diff --git a/rowers/interactiveplots.py b/rowers/interactiveplots.py
index 17f99870..62e9fa1d 100644
--- a/rowers/interactiveplots.py
+++ b/rowers/interactiveplots.py
@@ -537,6 +537,15 @@ def interactive_boxchart(datadf,fieldname,extratitle='',
     if datadf.empty:
         return '','It looks like there are no data matching your filter'
 
+    columns = datadf.columns
+
+    if not fieldname in columns:
+        return '','It looks like there are no data matching your filter'
+
+    if not 'date' in columns:
+        return '','Not enough data'
+
+
     tooltips = [
         ('Value', '@'+fieldname),
         ]