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Related Experiment Videos

Timing light height affects sprint times.

John B Cronin1, Rebecca L Templeton

  • 1School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia. j.cronin@ecu.edu.au

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
|February 26, 2008
PubMed
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Timing light systems reliably measure sprint times, but hip-height lights yield faster results than shoulder-height lights. Standardized timing light procedures are crucial for accurate athletic speed assessments.

Area of Science:

  • Sports Science
  • Biomechanics
  • Athletic Performance Measurement

Background:

  • Timing light systems are widely utilized for quantifying athletic sprint performance.
  • Variations in equipment setup, such as timing light height, may influence recorded sprint times.
  • Ensuring consistency in measurement protocols is essential for valid comparisons across athletes and studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the reliability of timing light systems for sprint time measurement.
  • To determine the effect of timing light height (hip vs. shoulder) on sprint times over 10 and 20 meters.
  • To provide recommendations for standardized speed assessment procedures.

Main Methods:

  • Two sets of timing lights were positioned at hip and shoulder height.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Subjects were simultaneously timed over 10-meter and 20-meter sprint distances.
  • Reliability was assessed using coefficients of variation (CV) and typical error.

    • Main Results:

    • Both hip and shoulder height timing lights demonstrated high within-trial consistency (CV < 1.2%).
    • Variability was lower for longer sprint distances (20 m, CV < 0.85%).
    • Significantly faster sprint times were recorded with hip-height lights compared to shoulder-height lights (mean difference of 0.7 seconds).

    Conclusions:

    • Timing light systems are reliable for measuring sprint times.
    • The height of timing lights significantly impacts recorded sprint times, with hip-height settings producing faster times.
    • Standardized placement of timing lights is recommended for accurate and comparable athletic speed assessments.