Just like the gold prospectors of old, participants in a gold panning competition have to swirl sand and gravel out of the gold panning pan leaving a tail of the heavier gold. The difference is that in competition this is done in a race against time. The aim of the sport is to find, in the best time, all the gold flakes seeded into a bucket of gravel and sand. Time penalties are added for lost flakes.
Gold Panning Competition
Competitors collect a bucket of 15 - 20 kilograms of sand and gravel which the chief judge has seeded with anything between 5 - 12 tiny gold flakes. In a single event everyone has the same number of gold flakes but they don't know how many. Every participant also gets a clear glass tube sealed with a cap and partly filled with clear water in which to place the gold flakes which they find.
With buckets and tubes, as well as their own pans, competitors move to the panning pools which are filled with 20 - 30cm of water. These pools are man-made and not in natural rivers or lakes so as not to pollute the environment. The pan, bucket and glass tube are placed on the side of the pool while the participant waits for the starting signal.
The Gold Rush
When the signal goes off some of the content of the bucket is poured into the pan and water is scooped up from the panning pool. Skill comes to play in the way the mixture is swirled to wash out the sand and gravel and (hopefully) leave the heavier gold flakes behind. This process is repeated until all the original sand and gravel in the bucket is washed away, while all the time looking out for and collecting the flakes of gold.
When finished the competitor raises his or her hand for the time keeper. The tube with gold flakes is placed inside the pan and the participant moves to the judges for the counting of the gold flakes.
Speed is essential. At the 2011 International Gold Panning Championships in Poland the winner of the category for proficient men, Keranen Veikko of Finland, found his seven gold flakes in 1 minute and 14 seconds.
Gold Panning as a Family Sport
Gold panning competitions have events for beginner men and women, proficient men and women, veterans, juniors and children. In other words, every member for the family can participate. There are also 2-man, 3-man, and 5 man team contests so that family members can compete together as a team.
For information on where and how to participate in gold panning visit The World Gold Panning Association site which provides links to the 21 affiliated associations in countries around the world.
Gold Panning Championships
The World Gold Panning Championships in 2012 will be held in Pilgrims Rest, South Africa and in 2013 in Biella, Italy. June 2012 sees the Scottish and British Gold Panning Championships in Scotland and the European Championships in Finland.
Frieda Paton - A published nurse author, Frieda has variety in her life being a part-time nurse, business owner and craft producer.
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