Macphun software and photography competitions: what do they mean

I don't enter many competitions, although I may do now that I have joined a local photographic society. I entered one for our local U3a for the cover of the interests book, and I won with this picture:

It is a picture of underground trains at Finchley Central underground station, which is near where most of the local meetings take place. The brief was to find something of local interest, that should be shot in landscape mode and be suitable for a folded cover with the front being therefore in portrait mode. To be truly local, I thought this was pretty difficult and came up with the idea of the local trains. This was shot of a cloudy day from a bridge over the platform using the ledge as a steady. I used a fairly slow shutter speed to try and capture some motion blur (subtle). This has been passed through a piece of software that I like called tonality pro, which is a specialist B and W creation suite. I like it, and I think the £40 or so I spent on the software had be worth it.
There are many ideas that I wanted the picture to convey. Travel and movement, to and fro, the Northern Line which has strong associations, and a local landmark. I submitted several images and this was the one that came through.
I have since spoken to several people about competitions, and the feeling is that they are not only about what you do, but the instantaneous reaction of the reviewer: it is a lottery and just because you do not win (or do win) does not mean too much. You just have to keep plugging at it if you want to be part of the show. The last club one (actually the first for me) suggested that my chances are best if I stick to the quirky as at least this will stand out. I am not going to sit in a hide to get the best picture of a bird, or wade through swamps, or get up at the crack of dawn, so it is a matter of what passes in front of my lenses. Will competitions make me a better photographer? Well, what is in my mind is that if I am on the lookout for something appropriate, or have an idea, then I am thinking ahead to the picture that will emerge: seeing through photographer's eyes, noticing stuff, and thinking what I want to preserve. That sounds ok to me.