The Marmite of hairstyles, the mullet, has recently been announced as the focus for a Cambridge fundraising event. This Michaelmas, Pembroke and Girton Rugby Club (Pirton RFC) has announced its plans for “Movember”, spotlighting the very best of Cambridge’s mullets for charity.

After stumbling upon an advert for the 2022 US Mullet Championships, which is currently awaiting its final round of voting, Finn Mortimore rushed to share the advert with his mullet-obsessed college rugby club. From here, he became “giddy with excitement” as they developed a plan to recreate the event themselves in Cambridge.

Whilst the official voting period is yet to be announced, the founder has grand plans for the championship: “The idea is, towards the end of Michaelmas we’re going to try to run an in-person event where the winner gets announced, and we’re going to try to get a celebrity guest to come and have a mullet shaved [on-stage]”.

The decision to run the event for Movember came naturally, according to Finn: “there’s quite a big link between rugby players and mullets [... and] is there a more infamous combination than the mullet and the moustache?” According to their donation page, however, “a moustache is not needed, but welcomed”.

Since 2003 Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention. The charity is famous for running their annual Movember event during which participants commit to growing a moustache throughout November.

The Pirton RFC plan to open their competition to both newcomers and veteran mullet-kind, with two separate votes for each. Voters donating to Movember will be rewarded with greater voting powers, while inspired mullet-less attendees will be able to opt-in for the haircut themselves at the event in exchange for further donations.

Keen to encourage wide participation in the event, the club are welcoming entries from any-and-all mullet-lovers in Cambridge, regardless of gender.

The Pirton rugby club is well-known for its philanthropy, with previous events including a collective 400-mile running challenge which successfully raised £2350 for ‘show racism the red card’, a charity.

Details of the event will be published on its Facebook and Instagram pages. You can donate to their fundraiser here and learn more about Movember here.