Thursday, September 06, 2007

Weird Beards

Every little boy eagerly awaits till his adolescent age comes, and the first whiskers sprout from his face, either to boast about it or to start shaving. Now there’s a good reason for them to stop shaving. The World Beard and Moustache Championships. Yes, you heard me right, there is a world championship for this. The only qualification you need is a very long and bushy beard or a moustache.

This event is held every two years, and this year it was in Brighton, England on the 1st of September. The competition is carried out according to three different categories, moustache, partial beard, and full beard, with several classes under them as well. The judging is pretty tough too.

This year the top honors were taken by Beard Team USA, who took away four titles. Phil Olsen of California is the founder and captain of Team USA and according to his blog profile, his mission is to “make the United States a power in international beard and moustache competitions”. I say the best of luck to him.

The first event of this kind was held in 1990, in Höfen/Enz, Germany, organized by the First Höfener Beard Club. The next event was in 1995, and after that an event was held every two years, organized by one of the many Beard Clubs around the world.

After seeing some of the pictures of the contestants I must say that these guys put a lot of effort into the grooming of their facial hair. Most of these are unbelievable. I guess most of them have never seen a razor in their lifetime. These guys can be admired for their dedication and consistency to it. I don’t know about others, but I get pretty annoyed with it if I don’t shave for a week or so. Shaving is a drag but it’s better than having to clean and groom a waist long beard every day.

For those who are interested, check out the following links. Who knows, someone might start a beard club in good ole SL too.

World Beard Championships Official Site
Categories
Pictures of contestants
Beard Team USA Blog
Phil Olsen Blog Profile



Bearded Dudes from here

5 comments:

Parthi said...

i cannot control the itchiness of not shaving! its a pain...eventhough i soemtimes try to have a beard..but i have to say one thing...all these guys look so old fashioned..with their beards and dressing sense

Jerry said...

Well, Thanks to the Nazi's in the school admin, no one can grow a beard till after he's left school.

How's that for ruining your childhood hopes and dreams?

Lady divine said...

oh my GAWD!!!! beard competitions?!?!!?!!

geeez.... i dont even wanna think of it... well to some extent it would be ok i guess... but definitely not to the extent u've mentioned.. No Way!

I think my head's spinning now...
oh and thanks for the insight..:-)

Azrael said...

Parthi - These guys may look old fashioned, but one of the guys who won is just 23, he has a waist length beard. Go figure...

Jester - Didn't the Nazi's in the school admin even allow for a Hitler Moustache???

Lady D - It's the extremes that gives the most amount of fun ;)

Harshadewa said...

Hey Shehan,

Why don't you try out something smiler to these guys.
So we can pull it and run for life!
Ha ha ha!!!