Event Information

Competition information

Fair play

All competitors shall behave with fairness and honesty. Attempts to gain any information related to the courses, beyond that provided by the organiser, are prohibited before and during the competition. A competitor who breaks any rule, or benefits from the breaking of any rule, may be disqualified.
As maps will not be collected at the finish on any day, we ask you to please not show or discuss your map with any competitors (on any course) who have yet to run.

Information about Nelson Lakes

Maps

Competition maps are digitally printed on synthetic waterproof paper. The maps are produced using the current International Specification for Orienteering Maps (ISOM).

Control descriptions

For all classes, descriptions will be printed on the front of the map and be available loose at the start. For A-classes, only IOF symbol descriptions will be used. For those on orange-difficulty courses, both IOF symbols and written English descriptions will be available. For classes on yellow and white courses, only English descriptions are provided.

Map legends

Legends are not printed on the map. You can download a legend/ description of orienteering mapping symbols here.

Controls

Each control is equipped with:

• one electronic punching station (SI unit). Some control sites with high traffic (e.g. Finish) may have two SI units;
• one backup needle punching device, only to be used if SI unit fails;
• a white/orange control flag.

The control code is located on top of the SI unit, or on the tag on the side. There are many controls in the competition terrain, so it is important to check the control code when you punch.

Radio controls will be used at all three events at the Finish. This makes no difference for competitors.

Electronic timing

During SIOC2026, the SportIdent (SI) electronic punching system will be used, where the orienteer carries an SI Card (also known as ‘dibber’) on their finger. Each control visited writes the time of the visit on the card. The control times are read out after the finish line to determine total race time, split times, and whether all controls were visited in the correct order.

In addition, the SI Air+ contactless punching system is enabled, allowing orienteers to take advantage of the SportIdent Active Card (SIAC). Rather than inserting the SI card into the control station, a punch is recorded when the orienteer brings their card within a short distance (roughly 50cm) of the station. The SIAC beeps and flashes to confirm the ‘punch’, but the actual ‘punch’ is not registered inside the SI box. SI Air+ also allows for run-through finish gates, where instead of stopping to punch a finish control, orienteers can pass through the gate at full speed and still have their finish time recorded.

The event run with SIAC is fully compatible with older SI cards – the same control stations are used and orienteers can insert their card into the stations to punch as usual.

Electronic punching

Please read the following instructions carefully:

• Both types of cards must be cleared and checked before each race at the stations located in front of the start area – this is the responsibility of each competitor. Use the ‘clear’ box first, to remove data from your chip, and then punch the ‘check’ box. The check box also turns on SIAC.
• At each control, either insert your SI-card into the control unit until the unit beeps and flashes, or pass your SIAC close to the control box and check that the SIAC beeps and flashes.
• If you punch an incorrect control, ignore it and continue to the correct control unit; the extra punch will be disregarded by the results software.
• If the SIAC stops working in Air mode (no beep or flash), it can still be used like a regular SI card and inserted to punch each station.
• If an SI unit does not function (there is no beep and no flash) then use the pin punch attached to the control stand and punch on your map in one of the spaces provided. If you have pin punched any controls on your map you must hand the map in at the Download before leaving the Finish area and explain what you have done.
• A competitor with a control punch missing or unidentifiable will not receive a result, unless it can be established that the punch missing or unidentifiable is not the competitor’s fault. If a competitor punches too fast and fails to receive the feedback signals, the card will not contain the punch and the competitor will not receive an overall time, even though the control unit may have recorded the competitor’s card number as an error punch. Note: SIAC does not record a punch in the control unit.
• If you have hired a SIAC for your races, please return it to Registration after your final download. Lost or broken SIACs will incur a charge of $90 to cover the cost of a replacement.

Start

The start procedure will be the same for every event. Each competitor is responsible for following the marked route to the start area. The competition area is out of bounds until your start time.

The pre-start area has Clear, Check, and SIAC battery check boxes. In the Start area, competitors will pass through three consecutive starting pens and remain in each for one minute.

Each competitor is responsible for following the marked route to their Start area. The competition area is out of bounds until your start time. It is the competitor’s responsibility to be there on time. Report to the start when the clock shows your start time: the clock is set to three minutes before race time.

Course splits

Some courses are split into (a), (b) and/or (c) versions. All versions of a course are identical except that each version is provided in a different scale depending on your class. All classes running a certain course have the same Control Descriptions. The participant is responsible for picking up the correct scale map for their class.

Late Start

Competitors who arrive late at the start must report to the late-start lane, where an official will accompany them, and they will start the race when told to do so using a punch-start. The results of competitors who start late due to their own fault will be based on their original start time, without time compensation. Competitors who are late for their start time, through no fault of their own, will be timed from their new start time, as determined by the event controller.

Event volunteers who are unable to make their allocated start time can identify themselves upon arrival. This competitor starts their race when told to do so by punching a start box, overwriting the previously allocated start time.

Shadowing

Parental shadowing is not permitted in any championship classes, including M/W10. If parents wish to shadow or directly assist their younger children, the children must have been entered in the non-competitive M/W10N (Novice) class. Although there are allocated times for MW10N, competitors can start whenever their shadow is ready. Caregivers shadowing MW10N must either not be competing or have already completed their course. These young participants start their race when told to do so by punching a start box, overwriting the previously allocated start time.

Finish

The Finish is in the Event Centre for all three events. All competitors, including those who do not complete the whole course, are required to pass and punch one of the Finish control boxes at the Finish, or, when using SIAC, pass their SIAC over one, with the card automatically turned off by the Finish control. Each competitor must download their SI-card at one of the manned download stations. This is also where potential downloading problems will be handled.

Competitors who do not download will be considered missing, prompting a search for them. If you decide not to finish your race, please come back to the download area, so we know you are back safe and sound.

Results

Provisional live results will be displayed on the O-Lynx results display at the Arena. Official results will be available on this website’s Results page. Results on winsplits will be posted as soon as possible after each event.
Route Gadget and Maps for each event will be published as soon as possible.

Results queries

If there is anything a competitor wishes to clarify about the download, or if a control failed to beep and flash, was missing, or any other problem occurred on the course, please proceed to the download station. Officials there, in consultation with the Controller, will assist in resolving the issue as soon as is practical. There is no punch enquiry fee.

Complaints and protests

Complaints and protests will be handled in accordance with the ONZ rules. Before making a protest, you are entitled to complain to the controller about an infringement of the rules or the organiser’s directions.

A complaint is made in writing on a form available from Registration and is handed to the controller as soon as possible, but within 60 minutes of the affected competitor finishing. A complaint is adjudicated by the controller. The controller’s decision on a complaint shall be communicated to the complainant and displayed on the results board as soon as possible, within no more than 60 minutes of the complaint being received. If the complainant is not satisfied with the decision, a protest may be made against the controller’s decision.

Jury members

The ONZ Technical Committee will appoint a jury of three ONZ A-grade controllers in advance of the event in accordance with the ONZ Rule 29.4.