The Handlebar Club Forum

A "nice" handlebar is probably not enough during the WBMC.

I suppose a nice (fancy ?) costume is required. Do contestants have to "parade" to impress the jury? What is exactly expected from them? To stand and not move while examiners turn around them? to answer questions?

From photos of past WBMC, you'll see contestants in period costume to complement their facial hair - muskateer, ship's captian, kaiser etc. I hope that previous contestants (David Dade) will answer the other part of your question. Current WBMC Champion and HBC Secretary Steve Parsons says "Don't forget size isn't everything - style, panache, dash and swagger that's what you need !"

Although many of my fellow contestants wore complementary costumes - and indeed, in Berlin in 2005, so did I:



...I have to report that it did not seem to impress the judges, and in spite of the elaborate costume, my comparatively miserable facial foliage efforts were not placed.

However, that isn't stopping me from appearing in a different guise this year, and another one that is essentially English. That seems to be one of the main criteria in choices of costume, to give a national flavour of the contestant's country.

Regards

David