SHMD 24911/04/2012

Reaction Time

Speed

Reaction Time: The time elapsed

between stimulation and the beginning of the reaction to

that stimulation.

Reaction Time Ruler Test• Purpose: to measure reaction time, hand-eye quickness

and attentiveness.

• Equipment required: 1 meter long/regular ruler, calculator.

• Procedure: The person to be tested stands or sits near the edge of a table,

resting their elbow on the table so that their wrist extends over the side.

• The assessor holds the ruler vertically in the air between the subject's

thumb and index finger, but not touching.

• Align the zero mark with the subjects fingers.

• The subject should indicate when they are ready.

• Without warning, release the ruler and let it drop - the subject must catch it

as quickly as possible as soon as they see it fall.

• Record in meters the distance the ruler fell.

• Repeat several times (e.g. 10 times) and take the average score.

• Target  population: sports requiring good hand-

eye coordination and quick reactions, such as race

car driving, boxing and racket sports.

• Comments: results for left and right hands can be

expected to be different, therefore this should be

controlled for or at least the hand used recorded

with the results.

distance (cm) time (seconds) distance time distance time distance time

1 0.045 26 0.230 51 0.323 76 0.394

2 0.064 27 0.235 52 0.326 77 0.396

3 0.078 28 0.239 53 0.329 78 0.399

4 0.090 29 0.243 54 0.332 79 0.402

5 0.101 30 0.247 55 0.335 80 0.404

6 0.111 31 0.252 56 0.338 81 0.407

7 0.120 32 0.256 57 0.341 82 0.409

8 0.128 33 0.260 58 0.344 83 0.412

9 0.136 34 0.263 59 0.347 84 0.414

10 0.143 35 0.267 60 0.350 85 0.416

11 0.150 36 0.271 61 0.353 86 0.419

12 0.156 37 0.275 62 0.356 87 0.421

13 0.163 38 0.278 63 0.359 88 0.424

14 0.169 39 0.282 64 0.361 89 0.426

15 0.175 40 0.286 65 0.364 90 0.429

16 0.181 41 0.289 66 0.367 91 0.431

17 0.186 42 0.293 67 0.370 92 0.433

18 0.192 43 0.296 68 0.373 93 0.436

19 0.197 44 0.300 69 0.375 94 0.438

20 0.202 45 0.303 70 0.378 95 0.440

21 0.207 46 0.306 71 0.381 96 0.443

22 0.212 47 0.310 72 0.383 97 0.445

23 0.217 48 0.313 73 0.386 98 0.447

24 0.221 49 0.316 74 0.389 99 0.449

25 0.226 50 0.319 75 0.391 100 0.452

Reaction Light Board Test

• Purpose: to measure reaction time, hand-eye quickness

and coordination.

• Equipment required: Bosu™ ball, instrumented light board

• Scoring: The score is the

number of lights that are

pressed during the test,

out of a total possible of 90.

• Procedure: The light board is constructed so that when active, the board displays a target light that moves to different cells across the board.

• The lights are located a different distances on lines radiating out from the center of the board.

• The athlete stands upon a Bosu ball and facing the light board.

• The light board is positioned so that the center is directly in front of the face.

• The athlete tries to press as many active lights as possible.

Speed: The ability to

perform a movement

in a short period of

time. Or, the rate at

which the body or

individual limbs can

move.

40 Meter Sprint

• Purpose: The aim of this test is to determine

acceleration and speed.

• Equipment  required: measuring tape or

marked track, stopwatch or timing gates, cone

markers, flat and clear surface of at least 60

meters.

• Procedure: The test involves running a single maximum sprint over 40 meters,

with the time recorded.

• A thorough warm up should be given, including some practice starts and

accelerations.

• Start from a stationary position, with one foot in front of the other.

• The front foot must be on the starting line.

• The person timing should stand at the finish line with one arm held high, and call

‘ready’ followed by a sweep down their arm quickly to start the subject (do not

call out ‘go’ due to the time delay in the subject hearing the call).

• As the arm sweeps down, the tester should start the stopwatch which is held in

the downward sweeping arm, and finish the stopwatch as their chest passes

through the finish line.

• Results: Three trials are allowed, and the best time

is recorded to the nearest two decimal places.

• Reliability: weather conditions and running surface

can affect the results, and these conditions should

be recorded with the results. If possible, set up the

track with a crosswind to minimize the effect of

wind, and if running on grass wait until the surface is

dry.

10 x 5m Shuttle Test

• Purpose: this is a test of speed and agility.

• Equipment required: stopwatch, measuring

tape, marker cones, a flat non-slip surface.

• Scoring: Record the total time taken to

complete the 50 m course.

• Procedure: marker cones and/or lines are placed five

meters apart.

• Start with a foot at one marker.

• When instructed by the timer, the subject runs to the

opposite marker, turns and returns to the starting line.

• This is repeated five times without stopping (covering

50 meters total).

• At each marker both feet must fully cross the line.