Movember
Movember is an annual, month-long November charity event involving the growing of moustaches. It is held primarily in Australia, New Zealand and to a lesser extent in Canada[citation needed].
Movember is a portmanteau of the words 'Moustache' and 'November'.
History
Starting in Adelaide, Australia in 1999, Movember first appeared to the general public broadcast on a Seven Network news bulletin in the event's inaugural year in 1999.
Movember as a mainstream charity event was first launched in 2003. This had no affiliation with the original Movember committee but many similarities in the rules and format exist suggesting that the mainstream charity event were heavily influenced by the original Movember movement.
Rules
There are two different sets of rules governing Movember - the main difference is the allowance of any hair below the lip.
The original rules, as documented in the first Movember website movember.org, are as follows:
- On day "Mo-1" (October 31), the complete moustache region, including the entire upper lip and the handlebar zones, must be completely shaved.
- For the entire duration of Movember (Movember 1 - 32 inclusive), no hair shall be allowed to grow in the goatee zone - being any facial area below the bottom lip.
- There is to be no joining of the moustache to sideburns.
- Failure to conform to all of these rules may, at the discretion of the official Movember Committee, result in instant blacklisting and may void invitation to the Mo Ball.
- Movember Committee accepts no responsibility for lost jobs, rashes, food/beer encrustments or any other such mishaps caused to the wearer (or his partner) of a Movember Moustache. You grew it yourself.
Charities and Spinoffs
- In Australia, Movember is a fundraising event to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and BeyondBlue, and to raise community awareness of Men's Health Issues. Prostate cancer kills over 2,500 Australian men every year.
- Beginning in 2007, Movember will launch in Canada, with funds raised supporting the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada.
- The Movember group involved in the Prostate Cancer fundraising (NB. not affiliated in any way with the original Movember Committee) encourages corporate team involvement, and numerous corporate teams have become involved in fundraising, including ninemsn Movember team, Cogentis Upstream Movember team, AFTRS Team, Team Cobra, Team MDM and many others.