Gimme gimme mo

The Royals take on Movember

By Eric Wilkins, Sports Editor

It’s that time of year again, when moustaches get to have their moment in the bleak winter sun. It seems that every guy and his dog is sporting an attempt at the under-utilized form of facial hair. But there’s a reason to the madness; it’s not just a passing fad. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Movember.

“Movember is about raising awareness for men’s health initiatives,” explains Erich Meyer, the leader of this year’s Royals Movember team.

Movember is often recognized as starting in 2004 when a group of Australians kept their upper lips stiff and untrimmed to draw attention to men’s prostate cancer and depression. That group of Aussies would later grow into the Movember Foundation which has raised over $174-million worldwide.

And here at Douglas College, the leadership duo of Meyer and co-captain Samantha Stackhouse are looking to add to that figure by reaching their own fundraising goal of $5,000. The pair has both finished their respective Royals careers—Meyer in volleyball and Stackhouse in soccer—but that hasn’t stopped either of them from taking on Movember.

“Last year I tried to get something going with the athletics program but really it was just the volleyball team that kind of took part,” comments Meyer. “When I was playing, you’re pretty busy with all the training and games and stuff and trying to balance school as well… so now that I didn’t have that this year I thought I should probably try to take on a bigger role in the school community. “

But the Royals’ Movember campaign is serving a dual purpose for Dougie teams. “We’re using this as an opportunity to work together as an athletics program as well. Right now we stick to our own teams. We don’t really know each other so that’s what we’re trying to do with this—all the teams together and working towards a common goal. Hopefully we can get closer and become a more tight-knit group,” says the BPEC major, Meyer.

And since it’s a decidedly more difficult task for females to grow such a marvellous collection of follicles in that area, Meyer notes how women can still help out: “That’s something we’ve been working on with our group [of female contributors]. But they can support guys they know that are doing it and get donations too. You see a lot of girls with their moustache tattoos on their fingers… there’s ways to do it.”

While there are no major fundraising events so far other than collecting donations throughout, Meyer did hint at a possible pub night if all goes well. “We wanted planned events for Movember but right now we’re just trying to get off the ground here and get people involved.”

As to whether Meyer has a personal connection to the cause, the PE teacher-hopeful laughed, “Not really. I really enjoy growing a moustache…my dad has one and I always wanted to get into it. This is a good reason to do so!”

For additional information on the cause or to donate to the team, go to ca.movember.com/team/1058573