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Read Below for Hand VS. F.A.T. (Fully Automatic Time)

Hand VS. F.A.T. Times

Fully Automatic Timing^‡ systems are accurate between 1 hundredth (0.01) and 1 thousandth (0.001) of a second. F.A.T. is the preferred professional timing system and is commonly used in Tournament Meets (Districts, Regionals, and States), but is sometimes used in large Invitationals such as the Viking Inv. at Teays Valley. Hand timing (i.e. stop watches and or electronic 8/10 lane systems) is the most prevalent method and is based off human hand-eye coordination and reaction. It is only accurate up to 1 tenth of a second (0.1). When using hand times, meet officials will round the number in one of two ways: 0.05 or greater rounds up and 0.04 or lower rounds down OR 0.01 or greater always rounds up. This is up to official's preference, but will remain consistent throughout a meet. The general conversion for a Hand to F.A.T. is +0.24 seconds for 300 Meters and under and +0.14 for 400 Meters and up. All times listed above are hand timed unless noted by an asterisk*.

^‡F.A.T. systems incorporate one or more analog/digital cameras, a gun sensor, and a wind meter synchronized with computer operation. Analog systems are accurate to 0.01 seconds and digital systems are accurate to 0.001 seconds.