I guess I should have called this thread 'proposed
new badge DOCUMENTATION requirements'.

This response, which looks very reasonable to me, came
from Judy Ruprecht:

'The proposal to eliminate both documentation by ground-based
Observer
and photo documentation in favor of 'commercial off
the shelf' GPS
units ('COTS') has been wafting around since agreed-upon
at the
Spring 2004 IGC meeting - a month or so before my time.
Since then,
I've received a total of 7 photo-documented claims
from US pilots...
and quite a bit of lobbying from those who see no reason
not to allow COTS.

This hasn't been kept secret - the 2004, 2005 and 2006
editions of
Sporting Code Section 3 are all prefaced with a note
regarding the
future demise of photographic evidence; the note at
the front of the
newest edition effective 1 October 2007 indicates photographic

evidence will not be allowed after September 30, 2008.

The current draft proposal will be reviewed by IGC
at their spring
2008 meeting and is subject to change by IGC. The current
draft would
require National Aero Club approval of COTS units and
software, and
an approved COTS unit, supplemented by mechanical or
electronic
barograph, could be used only for documentation of
Silver and Gold
badge legs. Barographs - used alone - would, as I understand
it,
remain viable for any badge altitude or duration claim
and IGC
approved Flight Recorders would be required for Diamond
Goal, Diamond
Distance and all world records.'

Ian