USOF rules seem to imply that control pickup can't begin until at least an hour after a course closes (and results are posted) lest there be a protest that requires the jury to examine a location. Yet numerous meets (and I am only including A-meets here; local meets can be handled differently though proper notice would seem to be a minimum consideration) specify that the flags may be picked up once the last runner is overtime. This would seem to contradict the letter of the rule even though it appears to be (close to) the norm. Is there a common interpretation that states that the jury might be able to rule on a protest site without the flag being present? (In all cases?) Or is it the case that control pick-up should begin later and only once it is known that no protests will be filed within the time limit?
My reading of sections 28 and 29 is that the organizer would only have to leave controls in place for one hour after a complaint was lodged. The organizer has the right to set a time limit on complaints. Presumably that could be as early as the course time limit, although I think that would be a bit dicey in some cases (I'm thinking of US Champs last fall where a good portion of the field was out close to or over the time limit). At any rate, if no complaints are made by the time limit, there would be no need to hold off on control pickup since a complaint must precede a protest. And, of course, the controls not disputed could be picked up as soon as the complaint limit is reached.
I just read through the USOF Rules marked as December 2008 available from the USOF's website ("Binder" page). As far as I can tell there is no complaint mechanism in the USOF Foot Orienteering rules - only a direct protest (Trail O does have a complaint mechanism listed). Perhaps that is an oversight in the rules update? Or perhaps, as usual, I'm missing something.
But back to the topic, are you really suggesting that organizers don't start control pickup until an hour after course closing? That seems quite unreasonable to me, since from the practical side it sure is nice for the organizers to have help from competitors in picking up controls, and only a few competitors will be willing to wait until course closing to help pickup and I'm guessing only family members would be willing to wait for an hour longer than that. Surely the practicality of the situation is that control pickup can begin as soon as the course closes. If there is any question about a misplaced control then surely the organizers would be aware of murmurings about this well in advance of course closing and could then take steps to ensure the control in question is left undisturbed.
Oops, you're right, I was in the wrong part of the rules. Yes, section 18 of the general rules would imply that competitors have the full hour after course closure to file a protest. HOWEVER, there's nothing in there about holding control pickup on the possibility of a protest, so it would appear to me that the responsibility lies with the competitor to at least make their intention of a protest known before control pickup begins. And, as the previous post notes, to shift that burden to the organizers seems onerous.
I don't know the official rules, but I think the risk of a serious protest being put in four hours (three hour run time and hour protest time) after the last start is extremely rare. I would guess that protest that would affect the results is most likely to come in sooner than the maximum 4 hours. I can't speak for everyone but in my recent A meet, I could always have told the jury exactly where every control was hung. Of course the jury may not trust the course setter as a "conflict of interest",
In the case of an A-meet where you might need to retrieve flags for use on successive days, I would think that you could leave the vetting tapes in place, but collect the flags & SI units once the course is clear. I would think the vetting tapes (with codes) would suffice to deal with potential last minute protest issues. Just my opinion, others may disagree...
I agree with cmorse that leaving the vetting tapes in place should be sufficient to handle nearly any protest that might arise.
A downside is that someone needs to go out later (could probably be much later, like days or weeks) and retrieve the vetting streamers.