I have entered the GASC in the last few years and only been a finalist until last year, when I won an HONOR AWARD. I entered a song jointly written with ALAN LAURIS which won an HONOR AWARD in the FOLK'ACOUSTIC section. We were very pleased as the list of judges looks pretty prestigious. Also the entrants are predominantly from the US and CANADA, so any success was doubly sweet. There is nothing to stop any of the judges contacting an entrant if something clicks with them. I've been very impressed so far with their attitude and professionalism, and ben quite willing to pay the fee. If I'm not prepared to show a bit of confidence in my work, why should expect anyone-else to. Good luck if you go for it.