I've been on this site for almost 20 years, started when I was in graduate school before I even had kids. My oldest daughter has now graduated HS and is in the middle of a 'gap year' before starting the Honors program at Michigan State in the Fall.
I think the biggest problem facing this contest is that we ARE from all over the country and almost every state now has a hunting community/forum - that helps connect people within a few hours driving distance. Speaking with people that live near you is much more realistic and enticing for many hunters, especially those that only have a few weekends a season to get out and hunt. I personally enjoy hearing stories from around the country - but knowing what the birds are doing in Missouri the 2nd week of April doesn't do me any good when I hunt the month of May in Michigan...
I think there's probably enough interest to keep the contest going - but we need to have much smaller teams, maybe 5 members per team. Smaller teams = more competition = more smack talk.