2015 National Gold Panning Championships
The sleepy town of Pilgrim’s Rest came to life as people from as far afield as Sweden ascended upon it for the 2014 National Gold Panning Championships. The Gold Panning Championships, which started in 1997 in South Africa with less than 100 participants, now boasts almost 600 participants. One of the participants was the MEC for culture, sport & recreation, Norah Mahlangu – Mabena, who panned for the first time, but scored second place in her heat. As a main sponsor along with the South African Gold Panning Association (SAGPA) and various other stakeholders, Mahlangu – Mabena’s department continues to promote this sport, which has become a favourite pastime for the people of Pilgrim’s Rest & surrounding areas. According to the departments’ spokesperson Sibongile Nkosi, the main purpose of gold panning is to preserve the heritage of the sport whilst bringing about social cohesion as it brings South Africans of all races together.
Having hosted two world Championships, 2005 & 2012 respectively, South Africa continues to produce some of the best panners in the world. One of these is 14-year-old Jané Vermaak who was one of 34 panners who represented South Africa in the World Gold Panning Championships held in Sweden in August and currently holds the title of Junior World Champion. Having panned for over a decade, this dynamic panner from Sabie says she will continue panning as she gets to have fun with her family and is given an opportunity to travel the world thanks to Dcsr and SAGPA.
Gold panning is a sport where 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 penalized for lost nuggets. Winners in the National Gold Panning Championships stand a chance of representing South Africa in the 2015 World Gold Panning Championships to be held in Spain.