At the 1995 ONB AGM, the following motion was carried:
"In order to make orienteering a safer sport, all meets shall have a fixed time of day that the courses close. This time shall be given in the meet announcement, written on the control description sheet, and announced by the organizers prior to start."
During the discussions arising as a result of this motion at the AGM, it was noted that an individual orienteer with an early starting time could in fact be out on the course for well in excess of 3 hours (easily 5 hours) before any decision regarding searching for this individual would be made. As a result, it was suggested that, to the extent which it is practicable, individuals who clearly wish to have a full 3 hours on the course should be given early start times. (They should be easily recognizable by their food supplies and camping gear.) Faster competitors could be given later start times and a course could still be realistically closed at 4:30 p.m., for example.
As a reminder, it should be emphasized that a maximum time of 3 hours on a course means that any individual orienteer should be back at the finish within that amount of time, not deciding somewhere out on the course that they should be abandoning the effort and returning at that point. The course closing time, of which everyone should be made aware, is intended to serve as that point at which organizers will consider what actions should be taken to locate any individuals who remain on the course.