Most of our events use electronic punch for timing. Here are your options:
- Rent a finger stick for a meet for $5 to try it out (you can pay online)
- Just use the traditional paper punch
- Buy your own stick for about $28 (see below for options)
In 2022 the club purchased new equipment that allowed us to begin having meets with electronic punching (here is a simple introduction to electronic punching). The project was a huge success. At this point all competitive courses at all meets use electronic punching. Score-Os and other fun meets typically use the traditional paper punch.
To use electronic punching, competitors need a “finger stick” (also called a card or a dipper, an electronic device about the size of a thumb drive) that will be carried around the course to record the time and control # of each control as it is visited. Arctic Orienteering has about 20 finger sticks available for rent ($5 per meet with a $30 replacement cost if lost). Typically a team only needs one finger stick for their group.
You are not required to use electronic punch, instead you can still use the traditional paper punch (each control has a paper punch in addition to the electronic punch). But to get your time published and recorded for competitive events, you do need to use electronic punch. Plus its fun and you get a receipt printed when you finish with your split times between controls!
We recommend that all regular orienteers buy their own SportsIdent compatible stick. We recommend the SI-Card8, but the SI-Card9, SI-Card10 or SIAC are valid options for additional cost.
There are several orienteering vendors/resellers in the US but most are in Europe. All40.com sells several types of cards including the SI-Card 8 for about $28 (the price looks higher at first because of VAT which is removed for US customers) and shipping is usually free.