WBMA Meeting Minutes from 2005 Berlin

Member clubs present at the meeting were:-

England Handlebar Club represented by Ted Sedman

Germany 1. Höfener Bart- und Schnorresclub represented by Wolfgang Stier

Bartclub Speyer represented by Heinz Christophel

1. Hohenzollern Bartclub Sigmaringen represented by Willi Chevalier

1. Pforzheimer Club der Bartfreunde represented by Gerhard Knapp

Italy Club Barba e Baffi Grottaglie represented by Rocco Bentivoglio

Netherlands Eerste Nederlandse Snorrenclub represented by Jos Straatsma

Sweden Svenska Mustaschklubben represented by Hans Hamrin

Switzerland Schnauz- und Bartclub Rheintal represented by Martin Trendle

USA Bearded Nation represented by Aaron Lewis

South Central Alaska Beard Club represented by Bob Gengler

Team USA represented by Phil Olsen

Whisker Club represented by Bruce Roe

Apologies were received from:-

Belgium Snorrenclub Antwerpen proxy the President

Norway Den Norske Mustachclub proxy Svenska Mustaschklubben

Ukraine Kiev Beard Club proxy the President

The following sent observers:

Germany Association of German Beard Clubs represented by Erwin Fetscher

Bartclub Steinau-Gründau represented by Karlheinz Stengel

Belle Moustache Club represented by Jürgen Burkhardt

1.BerlinerBart-Club represented by Jürgen Draheim,
  (who kindly assisted with translation)

Ted Sedman opened the meeting by requesting that our thanks should be given to Lutz Giese for organising a most enjoyable Championships, and also for arranging the room for our meeting. Ted also issued an invitation to everyone to come to the Handlebar Club A.G.M. weekend which will take place in Canterbury, England, on April 7th, 8th and 9th 2006.

Presentations were made by Jim Henderson of the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Martin Trendle of the Rhine Valley Beard Club with a view to hosting the 2009 World Championships. Voting on this was delayed until later in the meeting.

The Swedish Moustache Club put forward the following proposal, which they had previously discussed informally with many of the members.

The WBMA should be the organization which coordinates all international events. The web-site should hold a calendar which is administered by the President.

After every World Beard and Moustache Championships (WBMC) the participating clubs should sit down, under the presidency of the hosting club, and take the decision as to where the WBMC should be held four years in advance. Our suggestion is that every second competition (after 2009) is held in Germany.

Every club should have one vote.

Any club interested in hosting the WBMC should send a statement of their interest to the WBMA at least four months before the meeting.

In every WBMC there should be at least 9 categories: three moustaches, three partial beards and three full beards. But it should be free for the hosting club to add as many local categories as needed.

(For example:- If the Svenska Mustachklubben want to hold their 25th anniversary in 2009 and invite brothers from abroad, they can easily check the calendar on the website and see if any weekend is better than the others. After making their decision they send an e-mail to the administrator and he will book the weekend on their behalf)

The various points of the proposal were discussed separately.

It was unanimously agreed that the WBMA would not impose any rules on its members. Its sole functions would be to determine the location of the WBMC, and to coordinate other events to avoid clashes of dates. It was suggested that the President should have the authority to direct the club hosting the championships, but this was not accepted.

On the subject of membership it was agreed that only clubs could be full voting members of the association, and there would be one vote per member club. In addition it was proposed that in countries where no clubs exist, individuals should be permitted to join as associate members with no voting rights. They would receive all e-mails sent to member clubs, with the aim of encouraging them to form clubs who would become full members in due course. After discussion, this amendment was carried by a majority vote.

The duties of the President were agreed, but it was proposed that the President should be elected by the members rather than being an automatic appointment. Some felt that the original proposal would create problems if the World Championships were not organized by a member club, and that it would be better to appoint someone who was enthusiastic to take on the task. After discussion, this amendment was carried by a majority vote.

The suggestion that the World Championships be held alternately in Germany and a country other than Germany was withdrawn by the proposers.

It was agreed that the final decision on categories to be used in the WBMC would be made by the hosting club.

It was proposed that the Association should have funds to enable the purchase of items such as a flag or banner that would be passed on to the organizers of each World Championships. One suggestion was a surcharge of one euro per entrant in the World Championships; another suggestion was that individuals could give donations. After discussion, this amendment was defeated by a majority vote.

The bylaws, as amended, were then unanimously adopted.

A vote was then held to determine the location for the 2009 World Championships. This resulted in a tie, so it was agreed that the representatives would go back and discuss this with their clubs after which voting would take place by e-mail, the votes to reach the President by November 1st 2005.

Ted Sedman stated that he wished to stand down as President of the Association because he expected to be very involved with the 2007 WBMA. Phil Olsen and Bruce Roe were proposed for the position and each made a short statement. As a result of a ballot Bruce Roe was elected President of the Association.

Ted congratulated Bruce on his appointment, and closed the meeting after announcing that a letter had been received from the Norwegian Moustache Club with an initial application to host the 2011 World Championships.