South African Gold Panning Team off to Poland
August 11 2022 at 09:45
Mbombela - The South African Gold panning team is off to Zlotorya in Poland for the Gold panning championships.
The diverse team, consisting of 37 panners in all categories, which includes juniors, departed for Zlotorya in Poland on the 10th August for the first time in 2 years since the advent of COVID-19 which saw the competition being halted due to safety concerns.
This year will also mark the handover ceremony where the MEC for Culture , Sport and Recreation Ms Thandi Shongwe will be receiving the World Gold Panning Association flag to mark the handover of hosting rights to South Africa which will be hosting the 2023 World Gold Panning Championship in Pilgrims Rest.
As Panners of the world are keenly anticipating the championship next year, South Africa will be hosting a cultural extravaganza, a South African evening event, showcasing the diversity of culture, natural attractions, tourist destinations and entertainment.
South Africa participated for the first time at the Championships in 1997 since then the country has been a world member in good standing.
"We look forward to inviting the world to come and witness the splendour of our beautiful country in general and in particular our province, Mpumalanga, which has a rich history of gold panning and which is going to be the site of the 2023 Gold Panning Championship. We are also hopeful that our team will do well this year and inspire stiff competition from other participating countries. We would like to wish our team well in their pursuit for gold medals in all categories" a confident Sibongile Nkosi, spokesperson for the Department concluded.