For any who were not there this year: It was announced that this was the last year of pro-bending.
They didn't announce the reason, so I asked the wonderful organizer Ari(sp) why this was and she told me that most of all it is because of a decline in interest to participate. They do not have enough contestants to fill a full panel.
Therefore - if you desperately want this panel to continue and would be willing to commit to competing despite possible schedule conflicts, I would suggest writing to kumoricon's head of programming. I don't know if it would be enough to bring it back since they've already made the decision, but it would just be such a shame to see it disappear.
I cannot express how much I love panels that interact with their audience, and having the opportunity to participate is just about the pinnacle of that. It's such a perfectly clever adaption of what's in the show, but even if you don't like the show I believe you can appreciate spectating it - it's an improved version of dodge ball with several layers of strategy and teamwork added that you will never be able to see or play anywhere else.
It was born here at Kumoricon, I pray it doesn't die here.
