Track and field measuring apparatus and method

A method of measuring a distance of a thrown object during a field event comprising the steps of:

• a. providing a distance measuring device rotatably mounted to a stand and rotatable about a first axis, the distance measuring device including a measuring instrument rotatably mounted to the distance measuring device and rotatable about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, and an on-board processor with data storage;
• b. setting up the stand at a position offset from and adjacent to a throwing area and a landing area, and arranging the stand so that the first axis is generally vertical and the second axis is generally horizontal;
• c. collecting and storing in the distance measuring device a first dataset including a first distance measured by the measuring instrument, a first relative position of the distance measuring device about the first axis and a first relative position of the distance measuring device about the second axis, when the distance measuring device is aimed at a target area positioned at a center of curvature of a scratch line of the throwing area;
• d. collecting and storing in the distance measuring device a second dataset including a second distance measured by the measuring instrument, a second relative position of the distance measuring device about the first axis and a second relative position of the distance measuring device about the second axis, when the distance measuring device is aimed at a target area positioned at a landing point of a thrown object within the landing area;
• and
• e. using the processor to calculate a horizontal distance between the center of curvature of the scratch line of the throwing area and the landing point from the first and second datasets.

A method of measuring the height of a cross bar in a jumping event at a track and field meet comprising the steps of:

• a. positioning a pair of standards supporting the cross bar so that the cross bar is directly above a reference point;
• b. placing a laser distance measuring device at the reference point;
• c. collecting a vertical distance between the reference point and a lower edge of the cross bar with the laser distance measuring instrument;
• and
• d. adding a distance between the lower edge of the bar and an upper edge of the bar to the vertical distance to determine the height of the bar above the reference point.