BBally, I am no experience comp cook, but, last year I had the chance to sit down with some of the top BBQ comp guys in CA and got to ask them, as CBJ's, how the whole system works and why the emphasis on the appearance and tenderness scores, was this just a skewing because I see it on forums. To a man, they explained that is has to do with the fact that often a competition is decided by fractions, that often the taste score is so close, that the appearance and tenderness do make a difference.
I noticed that while there are regional and organizational differences, there are some teams that win consistently, when I asked these guys, they explained to me that these 'super' teams (if you will) all have one thing in common and that is the meat they cook tastes great, tastes like the meat they are cooking and just tastes a little better than the others they tasted. These guys have had the opportunity in many cases to taste what the teams cooked, non blind, when they worked as support and not judges. I have had the opportunity as well, and the meat the top teams in Northern California produce is better than most, and it tastes better as meat, not sauce or rub, it still comes down to the meat.