From Pat Race at the World Beard & Moustache Championships:

Saturday, May 23

Aaron looked a little green in the morning, I think he was nervous. We shuffled over to the convention center and set up shop in the press room.

Approximately three hundred hirsute men shuffled up and down the hall trying to find the elusive registration desk. I’m not sure if there actually was a registration desk but eventually someone must have taken down their names and handed out drink tickets.

I wasn’t around for much of the registration madness because I was busy sneaking into the judges’ preparation room. I’m not sure if press was actually allowed but I wanted to get the inside scoop on the process.

What I learned is that judging is largely subjective and each contestant is at the whims of the assorted celebrity judges and local stylists. I’m sure this is a frightening thought for the few who take their facial hair too seriously.

At lunch, the contestants tramped down for an appearance at the Saturday market. They delighted the unsuspecting tourists and circled back around to the convention center for last-minute grooming and costume preparation.

The competition started with moustache and partial-beard categories and ended with the full beards and a selection of an overall champion. David Traver, a member of the South Central Alaska Beard and Moustache Club, took top honors with his stylized snowshoe beard. Overall, eleven Alaskans managed to podium out of a very wide field, I attribute it to the long beard growing seasons.

The highlight of the evening for me was watching Aaron swagger onto the stage with harpoon in hand. He landed second place in his category and made us all very proud.

* Final Results – World Beard and Moustache Championships!
* Our photos from the World Beard and Moustache Championships!
* Aaron strutting on CNN

Congratulations to Aaron and all the winners! I’ll also point you to this fine Daily Mail article with photos of many winners, additional coverage from an LA Times blogger on the scene, and this wonderful slideshow.

And with great thanks to Pat for the photos and updates, this ends our not-quite-live coverage of the WBMC. If you’ve enjoyed his accounts, why not drop by his site and say thanks?

The next WBMC’s in Norway in 2011! See you there?

GIVE THAT GIRL A COMPETITION CATEGORY

More from Pat Race at the World Beard & Moustache Championships:

Friday, May 22

This morning Aaron trimmed and plucked while Sarah sewed buttons on his costume for the Saturday judging. We packed up and rolled into town just in time to catch the big meeting of the World Beard and Moustache Association, a group of member organizations which oversees the selection of locations for the championships.

After some brisk harrumphing and moustache twirling, the decision was made to host world championships at Trondheim, Norway in 2011 and Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany in 2013. The meeting was about to end quietly when a grand debate erupted about the organizational structure of the association. No amount of thoughtful beard stroking or whisker twiddling could produce an amicable resolution so everyone decided it would be a good time to have a parade.

The evening wrapped up with a local facial hair competition, consumption of beverages and a performance by The Beards.

Ladies & gentlemen, I am pleased to present multi-event beard champion, intercontinental competitor and Alan Moore lookalike Burke Kenny:

From official Wondermark correspondent Pat Race, at the World Beard & Moustache Championships in Anchorage:

Thursday, May 21

Today is a down day, the calm before the beard storm. We picked up our press passes and wandered around town meeting moustaches and locals. In Alaska it’s hard to tell who is here to compete and who just trekked out of the woods to pick up some eggs and butter.

Lunch at Falafel King left bellies and beards filled with hummus and then it was off to Value Village to assemble the rest of Aaron’s outfit. Aaron [pictured above] is competing in the new Alaskan Whaler category and we found some good galoshes, wool pants, and suspenders to fill out his nautical look.

Judging is based on several factors – length, color, body, and hair style all factor into the decision and costumes, while not required, are a good way to frame and give context to the facial hair.

Judges this year include local hair experts, former beard champions, celebrity dog mushers, and past judges of local competitions.

It should be noted that the World Beard & Moustache championships are the largest and most renowned facial-hair competition, but just a few months ago, New York City also hosted its own Beard & Moustache Championships in Brooklyn, with amazing winners and even a video contest. Many of the competitors from the NYCBMC are have made their way to Anchorage as well, as members of Beard Team USA.

Beard Team USA is a national organization founded to promote the appreciation of beards and moustaches, and also to develop Team USA into a national bearded force that can be competitive with such international juggernauts as the Germans, the founders of the World Championships. In addition to coordinating national efforts (such as assembling Championship teams), Beard Team USA also maintains a list of regional chapters where beard enthusiasts gather around the country. My local group, The Bristly Chaps of Los Angeles, are even working on a documentary! Here’s the trailer.

We leave you today with proud portraits of some of the fine members of Beard Team USA!

Nick Stevens

Eric Brown

Samuel Holcombe

Burke Kenny

GO TEAM GO

Trip notes from official Wondermark World Beard & Moustache Championships correspondent Pat Race! His crew is also blogging and posting audio interviews at akrobotics.com. (All these photos are theirs.)

Tuesday, May 19

We arrived in Anchorage today, an unimpressive clump of concrete dwarfed by vast and beautiful surroundings. This year, Anchorage will host the World Beard and Moustache Championships, an event which takes place every other year and has been primarily rooted in European countries.

We spent our day wandering around lost until we found a man with a brown 70’s van and a long beard. He led us down an industrial back road to the Midnight Sun Brewery where we met up with several competitors, organizers, and beard fans from all parts of the world. A rising enthusiasm surrounds everyone.

Wednesday, May 20

Today a large contingent of American competitors arrived after cruising up through the inside passage of Southeast Alaska, the Germans rolled in yesterday and independent travelers from all over the world have been arriving by every means of transportation imaginable. Except hot air balloon, which is a slight disappointment. I’m still hoping for a man with a grand moustache to alight.

The World Beard and Moustache Championships kicked off in the late afternoon with a barbecue in Kincaid Park — an odd series of fields surrounded by remnants of cold war era ground-to-air missile bunkers. Hundreds of grinning bearded and mustachioed gentlemen packed the event with their friends, families, agents, stylists and associates in tow. I counted seven film crews from as many cities and this was just the informal barbecue.

More to come! And do check out Pat’s blog for more photos and great audio clips.