Gold Panning

Thursday 6 October 2011

FINAL REGISTRATION - GOLD PANNING OFFICE

GOLD PANNING SCHOOL - COMPETITION SITE

17:00 - STREET PARADE START AT HIGHWAYMAN’S   GARAGE

18:00 - OFFICIAL OPENING AT COMPETITION SITE

Friday 7 October 2011

17:00 - Wheelbarrow Race (Start and Finish: Uptown Pilgrims Rest on By-Pass road)

18:00 - Diggers Pub-Crawl (This is an event in it's own right and one not to be missed)

Saturday 8 October 2011

Sunday 9 October 2011

15:00 - PRIZE GIVING AND CLOSING CEREMONY

Please note: Times of heats may change once registration has been finalised

The South African Gold Panning Association (S.A.G.P.A.) was founded in July 1997. In August of the same year a delegation from the Association and the Pilgrim’s Rest Museum visited Finland to observe and compete in the Finnish Open Gold Panning Championships. South Africa was also represented at the Swiss Open Championships and the World Gold Panning Championships in Italy. S.A.G.P.A also applied for membership of the World Association and became its twentieth member.

 S.A.G.P.A joined forces with the Pilgrim’s Rest Museum and Mpumalanga’s Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation to successfully present the first annual South African Open Gold Panning Championships in December 1997. Interest in gold panning has since grown rapidly and membership of the association has grown by 620%. Participation in the South African Open Championships has also grown remarkably and a record number of 567 gold panners competed in the 2004 event. The South African events have also drawn competitors from Great Britain, Caribbean Islands, United States, Canada, Mozambique, Botswana, Switzerland, New Zealand, Zambia and Namibia.

Gold panning is supported and practiced by people from all races, genders and ages and is not expensive to get into as little equipment is needed and no special physical attributes are required other than enthusiasm and passion. Since it’s beginning, S.A.G.P.A has made it its goal to develop the S.A. Open Championships to meet with the requirements of the World Gold Panning Association’s rules and competition standards to ensure fair competition. Each competitor receives a regulation gold pan and a bucket of sand in which a number of gold nuggets are hidden. The winner will have panned out the most nuggets in the shortest time. The number of nuggets in the buckets of sand is only known to the Chief Judge and participants are penalised for lost nuggets. Provision is made for proficient and novice participants divided into categories according to age and gender. The championships are also accompanied by various exciting sideshows such as the Gold Symposium, traditional Wheelbarrow Race, Diggers Pub Crawl and Diggers Dance.

 Every year since 1997 S.A.G.P.A has been represented at the World Gold Panning Championships, the highlight being the 2001 championships in Australia. Apart from the gold and silver medals that were won the South African contingent also succeeded to secure the bid to host the 2005 World Gold Panning Championships at Pilgrim’s Rest, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Not only is this a first for South Africa but a first for Africa.

Follow this link to find out more about the South African Gold Panning Association

www.sagoldpanning.co.za

Click here to find out more about Goldpanning at Mac Mac

soon there will be Goldpanning clubs in Johannesburg, Pretoria and other parts of South Africa

for some interesting pictures and information visit www.sagoldpanning.co.za

The "Black Mamba" Competition Gold Pans are now available for sale

e-mail gilmore@pilgrimsrest.org.za should you be interested

For more information on Gold Panning in general please contact René Reinders:

Telephone: (013) 768-1471

If you have any comments or criticisms, information or photographs to add to our website please e-mail