The world beard and moustache championships - World Beard and Moustache Championships

'To be honest with you, I think they should just eliminate the Olympics all together and replace it with the WBMC' Grant Papan, Staff Writer, the Signal, California

In 1990, the first World Beard and Moustache Championships took place in Hofen, Germany. Since those early beginnings, this extraordinary international celebration of facial hair awards prizes in seventeen different categories (2003's World Champion was also category winner of Partial Beard, Freestyle). The most recent World Beard and Moustache Championships took place in Carson City, Nevada in November 2003. Special prizes were awarded to the youngest contestant, the contestant who travelled the farthest to attend and the people's favourite.

The World Beard and Moustache Championships has a dedicated website and now, for the very first time, it's very own book. Filled with a host of stats and facts on the world's moustaches and beards and some of the best, most notable contestants from the last 10 years (including Ted Sedman, President of London's Handlebar Club who was once in the Guinness Book of Records for having Britain's longest moustache and Gary James Chilton, six-time beard champion of the Iowa State Fair) this is a wonderful look at the wackiest competition in the World.

'A month isn't enough to get much going at all.' says Bruce Roe who has won trophies in the last three World Championhips and competes in the Wild West division dressed as Wyatt Earp. He has been growing his moustache for thirty three years. Witness the seriousness with which the WBMC is taken and you'll be inspired to take part.