Schedule Requests
While many Leagues have been taking Schedule Requests through one means or another and tracking them manually, the new Schedule Requests tool provides an integrated (and completely optional) way to automatically track and accept Schedule Requests through the site.
First off, Administrators can add Schedule Request information to any Team's registration by navigating to that team's Team Page and clicking "New Schedule Request" from the Schedule Requests tab.
From here, a popup will appear that explains how Schedule Requests work. You are give then choice to submit the Schedule Request as a Game Date/Time Request or as a Special Request. The Game Date/Time Requests are requests to avoid a specific time for a Full Season or Specific Date(s). You can also request a bye on specific dates. Special Requests cover everything else, from coordinating with another team to avoiding a certain field, to everything else in between.
Once Schedule Requests have been made, their status is set to "Pending". The easiest way to review these Requests is to use the Schedule Requests Report. Found under Reports -> Schedules & Scores, then navigating to the Schedule Requests tab, this report shows you all "Pending" Schedule Requests across all Leagues. To lock the Schedule Request in, click on the word "Pending". A pop-up will appear, allowing you to change the request's status to "Accepted" or "Denied". If you have "Captain's Schedule Requests" turned on, you can also optionally add a message to the Captain explaining what you've done.
Now, when creating your League's Schedule, there is a new tool from the Pulldown menu: "Schedule Requests". This popup shows all the Schedule Requests for that Leagues, as well as whether they are "Pending" or "Accepted". You can also submit a new Schedule Request here.
Another tool with new functionality is the Matchup Grid. If you have this tool open and click on a game to schedule from the grid, the grid will be color coded based on availability of teams. Teams with an Accepted Schedule Request that would conflict with scheduling that team for this particular time slot would show up in Pink, while teams with Pending Schedule Requests show up in Blue.
This particular color coding applies to Schedule Games as well - teams that are Scheduled for a game that would conflict with an Accepted Schedule Request will have that game show up in Pink on the Schedule grid (Blue for Pending Requests). Note that Special Requests will NOT designate a game as violated via color code. These Requests will be visible from the Schedule Requests tool, but it will be up to you to track/schedule around them.
Additionally, in your League Settings under Dates, Times & Locations, you have the ability to allow Captains to submit their own Schedule Requests from their Manage Team Panel (under their Roster). You can also charge for these fees, and set a Base Fee per day - as well as a cap for cost per request. A Cutoff Date for Schedule Requests can also be set - while Captains will not be able to submit new requests after that date, Administrators can still create them manually. Note: the "Explanation" will be need to be set for each League, but will be copied over if you choose to copy settings from an existing League when creating a new one.
