fctg - it's about seeing how many people are involved. Any contest is silly when there is only two or three people competing against each other. If your requirements are to stringent, then you'll get less participants. The larger the pool you draw from, the better you can get out of it.

If you can attract new people based on the contests, and rig further contests to reflect either more strenuous requirements and simultaneously run one that has more relaxed requirements, the end result is that the forum itself grows and gains from the entire event.