Sprint timing ... by lane or by place?

[TheBlueShadow]

For meets that need to use manual hand timing, which is the better method ... by lane or by place?

[rainbowgirl28]

Always by place.

[dj]

place always..........

[vaultmd]

I don't like it; but it's by place.

[VaultPurple]

Yeah place is best because then You atleast know who won even if some how second ended up with a faster time than 1st. Just kind of hard to watch in stuff like 100. I got so mad when i used to sprint in swimming because i visualy finished 2nd or 3rd but one of my hand timers was not paying attention and clicked the stopwatch over a second after my other time (they adverage the times), moving me to about 6th.

[TheBlueShadow]

... one of my hand timers was not paying attention and clicked the stopwatch over a second after my other time (they adverage the times), moving me to about 6th.

Then why is it by place?

Can someone explain the reasoning to me?

I'm not here to argue this method of timing here, I'm just frustrated with the confusion it causes at the finish line. We have been attending youth track and field going on 5 years now and been frustrated each year. This past weekend was the worst. One particular race my 7 year old was standing at the finish line waiting for someone to come up to him and register his time .... nobody ever showed. He was standing there while they were getting ready for the next race. Apparently they couldn't figure out what time he had so they just picked one.

The next race he was run over by one of the timers stepping out on the track, to get to his runner, and cut off my son from crossing the finish line.

I just can't see the reasoning for timing by place. Forgive me.

[rainbowgirl28]

In a scored track meet, place is more important than time.

Hand timing at a youth track meet is not usually going to be terribly reliable, you might want to get your own stopwatch and perform backup timing.

It eventually gets better. More high schools are starting to use auto-timing, especially for the big meets.

[golfdane]

Regardless of method, will it be flawed. Errors will occur, either in time or placement, regardless of lane or place.

Personally, if I had to time anyone, would I feel more confident in timing a particular person, rather than to estimate who came 3rd and clock him/her (often a split time decision). Impossible in a tight sprint race, with a reasonable degree of accuracy.