For the first time ever, Minelab is conducting competitions to determine the top metal detecting team in the country. Teams of four competed at one of three different regional locations for a chance to move on to the championship round at Alabama Gold Camp at Lineville, Alabama on November, held this past weekend.

Regional rounds were held in Cape Vincent, New York, and at the Central Florida Silver and Relic Hunt in October in DeBary, Florida. The final regional event was held at Murfreesboro, Arkansas in mid-October.

Registered teams at the Florida event arrived in DeBary – a small town about 30 minutes north of Orlando – and were challenged with a three phase format. One part of the competition would be to IDENTIFY THE TARGET. An area was seeded with buried targets. Each team member had to go through the marked area individually for a certain amount of time, identify each target and the type of alloy it was made of. When the first member completed the task, the next member of his team entered the field and did the same test until each member finished the mission. Time and accuracy of identification was combined to determine the winning team.

The next part of the contest was a TOKEN HUNT. Tokens were pre-seeded in a specific area. All teams detected as many tokens as possible, which had to be turned into the judges at the end of the prescribed time. The winning team of this round was determined by the highest total number of tokens found. Besides competing against the Florida ground, the teams were doing their best to beat all the other outstanding teams in the event. Plus, the temperature was in the 80’s, which was slowing all of the participants. At the end of the competition, the judges totaled the scores from all the separate events and determined 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. These three teams would advance to the Championship in Alabama. Qualifying teams from each regional event would be allotted a certain amount of money to assist them in their travels to the championship round.

The third part of each competition was the CLAIM JUMPER event. Each team entered a quest to detect specific targets throughout an area divided into four sections. To proceed to the next section, all members must successfully complete the first target quest before moving on. The winning team was determined by all four members crossing the finish line in the fastest time.

Just a week after the Florida competition, another regional event was held at the KA-DO-HA Treasure Fest in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. Once again, teams of four tried their luck and skill at the three different qualifying activities. Those fortunate enough to end up in the top three slots would advance to the Alabama Championship round of the Masters of Metal. As before, Debbie Smikoski, Minelab’s Director of Tactical Sales and Events, was running the show. Minelab had their top person in the field in charge of this outstanding event.

The three regional competitions are complete. The top three teams from each area are decided. These lucky participants now move on to the Championship round in Alabama.

The results of the final event in Alabama will determine which team will claim the victory of the Best of the Best in the Masters of Metal. This will include bragging rights in the world of metal detecting, plus a trophy. In addition, each member of the winning team will go home with a new Minelab MANTICORE detector.