I am currently involved in a coding competition that runs over the course of about 2 months. At the end of the competition there is a showcase and you are judged by a panel to see who wins. This year in the competition there is at least one team that is comprised of two members of the board of directors of the competition (one is a former judge and the other has won for two years in a row, the competition is only in its 3rd year). Am I wrong to say that if you are a board member of the competition that you should not be allowed to be a competitor? To be fair I have pasted a clause below that goes over the conflict of interest part of the rules. I understand that it may not be against the rules, but is it also not in bad taste to have board members compete? If they win fairly, I believe that a negative light would still be cast upon the competition.

What are your thoughts?

(Conflict of Interest Clause in competition.) http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=GkGAmCVd