All events and classes in Oceania 2025 use the SportIdent Air+ contactless punching system. You will need a SportIdent Active Card (SIAC) to take advantage of this. Rather than having to insert your card into the control station, a punch is recorded when you bring the card within a short distance (roughly 50cm) of the station. The station will beep and flash in the usual way, and the SIAC beeps and flashes to confirm the punch.
Rationale
SIACs are not optional, to ensure fair competition—this is an IOF requirement for Oceania 2025. The main reasons for this are:
- Avoiding crowding at controls: We have a large field with hundreds of starters and there is a high chance that you could be randomly delayed (or delay another orienteer) if you arrive at a busy control. Using SIACs alleviates this by allowing much faster flow through controls, and avoids the risk of timing drift between duplicate control boxes.
- Run-through finish gates: These give the best timing accuracy and finish experience – again, there’s no risk of crowding. It isn’t possible to mix and match run through and punch finishes – people stopping to punch can block the gate and risk delays or collisions.
What this means for you
If you already have your own SIAC, supply your SI number when entering as usual. You can use the same card for all events. You will be able to air punch in all events. We can check your card is a SIAC using the SI number.
If you have an older SI card or don’t have one at all, you will need to hire a SIAC from us as part of the entry process.
We appreciate this is an extra cost, and we have tried to keep those costs down. In the long term, we recommend purchasing your own SIAC to get the best orienteering experience – they really are game-changing for your flow through controls, allowing you to concentrate on navigation rather than fumbling to get your dibber in the hole.
A small tip
After holding your SIAC near a control station, it will beep and flash as mentioned above. Confirm this by holding it to your ear or looking at it straight away to see the punch was recorded. This is particularly useful when other orienteers are at the same control—you want to be sure the beep you heard was your beep!