Timekeepers are responsible for measuring and recording the time each athlete completes a race. This is done using stop watches.
The timekeeper starts their stopwatch when they see the flash or the smoke from the gun. Do not wait for the sound, as this will lead to an inaccurate time.
Each stop watch can be different, but they typically have 3 buttons:
- Start/Stop Button – this starts and stops the timer
- Split – this freezes the time on the display, but keeps the timer counting in the background
- Recall – this toggles the display between the split time and the final time
All times are rounded UP to the nearest 10th of a second, and recorded to 1 decimal place. (E.g. 10.14 seconds is rounded up to 10.2 and recorded on the sheet as 10.2)
An athlete finishes the race when their torso crosses the line. The torso is the part of the body between the shoulders and the waist – it does not include the arms. This is when the timer is stopped.
