The drum corps month of the year started with a big bang on Saturday. In front of a full stand in Hamelin, the Starriders, Blue Bandits and Jong Beatrix won the German Open.

The German Open will be starting earlier than usual this year. The earlier time is necessary due to the large number of participants.

The Starriders from Bad Münder prolonged their German Open Premier Class title. The corps gave a very strong show, especially when it came to the visual captions. The Blue Bandits won the Concert Class and Blue Diamonds topped the Junior Class.

September is the European 'drum corps month'. And it starts off well, with two championships in one weekend. Today the German Open are held in Hameln, while DCUK runs a show in Thurrock this Sunday.

Many corps have signed up for the German Open in Hameln this year. No less than twelve corps will be seen in action at the German drum corps championships.

This year there is a lot of interest in the German Open. Already, more participants have registered with the organisation compared to last year.

The Starriders and Heartliner challenged each other in Hameln on Saturday. In a thrilling battle in the Premier Class at the German Open, Starriders came out as champions. However, Heartliner were only 0.15 points behind.

An Austrian drumline will be taking part in the German Open in Hamelin this year. So far, six participants have signed up for the German drum corps event.

This year, the organisation of the German Open is introducing a new class, the Prep Class. The aim is to attract more show corps and to become familiar with the DCE judging system.