Why does the Sporting code require "Goal" to be a finish point???

I would agree with the other posters here about only having one declaration. I
would be rather concerned (as an OO) if someone leafed through a bunch of
declarations before handing me the 'right' one...

However, my interpretation of the regulations for record/badge claims is this:

You can claim as many 'performances' as you like from one flight, as long as
they meet the criteria set down. You could declare a 1000Km triangle and if you
took over 5hrs to complete it and gained 5000m on the way round, you could
claim your Silver, Gold and Diamond badges plus the 1000Km Diploma.

In terms of records, this is true as well. If you take a particular segment of
the flight and it qualifies _in its own right_ for a soaring performance, then
you can claim it. The only exception I can find is this:

"3.0.2 Records in any one flight.

Any record or records may be broken in any one flight for which the
requirements
are met, except that only one speed record may be certificated for a flight
over a triangular or out and return course, the record being certificated for
the
record distance immediately less than the official distance of the flight."

So I take that as meaning I could declare a 3-TP quadrilateral 500Km, and claim
everything up to and including Diamond Distance (see SC-3 4.5). If I carried on
in the same direction-ish, and landed much further away I could maybe claim a
free distance record. I could also claim a 300Km triangle speed record and
maybe even a 100Km goal record, if it complied with the 1000m rule and crossed
a synthetic finish line/ FAI sector. And so on.

I think there is confusion over the application of the terms START, FINISH &
GOAL. I look at these in relative terms when considering a particular
performance from a flight segment. I don't decide on what they are then fix
this for all evidence related to that flight.

For instance, it's well known you can claim Silver Distance from one leg of a
triangle, provided you comply with the 1000m rule (assuming 100Km leg) or take
the penalty. You also have to prove a valid start & finish - at least one of
these will start off as a TP in the declaration and no-one seems to have a
problem with that...