" I don't see them as a competition per se and they perform a valuable service in encouraging performers and bringing Folk music to a wider audience.
can you give me of examples of performers they have encouraged other than past winners?
There are MANY other ways of bringing Folk Music to a wider audience, In Ireland it is done by inclusion of traditional music on mainstream national radio and television programmes ON A WEEKLY AND DAILY BASIS., without the showbiz element of awards.
Morris dancing is a way that folk music is brought to a wider audiences in the past, Maritime festivals have also acheived this by appealing to people who are involved in maritime hobbies or who may work at sea and who then develop an interest in associated Music.