There were three Freestyle categories: one yo-yo (Master Class 1A), two yo-yos simultaneously (Master Class 2A) and Team Freestyle.
Also included at the German championships is a competition for advanced players (Sports Class). The compulsory moves are easier and the time for the freestyle routine is only 2 minutes, instead of 3 minutes in the Master Class.
In the compulsory programme in the Master Class, 6 predefined moves have to be executed perfectly in order to gain maximum points. This is followed by a 1-minute show, which must also include certain compulsory tricks - but the points are awarded for style, choreography, costume and creativity.

Christoph Ernst came on dressed as a giant carrot and immediately had the audience in the palm of his hand. Markus Wagner also scored heavily for his parody of Bibi Blocksberg (heroine of a German children´s comic series about a little witch), using power to crack the broomstick. Jessica Noll presented a very nice show in the guise of a pirate.

Dave Geigle from Berlin attempted a world record in successive suicides, and made a staggering 42, beating the previous best by 3. In Team Freestyle, the Munich-Skillaz were followed by DYS-Funktion, but the best performance came from Tobias-Leon Haecker and Marek Grummt, who became German champions in great style - thanks not least of all to the sensational live music on saxophone and electric guitar which the pair built into their show. A worthy successor to the Team Yo-Yo Maniacs (TYM) who took the title in 2005 but didn´t attempt to defend it this year as they were busy organising the whole event.

For the first time there was a X-Division fun contest on saturday evening, which is reserved mainly for Offstring, 5A and Triple A techniques. Offstring is where the yo-yo is not attached to the string, but is played like a diabolo. 5A means that the yo-yo is not looped round a finger, but instead a counterweight (such as a dice) is attached to the free end of the string. Triple A is a technique using two yo-yos, like Double A, except that here the emphasis is on complex string moves instead of loops and wraps. It was Dave who wrapped up the fun contest. But also Andres „PAC“ Pegam had an excellent performance due to his genius and extraordinary 5A tricks.

In the finals presenter Eric „UFO“ Bergmann made the audience cheer. The players were free to show off all the tricks that are possible with a yo-yo. In the AA category, favourite Dave Geigle emerged a clear winner, and he also finished first in the A category, thus taking the overall German champion´s crown, just ahead only a few points of Pierre Beitz, who surprised the spectators with his high-speed tricks.

Also foreign guests could start for the international ranking. Their skills were also evaluated by expert judges, which were Joe Greve, Markus „Jumper“ Springer, Daniel „DJ“ Springer, Jan Marhauser and Johannes Voggenthaler. The judges have been worlds participants, German champions and have also international judge experience. During the breaks they showed the audience, that they still play yo-yo like champions.

Philip Mattar was called best newcomer of the year, Marek Grummt and Tobias-Leon Haecker were happy about winning the teamfreestyle and Dave Geigle is now German Champion in A and AA. The best girl at the contest was Jessica Noll.

The 9. German Yo-Yo Masters were a full success! The players had much fun and could learn a lot of new tricks. The sponsors (TYM.de, TMS Messen, hspin, Henrys, yo-shop.de, YoYoJam, Dif-e-Yo, Infinite Illusions, Extremespin, Yomega, Bird in Hand, yoyonation.com, Vulto, YoYoRama, Duncan, Takeshi and Flashcups) had a big part to make this event possible!

Informationen about the GYYA and the full results of the German Yo-Yo Masters 2006 are up on http://www.GYYA.de
More pictures of the event can be found here.

Report by Markus „Jumper“ Springer