A universal athleticism rating system and related athletic performance measuring systems for accurately detecting and recording athletic performance are disclosed. The athleticism rating system evaluates individual athletes against a common, standardized, set of athletic performance tests. Each athlete performs the athletic tests and his or her scores in the individual tests are entered into a standardized calculation to produce a single athletic performance score. The related performance measuring system is preferably a timing system that ensures quick, easy, and accurate collection of athletic event timing related data without the need for the athlete to wear any special detection devices or the like. In a preferred embodiment, the performance measuring system integrates with the rating system to provide seamless athletic data collection and rating of athletes.