ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the factors regarding standardisation that should be considered when designing and conducting fitness testing and when subsequently analysing the resultant data, to ensure accurate, valid, reliable and comparable data. Ideally, the gold standard equipment for testing a particular fitness quality should be used where possible; however, this may be unrealistic from both an accessibility and time perspective for many practitioners. Instead, practitioners should consider using alternative equipment that has been validated against the currently considered gold standard equipment when access to the latter is either impossible or unrealistic. Although gold standard equipment can provide more detail about a particular fitness characteristic, in reality, the type of equipment selected by practitioners to test specific fitness qualities depends upon accessibility, feasibility and affordability. The standardisation of sprint testing protocols can relate both to the equipment setup and to the instructions given to the athlete.
