Satellite-based geolocation services introduce a completely new data source into the sport of ARDF. One can argue whether adding an external navigation source is a good or a bad thing. But it will undoubted have profound effects on the sport – not all of those effects are immediately obvious.
Consider the case of taking bearings toward a transmitter signal. A bearing consists of two pieces of information: a direction and a location. Both of those information components are very important. Obviously the extent to which a bearing direction is inaccurate, the quality (usefulness) of the bearing is diminished. But the same is true if you draw that bearing as originating from the wrong location. If your position
estimation is wrong by 200 meters, your bearing might miss the fox by
200 meters even if your bearing direction is perfect.
Now consider when your bearing locations are determined by GPS: the error of the location component of your bearings will generally be less than 50 meters, and often 10m or less. You can pretty much bank on that degree of GPS position accuracy at most venues. That high degree of accuracy, derived from satellite signals emanating from far away, will be maintained consistently even if you are tired, confused, or just not very good at reading a map! Perhaps a practiced and skilled ARDF competitor can accomplish nearly the same degree of accuracy when manually drawing lines on a map using a grease pencil. But it is a near certainty that a newbie to the sport won’t be able to accomplish the same feat without GPS. But a newbie will quickly master the use of a GPS-assisted bearing-taking device, and will be taking bearings much like a pro in short order despite having mastered none of the navigation skills historically required for ARDF.
The previous paragraph illustrates two points:
1) Although technology does not eliminate all the advantage of practiced skills, it does diminish the need for orienteering skills.
2) The use of satellite navigation technology will disproportionately improve the performance of lesser-skilled competitors; more so than skilled competitors.
That second point suggests that uneven availability of technology
amongst the lesser-skilled competitors will likely result in changes
to their finish order. That is, technology might not change who medals
in a competition, but it is likely to help those who finish farther down the finishers list move ahead of their peers who lack the technology.
If satellite-based geolocation data is to be allowed in the sport then fairness dictates that allowable technology be universally available, and that newbies and novices are not locked out of permitted technologies due to price or availability.