Sand Sculpting Competitions in the United States

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Kimmy comes back into the room so Tiffi shares everything that she has found so far.

‘We all know everyone wants to be the best but, if you just focus on the art, every sand sculpting competition is THE BEST! Everyone should go and see these amazing works of art made from just sand and water. Most competitions today have lots of activities, creating a festival environment yet highlighting the sand sculpting aspect. Each competition is unique and each has its own special flair but, again they are all “THE BEST”.

MASTER SCULPTORS - Master/Professional level sand sculptors are professional sculptors and most have 10 plus years of experience, some well over 20 years and many make their living in the sand. It is extremely risky for a respectable competition not to use this level of sculptor; it would be like a major-league baseball team bringing in a high school pitcher. This high school pitcher just might last a few innings but, one thing is for sure there is not a major-league team who would be willing to take the risk. 

Not just anyone can create beautiful works of art from sand and water. Testament of this is there are only about 50 master/professional level sculptors in the U.S. Sure, there are plenty of people who can sculpt objects from different mediums like clay, wood or foam.

But, to create a sand sculpture reaching some 10 plus feet in the air you must move a minimum ten tons of sand with a shovel (yes, by hand with a shovel) into forms, in layers mixing the sand with water and tamping it with a 25-pound tamper every 4-6 inches. As you can see creating sand sculptures requires physical strength and endurance. Along with physical endurance you need to have an excellent knowledge of the sand and how to pack it. Each competition has different sand and it takes many years of experience to properly evaluate and work with the different sands.

ADVANCED AMATEUR SCULPTORS - Advanced Amateur Division is a place where an advanced amateur sculptor can prove their abilities and get one step closer to being accepted as a Master Sculptor. If they have the abilities they could be invited back the following year to compete in the Masters Level. To qualify as an Advanced Amateur a sand sculptor must have placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in several amateur contests but, cannot be a professional sand sculptor. The big difference: typically an amateur sculptor has about 1-3 tons of sand and only 3-6 hours sculpting time. An Advanced Amateur competition is held over 2-3 days, the sculptor has about 9 tons of sand with about 20 hours sculpting time. The Advanced Amateur Division is by invitation only and only a few events offer them.

AMATER SCULPTORS - The Amateur competition is a mixed team/solo event intended as a venue for beginning or advanced amateurs and pretty much open to anyone except Masters and Professionals.

Almost every event has an amateur division.’ (Source)

“How can they create these sculptures with so much detail?” asks Kimmy. “I wonder if it takes years to perfect them. I’m getting excited about going to the beach. Let’s make some phone calls to see who wants to build sand castles with us.”

Tiffi contacts everyone but has to leave some phone messages. She goes back to her googling.

Let’s continue – Major Sand Sculpting Events around the World

Start at the beginning - Let’s build a sandcastle!