I would start by adopting a charter and choosing a neutral judge or judges. I have been to competitions cooking butts and beat by someone that's cooking ribs or brisket, or not even cooking onsite. That should never happen.
I lost a chilli competition once to the organizers 12 yr old daughter. I am not saying in either competitions I should have won, but it can turn off any future entrants.
I entered 2 yrs in a row I was beat yr 1 by the organizer, and the next yr by his daughter.
That chilli competition folded up, and it was for the shriners. It made it 3 years. Our Moose houses had to adopt better rules due to the butt vs ribs incident. Many houses stopped competing in the annual competition. Some complained that the mix of gassers and stokers were unfair, but that's not a big issue to many. The largest complaint was that a cpl houses didn't even cook at the competition site. One of which won all.
Now its all in good fun and to raise money for charities, but that being said it is a competition.