A basic explanation of competition panning is simple and short.  It will be followed by a wider explanation of some of the different variables that come into play with this type of panning.  If you can become fairly proficient with this type of panning, your general panning will also improve.

Sand and gold are placed in a pan.  Shake the gold to the bottom.  Pan off the sand.  Show or take the gold out.  Place in a vial if required.

In all competition, the constants  that you will be dealing with are some type of sand, gold, a gold pan and water. Gold will be placed in the sand according to the rules of the competition.  The gold and sand may be placed in the pan for you or into a bucket and you will then place the gold and sand into your pan.  From here, you will place the pan flat in the water and shake the pan so that the gold settles to the bottom, being careful to keep the pan flat.  WITH A FLAT PAN, begin to wash the sand out of the pan.  If you are using bigger gold you can wash pretty aggressively.  If you are using smaller gold you will need to be more careful and settle more often.  Tip the pan carefully as you lose material.  If speed panning, I tell competitors to wash two more times after you see the gold as all of the sand is at the top of the pan when you see the gold for the first time, and it will fall back down on the gold and cover it.  All competitions require that a judge be able to see the gold at some time in the competition without fishing for it.  

The basics of gold panning apply to competition style panning, with a few refinements.  As in all panning, the first thing that a competition panner must do is settle the gold to the bottom. This sounds too simple, but most people do not loosen the material in the pan enough and the gold is washed out of the pan in the beginning.  There are many variations from here, but the one that we teach that works for everyone is to hold the pan FLAT under the water and shake enough to send the gold to the bottom.  Depending on the type of competition you are in and the type of pan you are using, you will shake side to side, or spin half rounds, as with a batea.  Experience will tell you how long to do this.     Next you will begin to spin the material off.  The type of competition, again, will determine how fast you do this.  If your competition is using big gold, you can spin the sand off pretty fast.  If you are using smaller gold, you will need to take a little more time and settle more than once.  The type of pan and condition of the water you are working with will also determine many factors in how fast you can get rid of the sand.  When you are using bigger gold, spin off the sand using bigger motions in an oval pattern, allowing the water to enter one side of the pan and carry sand out the other side.  When you are spinning off sand using bigger gold you can use centrifugal force to your advantage, but be careful not to centrifuge too much or the gold will follow the water out of the pan.  WATCH THE ANGLE OF THE PAN.  Keep the gold trapped in the bottom of the crease.  Most of this action is done with a flat pan, tipping at the end just enough to remove sand, and slowing the motion down. Two swipes at the end, when you see gold, to remove enough sand to see the gold at the finish.  From here you should be able to show your gold to a judge or easily remove it from the pan to place into a vial.  One last thing;  KEEP THE PAN UNDER THE WATER while you are panning.  Water is your friend. 

When panning with smaller gold, general panning instructions apply, but most panners do best using a flatter pan as well.  A flatter pan makes it more difficult for the gold to jump up and out of the pan.  This does not mean that it can’t if you haven’t settled enough, just that it is more difficult and you should be able to pan faster. 

There are many gold panning competitions around the country every year, and each has its’ own rules.  Some provide pans for you, others let you use your own.  Some use big gold, some flakes, and some of it can be really small.  The amount of sand that you must process varies as well.  One competition uses about 1 and a half gallons of material and small gold pieces.  A VERY tough competition!  The website will try to keep up with them, and we have a link to a site that is trying to keep a schedule of all of the competitions held each year.  Good luck with your panning!  Come and join us for some fun.  Hooked on Gold teaches competition panning at some of the outings we attend.

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