Timing gates for sprinting
A timing gate is a beam of light across the lane. You break it, the clock stamps the time, and the time between two beams is your split. The hardware is simple, but small setup choices, like where you stand behind the first beam, change your times by hundredths.
How a gate system works
Each gate is a light source on one side of the lane and either a reflector or a receiver on the other. When your body blocks the beam, the gate sends the time to a console or a phone. You need one gate at the start and one at every distance you want timed, so a 40 with 10 and 20-yard splits takes four gates. Some systems start the clock with a touch pad or a beep in place of the first gate.
Single beam vs dual beam
A single beam can be broken by a swinging arm or a knee before your torso gets there. Haugen and Buchheit's review of sprint monitoring cites a study where beams at chest height were broken twice in 60% of passes, against 4% at hip height. Dual-beam gates stack two beams and only count the crossing when both are blocked, which filters out most limbs. The same review puts the typical error of single-beam gates at about 0.03 s and dual-beam gates at about 0.02 s.
Setup moves your times
Your starting position behind the first gate can change your 10 m time by several hundredths. The same review found that starting 1 m behind the first beam instead of 0.5 m made 5-20 m times 0.06-0.08 s faster, because you're already moving when you break it. Start method matters too: over 40 m, a standing start triggered by the first gate ran 0.27 s faster than a block start with a gun.
To compare times between sessions, keep the start distance, stance and beam height the same each time. Before you compare with someone else's numbers, ask how they set up.
What gates cost
| System | Entry price | Each extra split |
|---|---|---|
| SKLZ Speed Gates Pro | $149.99, start and finish | Not offered |
| OVR Sprint | $529 for 2 gates | $229 |
| Dashr Blue | $690 for 2 gates | From $375 |
| Brower TCi | From $1,359 | $539 |
Manufacturer prices, checked October 29, 2026. More in the full comparison.
Gates or a wearable
Gates are the right buy when a team takes turns, because they time whoever runs through. They also handle shuttles and agility drills. For one athlete or a small group, the per-gate cost adds up fast, and every extra split means another tripod at another measured mark.
Sprintbrick has no gates. A receiver behind the start measures the distance to a sensor on your lower back 100 times a second, so the app knows when you cross every line without anything standing on it. We ran it side by side with OVR gates, and every segment after the first 10 m came within 50 ms of the gates, 30 out of 30. Times that include the start agree less well so far; the OVR comparison has the numbers.