Us humans sure are a competitive lot.  We’ve had to be; out-evolving the Neanderthals, getting rid of those pesky mammals who were a threat to Homo Sapiens – all competition.
We just cannot help ourselves; researchers may soon find a link between dopamine release and winning, the way we are going.  As much as we love winning, we hate losing; think back 2 weeks ago to that horrible loss the Springboks suffered at the hands of the Irish…now think about the win against England – see?
Sport is an easy way of explaining competition:  You are usually pitting apples against apples and pears against pears.  When you lose a race against Usain Bolt it’s because the guy ran faster than you (and looked better than you while doing it, but that’s another story).  Competitive sport was probably invented for the simple reason of competition, once the necessity part of say, running a mile to send a message, was a moot point.

We are also a blood thirsty lot; you cannot really see the difference between the thousands cheering a gladiator in the Colosseum and the way Social Media drools over every salacious detail of awards ceremonies of some sort (same thing, just less blood in modern times).
This brings us to competitions based on human perception: Art, food, wine, fashion – all judged by human beings, bringing every single preconception, bias,  experience, fears and hopes to the table.  Oh hell, you can be as qualified as you like, but if that particular wine maker’s made a pass at your wife/lover/pet poodle before, you will not like his wine.  Taste it blind and you will still not like it – the human brain is a very clever thing with that little part called “memory”.  Been to a restaurant where your partner broke up with you or still have the wedding dress you wore that day when you got stood up at the altar?  All play on our emotions as humans, the very essence of our humanity.
Why do we, being intelligent human beings and knowing that it is all subjective, still (a) enter competitions and (b) hang on to every result as if it’s the be-all and end-all of existence?  Because we love competition; we love winners and we love losers.  It’s the Colosseum all over again; no matter that it was always a mismatch (either the wild animal against unarmed humans or armed-to-the-teeth warriors).  Blood and guts, people.  Why do you think the cameras focus more on the losing Oscar nominees than the winners?  (A lost cause, by the way, those people are a-c-t-o-r-s)

I would love to see wine makers, artists and restauranteurs taking validation from where it really matters: Their financial results (I know you were thinking I should’ve said “in their hearts” but lets all be honest now, ok?).   Is your art actually selling, do you have to sell wine on allocation because demand outstrips production and is your restaurant close to fully booked 7 nights a week?  THEN YOU WIN.
I am not advocating the silly thing they have going at some schools where everybody wins something, because at least you tried and participated or that no one keeps score, I am asking for perspective.  Perspective means being happy for a winner, but realising that the decision was made by 5 people out of thousands of just-as-qualified judges; perspective means accepting that a judge had a cold that day or that the bottle/waiter had an off day.  Perspective also means understanding that losing does not mean that the product is inferior or that you have failed as an entrepreneur.
The other side of the coin is that in judging anything (from prettiest baby competitions, to best lemonade stand at the school fair), context is everything and realising and understanding that knowledge and experience are always trumped by human emotion.  You will not bring the same stuff to the table when you’re judging your varsity mates’ potjiekos competition in the ‘burbs than when you’re doing a paid-for gig as a braai competition judge.  I have been there, I have seen it and felt it.  I have sat on a wine judging panel where debate was actively discouraged, where the average score was simply accepted.  I have also sat on panels where people were too scared to make an actual decision.  If you do hang your hat on the “I am a judge for this or that” stand, be prepared to take a stand; be brave enough to make a call, stick to it and justify it in public.  That is the least you can do when essentially messing about with someone’s livelihood.

Competition may be one of the things that make us human, but let’s not lose our humanity because if it.  “Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off”- Franklin D. Roosevelt