http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18270

As I've reported earlier, Ozone came out with the Baby HPP, a paraglider with a few carbon battens, that allows them to reduce the number of strings connecting the pilot to the paraglider thereby reducing drag and making a small but significant (at the top end of competition) improvement in L/D and speed. Now the Paraglider Manufacturers Association has asked the CIVL Plenary (meeting in February) to make a new class for paragliders that have carbon fiber battens.

It is clear from the FAI/CIVL definition of Class 3 (paragliders) that paragliders with carbon battens fit within that definition (...no primary rigid structure...). Now the question is should the paragliders moved into a new class because.... Well, the only reason that I see so far is that they have slightly better performance.

The performance differential is quite a bit less than that between king posted and topless hang gliders (well, maybe not with respect to the Litesport) and you'll note that these hang gliders are still in the same CIVL class. Of course, we now have Sport Class (which is a different kind of "class"), so that makes up for this a bit.

It is really damn hard to come up with a physical criteria for dividing up the classes in a manner that actually makes sense. It has never been completely clear what the criteria are for creating different classes. For sure, there is an interest in creating classes that are competitive, but just what that means is pretty subjective.