You’ve heard of cutest baby contests, but what about a best mullet award? That’s what 25 kids are competing for in the USA Mullet Championships, happening virtually this week.
The annual contest allows people from across the country to vote on which crazy-haired child deserves the $2,500 prize. The 2022 contestants include a chubby-faced toddler who looks like Joe Dirt and a kid with an American flag design shaved into the side of his head.
Eight-year-old Emmitt Bailey of Menomonie, Wisconsin, has the most votes as of Wednesday morning. He told CBS News Minnesota that he plans to buy a go-kart if he wins.
The company behind the contest, USA Mullet Championships, is also currently accepting entries for its men’s division. Registration costs $10, but half the money collected will go to charity.
The entry form asks potential contestants for their age, name and address, as well as for the history of their hairdo. It states that wigs are not allowed.
The contests come at a time when mullets are having a bit of a moment. As the USA Mullet Championships website notes, the COVID-19 pandemic empowered many people to try out wild new hairstyles in the comfort of their own home.
“With hair salons being closed for multiple months in the first half of 2020, many people took on the dreaded task of facing down a home-brewed haircut. For some this manifested in a mullet style: either out of appreciation for the cut, or, perhaps, out of necessity. Get the hair off your face without worrying about trimming the back of your head where you can’t see,” the website says.
Mullets even made it into golf coverage earlier this summer when Cameron Smith won the British Open. Reporters and fans alike couldn’t stop talking about his majestic mullet and mustache.
“I can’t wait to see all the guys lined up to get the Cam Smith mullet. His round, that hair? Both perfection,” tweeted golf reporter Kristen Rodgers on July 17.