diff --git a/email_client.py b/email_client.py
index 61b3bf5..d0e6bae 100644
--- a/email_client.py
+++ b/email_client.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ PARTICIPANTS_FOLDER = 'participants'
 reg_fees = {'early': {"proMember": 95, "proNonMember":115, "studentMember": 55, "studentNonMember": 65},
             'late': {"proMember": 115, "proNonMember":135, "studentMember": 65, "studentNonMember": 75}}
 farewell_fee = {"senior": 45, "student": 25}
-early_bird = dt.datetime.fromisoformat('2020-01-16T00:00:00')
+early_bird = d = dt.datetime.strptime("2020-01-16T00:00:00", "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S")
 
 
 class Participation(object):