PRO-BENDING FANS of the Pacific Northwest, rejoice! Having gotten tentative Kumoricon staff approval for an event involving a dodgeball tournament, AND pending sufficient volunteer interest, I am officially considering trying to run an actual PRO-BENDING TOURNAMENT!
The Tournament would take the form of two panels, a Qualifying Panel and a Tournament Panel. Rules are below, and still way, way open for suggestions and changes, so read through and tell me what you think!
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HOW TO PARTICIPATEPro-bending teams consist of three players each. A 16 team elimination bracket would allow 48 players to participate, and would require 8+4+2+1 matches to decide on a champion team.
Signup for teams would be opened online before the con, but teams that failed to show up to the "qualifying" panel would be replaced on a first-come, first-serve basis by any prospective teams that /did/ show up.
We would also need several volunteers, to serve as referees (these people would have to be well-versed in the rules) and ringside attendants (returning "elements" to the arena and helping players enter, leave, and don/remove their headbands and wristbands). Audience members are totally welcome, of course. And a charismatic announcer (or two) would really make the "tournament" panel shine!
ATTIREReferees and ringside attendants will be issued white headbands. Referees will additionally receive a whistle and notebook for making calls and a red and yellow fan for announcing fouls.
Pro-bending teams may create and wear team uniforms if they choose, but this is not mandatory. Elaborate/fragile cosplay is not recommended and the panelists will accept no liability for costume damage sustained while playing. Each player will be issued a headband and wristbands in the color of their 'element' (red, blue, or green).
Audience members can wear whatever the crap they want! If they'd like to wear their favorite team's colors, they're more than welcome. Cheering is encouraged, but mean-spirited jeering could get you booted from the panel room.
RULES OF THE GAMEThe rules of pro-bending are all covered in a comprehensive entry on the Avatar Wiki, here:
http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Pro-bending Bryke also created a great rules video which you can view here:
http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/legend-of-korra-pre-bending-rules-explained-clip.html Our tournament would follow these rules as closely as possible, with a few obvious adjustments for our non-bending world.
EQUIPMENT
Instead of actual fire, water, and earth, we will be using color-coded dodgeballs as 'elements'. Ringside attendants will retrieve any 'elements' that roll or are thrown out of the reach of the players. Retrieved 'elements' will be rolled back into the arena along the current boundary line between the two teams, from the side where they flew out.
The arena will be marked out on the floor in carpet-safe colored tape. The 'ropes' along the sides of the arena will (probably) be strung from chairs.
BENDING AND DEFENDING
Each player must pick their 'element' upon registration, and wear a headband and wristbands in the colors of that 'element'. Players may pick up, hold, and throw balls only if they are of an 'element' bendable by the player. Each player enters the field carrying two balls of their 'element', and can pick up loose 'elements' of the correct type from the floor at any time. No player may "hoard" their 'element' by picking up more than two balls at the same time.
Catching an opponent's thrown 'element' without dropping it, IF it is the correct type, is a fair save and does not count as a hit. Players may also use an 'element' held in their hands as a shield to block other 'elements' from hitting them. Picking up, holding, or throwing a ball of the wrong 'element' is a foul and will result in a one-zone penalty (thanks to Korra, there's canon precedent for this rule)!
SCORING HITS AND LOSING ZONES
Headshots are illegal (yes, even for waterbenders!) and can result in a one-zone penalty, but any other part of the body is a fair target.
Three direct hits on the same player will "push" that player back one zone. Accidentally stepping back over the line also loses the player a zone. Players can also lose a zone by committing a foul, such as excessive roughness or stepping across a zone line when the right conditions have not been met.
If both a player's feet are touching the floor outside the arena at any time, this will count as a ring-out. That player is out ("in the water"). Players who sustain three hits and lose a zone while in Zone Three are also "in the water". These players must sit out the rest of the round. They may return for the next round.All rules not mentioned in this section will be identical to the canon rules of pro-bending.
REFEREE CALLSTo avoid confusion, all referee calls should be phrased the same way: "(Red/Blue) ----bender, (call)!" Calls made for the whole team should be phrased as: "(Red/Blue) Team, (call)!" The Red and Blue teams in a match are decided by which half of the arena (red or blue) they start from.
Examples:
Blue waterbender, one hit!
Red firebender, three hits! Fall back to Zone Two!
Blue earthbender, out!
Red waterbender, foul! Excessive roughness!
Blue firebender, foul! You're over the zone line!
Red earthbender, foul! Wrong element!
Blue team, advance to Zone One!
Red team, advance to Zone Three!
The announcer(s) will, of course, use the teams' actual names as much as they like in their running commentary.
RULES OF THE TOURNAMENTA pro-bending match takes about fifteen minutes (three 3-minute rounds, plus six minutes of leeway for setup/referee calls/etc.)
The first eight matches would fit into a 2.5 hour "qualifying" panel, consisting of two hours for the eight matches, plus an extra half hour to review the rules beforehand and cover any delays that might crop up. This panel would be run as a quick-and-dirty elimination round, with no team intros or awards.
The last seven matches would fit into another 2.5 hour "tournament" panel, consisting of quick team intros for the audience, followed by four preliminary matches, a two semi-final matches, and a final championship match, and finally an awards ceremony. This panel would be more audience-oriented and flamboyant, with teams encouraged to take a minute to mug for the crowd before starting their matches.
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Well? Have I left anything out? Anything you would add, or that you disagree with? Suggestions, thoughts, comments? Do any of you know where we could get a bunch of inexpensive dodgeballs?
And, most importantly, if these panels were approved, would you come to watch, or to referee...or even assemble a team and try for the CHAMPIONSHIP???
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POTENTIAL VOLUNTEER LIST(This is NOT an official signup list, just a way to measure interest and help us get approved!)RefereesSorimatsu
mesaverde
Ringside AttendantsBlue Leader
Bunny_Jean's fiance
POTENTIAL PLAYERS(This is NOT an official signup list, just a way to measure interest and help us get approved!)AshleyMonMon
Shingami_lover
Cuddlefish
lilyrosa143
Suyorumi
baka-imouto
Tsukinya
Tsukinya's husband
bunny_jean
Hikari_Alice
RoriLei
nekovamp13
Raveen92
Pixie
luvan1me
