What’s the Best Way to Time a Flying 30m?

Why Flying 30s Matter

Flying 30s are the go-to drill for testing max velocity. The setup is simple: the athlete builds up speed over 20–30m, then you time the next 30m once they’re already rolling.

For sprinters, it shows top-end speed.
For football players, it shows whether their 40-yard dash has true top speed or just a good start.
For soccer and rugby players, it measures how well they can hit and hold max speed in game-like conditions.

The problem isn’t running the test — it’s getting accurate times.

The Stopwatch Problem

You can’t hand-time a flying 30 and expect it to mean much. The margins we’re looking for are in hundredths of a second. A stopwatch has an error of ±0.2–0.3s — way bigger than the actual progress an athlete might make.

Two different coaches timing the same rep will almost always get two different results. That makes comparisons useless.

Lasers and Their Quirks

Laser gates (like Brower or Dashr) are common, but they come with issues:

• An arm or knee can trip the beam early.

• You don’t always know if you measured the athlete’s body or their limb.

• Setting them up for flying sprints takes time and precision.

They look precise on paper, but in practice, you often question whether the numbers reflect true performance.

The Gold Standard (That No One Uses in Practice)

At championship meets, flying 30s are sometimes measured with photo-finish cameras. Systems like FinishLynx are millisecond-accurate and fully certified. But they cost tens of thousands of dollars, require fixed installation, and a trained operator.

Great for world records. Completely unrealistic for Tuesday night practice.

A Practical Approach Coaches Actually Use

Most coaches need something simple, consistent, and repeatable. That’s why many are moving to wearable timing chips that measure the athlete at their center of mass instead of relying on a thumb or a laser beam.

• The chip clips to the waist.

• You mark the start of the flying zone and the end of the 30m.

• Every rep is measured the same way.

Accuracy is around ±0.02s, which is plenty for tracking improvements in max velocity.

Why Consistency Matters More Than Perfection

The key isn’t chasing the same gear they use at the Olympics — it’s using a method that’s consistent every session.

• If the setup is the same, you can tell if your athlete improved 0.05s.

• If the setup is messy, you’ll spend more time arguing about numbers than coaching.

Consistency makes the data meaningful. That’s what matters for a flying 30.

Real-World Examples

• Sprinters → Compare top speed phases across training blocks.

• Football → See if athletes hit and hold speed during the 40-yard dash.

• Soccer → Use flying 30s as part of a speed profile, alongside acceleration and RSA.

• Strength & Conditioning → Track whether improvements in the weight room actually translate to faster top-end sprinting.

Final Thoughts

So, what’s the best way to time a flying 30m?

• Stopwatches: too inconsistent.

• Lasers: better, but quirky.

• Photo-finish: perfect, but not practical.

• Wearable timing chips: the realistic middle ground.

For most of us, the “best” isn’t the fanciest — it’s the method that’s consistent, simple, and makes comparisons meaningful over time.