Good points. But I wanted to respond to the last: > A final point then: Does hearing a respected jury tell you >your plans are the bee's knees make you more

Good points. But I wanted to respond to the last: > A final point then: Does hearing a respected jury tell you >your plans are the bee's knees make you more hesistant to >change them or throw them overboard when things aren't >taking off? Maybe, maybe not. But having that same jury tell you your plans are bad and why they are bad is extremely useful. So I wouldn't write off these competitions entirely.