An apparatus for measuring jump distances has a housing with a bottom surface, a track extending longitudinally along the housing, a carriage translatably affixed to the track, and a laser mounted to the carriage so as to direct the beam in a direction away from the housing. A scale is affixed to or adjacent to the track. The scale has distance indicia formed therein. The carriage has an indicator thereon that is directed to the scale such that the distance indicia corresponding to the indicator corresponds to a location of a surface to which the beam of the laser is directed.