Discussion: course closings

Is there an "official" rule that states when a S, M, L course is closed? I know the standard for middle is 2 hours after your start, and 3 hours for long.

I couldn't find a specific COF or IOF rule on that though? Is it just a local decision for the most part?

There's a USOF rule, and it's bogus. I came up with a better (IMHO) suggestion a couple of years ago and gathered some opinions on it. My conclusion was that it would be too contentious for me to try and get it fixed.

USOF Rules have been recently updated with maximum running times: Sprint one hour; Middle, Long 3 hours. There was some discussion among the rulemakers about making the Middle limit 2 hours to be consistent with an old IOF number (now removed from IOF Rules), and they decided against it.

The IOF is very specific with its time limits for the WOC. For other events it currently leaves maximum running times to the organizers' discretion.