World Beard Championships Create Hair-Raising Time In Portland (PHOTOS)

Your New King Of Beards
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The World Beard and Moustache Championships were held in Portland, Oregon, this Saturday and they got really hairy at times.

Around bearded 300 contestants showed up in hopes of winning a prize in one of 18 categories like best full groomed beard, partial beards (which includes sideburns, van dykes, goatees and soul patches,) and freestyle, where anything goes.

The large number of categories combined with a limited time frame forced organizers to shave time wherever possible. OregonLive.com columnist Jamie Hale said the co-emcee, Byron Beck, a blogger, got frazzled trying to keep things smooth like a baby's bottom.

"At 5:40 Beck told the crowd the event would end at 6, despite there being two categories and the overall vote still remaining. What was supposed to be a well-organized facial hair competition had turned into a race against the clock. The crowd booed as two competitors rushed late onstage during the Garibaldi preliminaries, nearly forcing a recount. Beck seemed panicked as he tried to hurry it along. "Come on, come on, come on, you guys! We gotta go, go, go!" he yelled into the mic.

At Saturday's event, Madison Rowley, the winner of the Garibaldi category, which honors the Italian patriot with prominent whiskers, won the grand prize over MJ Johnson by -- you guessed it -- a hair.

Known as competitive bearding, facial hair face offs started in Germany in the 1990s.

But there's been criticism from a rival organization in Europe called the World Beard and Moustache Association, which claims their event is the only true world bearding competition.

"I don't think [World Beard Championship organizer Phil Olsen] was being very intelligent when he chose to use that name in Portland," WBMA president Hans Hamrin told the Los Angeles Times. "He has made a lot of enemies now, especially among the Germans since they started this whole [facial-hair competition] thing back in 1990 and 1995. They are very angry."

Check out the fine facial hair of the contestants:

Taylor McKibben
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men
Keenan Bohach
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men
Josh Seehorn
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men
Roberto Campos
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men
Campos came in first in the category of Imperial Mustache.
Madison Rowley (Grand Prize Winner)
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men
Rowley's Garibaldi beard made him the Grand Prize winner.
Burke Kenny
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men
Burke Kenny
Aaron Calihan
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men
Luke Shuler
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men
Kevin Riordan
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men
Riordan came in first in the partial freestyle beard category.
Curtis Cole
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men
Ian Stetler
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Images for Just for Men

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Before You Go

Beard Buddies
National Beard And Moustache Championships Attracts Lots Of Beard Buddies(01 of06)
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Splitting hairs could take on a new meaning in Lancaster, Pa., this weekend, things are guaranteed to get pretty hairy there. thanks to the Second Annual National Beard And Moustache Championships, which take place Oct. 8. (credit:David MeadSplitting hairs could take on a new meaning in Lancaster, Pa., this weekend, things are guaranteed to get pretty hairy there. thanks to the Second Annual National Beard And Moustache Championships.)
National Beard And Moustache Championships Attracts Lots Of Beard Buddies(02 of06)
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More than 200 facially follicked fellows will compete in five categories: Moustache; Partial Beards (such as sideburns, van dykes, goatees and soul patches); Full Beard, Groomed; Full Beard Natural; and the ever-popular Freestyle category where anything goes. (credit:Sandy Hendeson)
National Beard And Moustache Championships Attracts Lots Of Beard Buddies(03 of06)
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The event is part of a 12-year plan to make the U.S. a super-power in "bearding," a sport where men see who can grow the most impressive, most stylish beards. (credit:David Mead)
National Beard And Moustache Championships Attracts Lots Of Beard Buddies(04 of06)
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Jeffrey Moustache, 25, a Los Angeles photographer, has been growing his English moustache -- which grows out straight across his face like a ruler -- since he was 15 and has gotten it up to 13 inches long. "The first time I shaved it, I immediately regretted it and saved it under glass as an art project," he said. (credit:Jeffrey Moustache)
National Beard And Moustache Championships Attracts Lots Of Beard Buddies(05 of06)
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Moustache -- whose real name is actually Beard -- says that even though Olsen calls bearding a sport, he doesn't think that it qualifies as one. "It's pageantry for men," he said." (credit:Jeffrey Moustache)
National Beard And Moustache Championships Attracts Lots Of Beard Buddies(06 of06)
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Jack Passion is the two-time world champion in the full beard natural category, by far the most competitive of any category at the World Beard and Moustache Championships. He is also the current European champion and German international champion. (credit:David Mead)