News Release
Alaskan Crowned WBMC Champ Overall
Anchorage, Alaska – May 23, 2008 – David Traver, of Anchorage, Alaska, not only took first place in the freestyle beard competition, he was crowned overall champion for the 2009 World Beard and Moustache Championships, which took place in Anchorage, Alaska, today. He dedicated the win to his father, who passed last December. The event drew nearly 300 competitors from around the globe to compete for top honors in 18 officially sanctioned categories: seven styles of moustache, six varieties of partial beard/goatee, and five kinds of full-beard.
The full beard category was the final of three judged events at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center today. A total of 144 contestants in the full beard competition, many dressed full regalia and colorful costumes, strutted across the runway before a packed house.
World Beard Overall Champions
- First: David Traver, Anchorage, Alaska, Freestyle Full Beard Category First Place Winner
- Second: Karl-Heinz Hille, Berlin, Germany, Imperial Partial Beard Category First Place Winner
- Third: Jack Passion, San Francisco, Calif., Natural Full Beard Category First Place Winner
2009 full beard winners by category
Verdi
Beard: short and round at the bottom, no longer than 10 cm. below the bottom of the lower lip. As it grows naturally, the more the better. Moustache, consisting only of hairs growing from within 1.5 cm. past the end of the upper lip, should be prominent and not integrated with the beard. Aids allowed.
- First: Karl Roos, Germany
- Second: Markus Bross, Germany
- Third: David Caswell, Sterling, Alaska
Garibaldi
Beard: round and wide at the bottom, no longer than 20 cm. from the bottom of the lower lip. The beard is as it grows naturally, the more the better. The moustache may not be separated from the beard or made prominent. Aids allowed.
- First: Douglas Renfro, Anchorage, Alaska
- Second: Norman Pendergraft, Eagle River, Alaska
- Third: John Price, Atlanta, Georgia
Natural Full Beard
Full beard as it grows and left natural, the more natural the better. The moustache is blended into the beard. No aids allowed.
- First: Jack Passion, San Francisco, Calif.
- Second: Craig “Rooty” South Everett, Washington
- Third: Alois Plettl, Germany
Natural Full Beard with Style Moustache
Moustache is prominent and consisting only of hairs growing from within 1.5 cm. past the end of the upper lip. Aids allowed. Beard: as it grows naturally, the more natural the better. No aids allowed.
- First: Bernd Popiak, Germany
- Second: Bob Gengler, Eagle River, Alaska
- Third: Kyle McNair, Ontario, Canada
Freestyle Beard
Free design and styling of the beard. All full beards that do not qualify for other categories may compete in this category. Aids allowed.
- First: David Traver, Anchorage, Alaska
- Second: Gerhard Knapp, Germany
- Third: Hans-Peter Weis, Germany
The first World Beard and Moustache Championship took place in Höfen-Enz, Germany in 1990. By 1995, the Championship had grown into a biennial gathering, held in various European countries. Carson City, Nevada, was the first non-European city to host the group in 2003. Anchorage, Alaska, is only the second U.S. destination ever to host the event. Brighton, England, hosted the last WBMC event in September 2007, during which Beard Team USA unexpectedly mounted a serious challenge to the dominant Germans, taking first in five of the categories.
For more information, visit www.anchorage.net/worldbeard.
The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau’s (ACVB) mission is to attract and serve visitors to the Municipality of Anchorage as a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). ACVB’s marketing functions are funded by one-third of the bed tax collected by lodging associations. One-third goes to the Municipality’s general fund, a contribution established in 1978, and one-third to service the bond debt and operations of the Anchorage Convention Centers. ACVB receives no state or federal funds. Explore www.Anchorage.net.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Jeanette Anderson Moores
Public Relations
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
jmoores@anchorage.net
(907) 276-4118
Explore www.Anchorage.net
