Results Integrity and Appeals Policy

1. How PigeonLink Protects Result Integrity

1.1 Immutable Timing Records

Once a race result has been confirmed by a club secretary or race manager, the arrival times, calculated velocities, and final positions are locked in the system. No further edits can be made to confirmed results without creating a new auditable record.

1.2 Audit Trail

Every change to a race record creation, basketing entries, clock time recording, status transitions, and result confirmation is logged with a timestamp and the identity of the user who made the change. This audit trail is retained and can be reviewed by authorised administrators.

1.3 Official Distances

Loft-to-liberation-point distances are calculated using established geodetic methods (Airy Modified ellipsoid for IHU clubs; WGS-84 for RPRA clubs) and stored at basketing time. Distances used in velocity calculations cannot be altered after a result is confirmed.

1.4 Secretary Verification

Loft GPS coordinates must be verified by a club secretary before they can be used in official distance calculations. Self-reported coordinates entered by members are flagged as unverified and excluded from official results until approved.

1.5 Role-Based Access Control

Only authorised users, club secretaries, race managers, and system administrators can create races, record times, and confirm results. Members cannot alter their own results or distances. All access is controlled by the role assigned in the system.

1.6 Velocity Calculation

Velocity is calculated in yards per minute (YPM) using the formula:

This calculation is performed by the system and cannot be manually overridden once a result is confirmed.

2. What PigeonLink Does Not Govern

PigeonLink is a data management platform and not a sporting authority. The following matters are outside the scope of this policy and are governed by the relevant club or federation:

• Eligibility of birds or members to enter a race
• Pool and prize distribution rules
• Disputes about physical clock readings or electronic timing device accuracy
• Decisions about re-racing, abandonment, or weather cancellations
• Disciplinary matters relating to members or clubs

For these matters, contact your club secretary or consult your federation's rules.

3. Raising a Concern About Results Data

Step 1 Contact Your Club Secretary

In the first instance, raise your concern with your club secretary. They have access to the full race audit trail, can review the timing data, and can escalate to the race manager or federation if needed.

Step 2 Club Secretary Reviews the Audit Trail

The club secretary can review all timing entries, distance confirmations, and any edits made to the race record. If a data error is identified such as a clock time entered incorrectly the secretary can request a correction through the race manager before the result is confirmed.

Step 3 Escalate to PigeonLink Support

If you believe there has been a system error - for example, a distance calculation that appears incorrect, or a timing record that does not match the physical clock sheet - you may raise a formal concern with PigeonLink support:

• Email: support@pigeon-link.com
• WhatsApp: available via the footer of this site

Please include the race name, date, club, and a description of the discrepancy. Where possible, include photographs of the original clock sheet or timing record.

Step 4 PigeonLink Review

PigeonLink will review the audit trail, distance records, and any supporting documentation provided. If a platform error is confirmed, PigeonLink will work with the club secretary and race manager to apply a correction and publish an updated result. All corrections are logged and attributed.

PigeonLink will respond to formal concerns within 5 working days.

4. Governing Body and Club Policies

If your club or federation has its own results integrity or appeals procedure, that procedure governs sporting matters such as eligibility and prize disputes. PigeonLink's policy covers only the accuracy and integrity of the data recorded in the platform.

Clubs and federations using PigeonLink may publish their own supplementary rules using the Page Manager feature. Contact your club secretary for details of your local rules.

5. Policy Maintenance

This policy is maintained by PigeonLink and reviewed annually or following any significant change to the platform's results management functionality. The date of last review is shown at the foot of this page.