At the 1913 German Gymnastics Festival in Leipzig, the first German men's championships were held, where LLB Frankfurt won against 1879 MTV Munich, winning 114:101. Due to the First World War, no German Championships were held between 1914 and 1920. In 1921, the first women's fistball championship was held, with Hamburger Turnerschaft emerging victorious against TV Krefeld, winning 91:90. Fistball, while still a game affiliated to the Gymnastics Association, began to grow independently. In 1927, almost 12,000 teams played organized fistball in Germany.