Changelog

Current Build: 2026-03-14-61219515

February 2026

Prescribed Changes Link

  • Changes "Syllabus" page to "Important Files" to reflect the increasing use of this page for canonical information.
  • Added prescribed changes document link to "Important Files" page.

Open Competition Types

  • New "Open" entry types: Eight new competition entry types have been added for competitions open to all ages:
    • Open Solo, Open Duet, Open Group, Open Choir
    • Open Piping, Open Literature, Open Oral, Open Instrumental
  • Flexible age requirements: Open competitions do not enforce age restrictions by default. If specific age limits are needed, they can be set on individual competitions.
  • Optional school information: Entry forms for Open competitions include an optional "School Information" section for competitors who are still at school, helping with programme organisation.

Admin Interface

  • Keyboard shortcut for saving: Press Ctrl+S (or Cmd+S on Mac) to save forms in the admin backend. This works on all admin edit screens.

Note: You may need to perform a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R) in your browser to load the new keyboard shortcut functionality.

Age Validation

  • Minimum age now fully configurable: Date of birth validation now only applies when minage or maxage is explicitly set on a competition. The previous hardcoded minimum age of 5 has been removed - organisers should set minage on competitions if a minimum age is required.

Configuration

  • New config value: RN.entrytypes_requiring_preferredname added to Config/reefnet.php - defines which entry types require a preferred name for GDPR compliance. Previously hardcoded, now configurable per instance.

Bug Fixes

  • Contact number field fixes: Fixed inconsistencies in the contact phone number field name throughout the system, ensuring phone validation and SMS sending work correctly with the new split contact fields introduced in January.
  • Admin contact list export: The contact list export now includes the additional contact info field.

Privacy Policy

  • External privacy policy link: All privacy policy links now point to ancomunn.co.uk/privacy instead of a local page, ensuring users always see the most up-to-date policy.

Submissions

  • BBC Information Form: New submission type for uploading BBC-required paperwork (PDF, DOC, DOCX, ODT). A link to a sample form is provided for reference.

January 2026

Entry Forms - Submit Button

  • Rules and Privacy confirmation: Submit button now displays a reminder that by submitting, you confirm you have read and agree to the Rules of Entry and Privacy Policy

Entry Forms - Contact Details

  • Contact field split into two: The single "Contact phone number" field is now two fields:
    • "Contact phone number during event" - validated to ensure it's a real phone number
    • "Additional contact info (optional)" - for noting whose phone it is, extension numbers, etc.

Entry Forms - Programme Name & Location

  • Programme name and location are now separate fields: Previously combined into one, now split into:
    • "Competitor Name (for programme and online use)"
    • "Competitor Location (for programme and online use)"
  • Duet entries now show both names: Programme name automatically displays as "Name & Partner Name" for duet competitions
  • Updated help text: Clearer guidance on how name and location will appear in programme

Entry Forms - Autocomplete Improvements

  • More details carry forward when re-entering a competitor: partner name, partner DOB, contact details, and custom programme location now pre-fill from previous entries
  • School field autocomplete fixed on junior duet and junior oral forms

Age Validation

  • School year now takes priority over date of birth for determining eligibility in junior competitions - if a school year is set, DOB-based age checks are skipped

Admin Interface

  • Build version shown in footer: All pages now display the build date and version number for easier troubleshooting
  • Simplified label for "Preferred location" field in admin entry edit screen
  • School year filter improvements: Competitions with school year restrictions now show sensible age ranges in filter searches

Infrastructure

  • Laravel 12 upgrade: Backend Laravel application upgraded to version 12, with continued Carbon 3 and PHP 8.2+ support.

December 2025

Admin Interface

  • Event switching for all staff: Stewards, adjudicators, and other staff can now switch between events they have access to, not just administrators

September - November 2025

SMS Notifications

  • SMS messaging for competitors: Administrators can now send SMS notifications to competitors with valid mobile numbers
  • Bilingual messages: Notification messages available in both English and Gaelic

Configuration: SMS notifications are disabled by default in the main config file. This feature requires a Vonage account - please contact An Comunn Gàidhealach to discuss enabling SMS for your event.

Admin Interface

  • Competition locking: Locked competitions can no longer be unlocked by non-administrators. Only designated super-administrators can unlock competitions once locked. Super admin accounts are defined in main config and overriden for individual instances.
  • BBC consent checkbox: BBC recording consent option now properly included in admin entry forms
  • Adjudication sheets: Competition numbers with leading zeros now handled correctly when generating adjudication sheet links

Backend Commands

  • acg:send-notification: New command-line tool for sending targeted SMS or email notifications to competitors, with filters for event, status, competition date, etc.

July - August 2025

Programme Generation

  • Improved venue ordering: Fixed venue ordering in programme and ballot views to respect venue order settings
  • Competition sorting: Fixed sorting in "by day" competition view to order by venue then time
  • Finals handling: Competitions with qualifying rounds no longer show empty competitor lists in the programme
  • Print layout improvements: Various tweaks to programme print preview and print styles

Admin Interface

  • Admin form fix: Fixed issue where autofill on admin forms could cause crashes when editing entries

Backend Commands

  • acg:sanitycheck: New command-line tool for validating entry data integrity - detects potential issues like the same person entering conflicting competition types (e.g. learner and fluent). Includes experimental Gaelic-to-English surname matching.
  • acg:mailmembers: Updated to support life members in mailings.

Infrastructure

  • Laravel upgraded from 8 to 11: The backend Laravel application was upgraded through three major versions (8 → 9 → 10 → 11) using Laravel Shift, bringing improved performance, security updates, and modern PHP 8.2+ support.

May - June 2025

Programme Generation

  • Enhanced ballot printouts: New bilingual programme layout with editable fields for venue, time, descriptions, and competitor lists
  • Short names support: Programme can now display abbreviated competitor names where needed

Admin Interface

  • Prize management: View assigned prizes directly from competition view, with links to prize details
  • Bank Transfer payment method: Added "Bank Transfer" as a payment method option for orders

Backend Commands

  • acg:splitcomp: Command-line tool for splitting competitions based on entrant age. Updated to work correctly with school year restrictions (P1-S6) not just DOB-based ages.

Navigation

  • Simplified tips menu: Removed outdated links from the Tips navigation menu

February - April 2025

Login

  • Password field: Password now hidden by default with a toggle button to show/hide - previously defaulted to visible

Backend Commands

  • acg:makedummyballot: New command-line tool for generating dummy ballot data with realistic Gaelic names and school names, for programme testing and print previews.

January 2025

School Year Validation

  • School year restrictions: Competitions can now be restricted by school year (P1-S6) instead of just age
  • Entry forms updated: Entry forms now show "Open to school years" when a competition has school year restrictions
  • Admin competition settings: Competition add/edit screens now include minimum and maximum school year fields