Check Out Facial Hair Creations at German Moustache and Beard Championships 2021

Men descend on Bavarian town to try their luck in the German Moustache and Beard Championships 2021.

Hannah Nguyen

ngminhphuong26@gmail.com October 25, 2021 | 16:37

Around 100 competitors are in the German town of Eging am See this weekend for their annual beard and moustache championships.

Check Out The Hairy Creations at German Moustache and Beard Championships 2021

People participate in the German Moustache and Beard Championships 2021 at Pullman City Western Theme Park in Eging am See, Germany, Saturday, October 23. Picture: Reuters

Held in Eging am See, in Lower Bavaria, the German Moustache and Beard Championships 2021 see the proudly bearded flock to take part. This year, 100 men came to test their facial hair mettle in categories such as "Moustache Dali," "Whiskers Freestyle" or "Full Beard Natural with styled upper lip", with participants coming from Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Israel as well as Germany.

"The Beard Olympics is international, so participants from all countries can take part. The German Championship is only for German citizens or beard wearers who are members of a German beard club," Willi Preuss, outgoing president of the east Bavarian beard and moustache club, said, in explaining the differences of the contests.

It was up to a panel of seven trained barbers and hairdressers to choose the winners across the multiple categories.

These included ‘Muscateer’, ‘Dali’ (as in Salvador Dali-inspired) and ‘Natural,’ for the beard connoisseurs who like to let their facial hair fly free.

Christian Feicht, from Germany, is the president of the East Bavarian Beard and Moustache Club. Picture: Reuters

Competitor Norbert Dopf from Austria. Picture: Reuters

Klaus Leible from Germany arrives at the competition (Picture: Reuters

Picture: Reuters

A Participant arrives for the German Moustache and Beard Championships 2021 at Pullman City Western Theme Park in Eging am See, Germany, October 23, 2021. Picture: Reuters

Ralf Schulz, winner in the category "Moustache imperial," has been wearing his beard for seven years now and is a regular contestant in beard competitions, reported Reuters.

"Now I've managed to win first place in a German championship for the first time. I've already won first place in the South German Championships, otherwise I've always been runner-up and that makes me very happy to finally win first place," said Schulz.

His competitor, Karl Moosberger, wasn't as lucky with his beard. "My hair is not so good for such a super beard, because mine doesn't grow that fast. There are beards that grow much better and then you can shape them much better," he said.

Apart from a good hair growth, it is all about shaping and grooming, beard wearer and future president of the east Bavarian beard and moustache club, Christian Feicht knows. His secret for hold and shape is simple: hairspray and hairdryer.

“On the moustache you use moustache wax, some swear by wax, some swear by hair mousse, but the good old hairspray and the hairdryer are the basic things,” said Feicht.

The Beard Olympics was open to all, but those vying for the German championship needed to be residents or members of a club.

If you want to try your hand (and beard) at competing, there’s the 2023 World Beard and Moustache Championships is coming up in Auckland, New Zealand, taking place on Feb. 25 that year.

Christian Feich from Germany styles his beard. Picture: Reuters

Christian Feicht, president of the host organisation, the East Bavarian Beard and Moustache Club, said the jury would assess the beards on mass, measuring length and density to choose their winners.

While he said the competition is overall a friendly event, he’s quoted in DPA International as saying the competitors have a ‘certain ambition and seriousness’.

‘Beard care is actually the most important thing,’ he said. ‘The more “material” you have, the more you have to style.’

The jury assesses beards based on length and density. Picture: Reuters

People from all over the world were able take part in the Beard Olympics. Picture: Reuters

There are multiple categories, including ‘Natural’ for those who don’t opt for elaborate styles. Picture: Reuters

Picture: Reuters

Like many things having to do with the sport of international bearding, the history of the sport is shrouded in controversy.

One Italian group claims that it held the first championships in Northern Italy in the early 1970′s, it seems more likely that modern competitive bearding an event began with a 1990 event organized and hosted by the First Höfener Beard Club (1. Höfener Bartclub) in its hometown Höfen/Enz, Germany, a small village in the Black Forest. Although not as large as modern World Beard and Mustache Championships, they were nonetheless a success, and by the end it was assured that another would follow.

In 1995, the same club hosted the second World Beard and Moustache Championships in the nearby city of Pforzheim. Two years later the World Beard and Mustache Championships moved out of Germany, and in 1997 was held in Trondheim, in Norway. It was organized by Den Norske Mustaschklubben, the Norwegian Mustache Club. By this point the competition had become much more popular, and it was decided it would be held every two years.

In 1999 the World Beard and Mustache Championships were held in Ystad, in Sweden. They were organized by the Swedish Mustache Club. Two years later the 2001 Championships were again held in Germany, in Schömberg, hosted by the Swabian Beard and Mustache Club. The 2003 Championships were held in Carson City, Nevada, the 2005 Championships in Berlin, Germany, and the 2007 Championships in Brighton, England.