I am having WAY too much trouble trying to express the nature of a math problem/practical dilemma.

My wife runs our dogs in agility trials (think obstacle courses for dogs). I could describe the courses but that part is immaterial to the math question.

The dog runs the course for accuracy (on the obstacles) and TIME. Time is where the math problem comes up.

The course is measured for distance in feet and there is a fixed chart to determine the time UNDER WHICH THE DOG MUST COMPLETE THE COURSE in order to qualify.

Unfortunately, though the judge is a paid professional, the timer is usually a volunteer from the hosting training club.

It is sometimes hard for the judge to convey to these volunteers how critical it is that the time for each dog's run be read to the judge in EITHER seconds, or MINUTES AND SECONDS---but it MUST BE CONSISTENT. For instance 1:02 is ONE MINUTE and TWO SECONDS, or it is SIXTY-TWO seconds.

The courses are always less than 2 minutes, but rarely less than one minute.

Here's the question.
What is the range of course time to relative dog's running time that will create the most plausible wrong readings when the volunteer timer reads the times inconsistently?

For instance, a dog that runs an 85 second course in 65 seconds but has the timer read it to the judge "one-oh-five", rather than coming in 20 seconds under time, instead gets credited with a 20 second over time run.

One other factor that contributes to the confusion. The dog has to score 170 out of a possible 200 points. If he is over time he may still qualify, as he will only recieve a point-per-second deduction.

Clear as mud?

thanks in advance (I didn't know who else to turn to and knew several of you have hashed out math problems before).---JH