Coming back to this "discussion" after a few days, having seen it referenced on two or three other boards with general disgust expressed, I'd like to congratulate Jim Moray for his extraordinarily brave posting some way back detailing just what effect this kind of thing can have on young performers starting out.

However, I was equally unimpressed by the condescending people who seem to delight in referring to 20 year olds as "children". The median age for this competition is the legal age of adulthood, and all of the competitors, as far as I can see, conducted themselves with a damn sight more adult poise than many of the obviously older correspondents here (not just in this thread). You should be ashamed of yourselves, especially in the light of Jim Moray's honesty.