match and fixture management)
How to add the results and matches already played this season that do not currently appear on your club’s Team Management Module
To denote a match has been played this season, a club should follow the usual entry process through initially creating a ’draft fixture’ and then 'request this fixture’ as outlined in 'How to create and edit the status of a fixture'
How do I record a fixture against a non RFU team?
The GMS Team Management Module cannot record matches against teams that do not have a GMS account - see 'Matches against non-English teams' on the help portal for further information on this.