Quilting can make or break a quilt. It can be an exquisite quilt but the design of the quilting can ruin it. It does not matter if it is a panto, computerized, freehand, it is still machine quilted. It takes great expertise to do. It takes months of practice to be able to follow a panto perfectly, freehand perfectly, and yes, choose the correct pattern, size it to the quilt, do mirroring, insets, etc. perfectly. You don't just walk up to a LA and start quilting a competition quilt. There are things like what weight of thread to use, should it show or sink into the quilt, colors, batting, softly showing the design, a harder face like W&N where it is more of a flat surface. So many things go into deciding before you ever even load a quilt onto the machine. It is not easy, and it is a great responsibility. If the quilt does not lay flat when it comes to you, you have to try ironing it flat, then use your expertise to quilt it flat because the lady wants to take home a flat quilt. If it isn't loaded correctly, it will finish lopsided. So many things have to be taken into account. Don't think LA is easier than hand quilting or domestic machine quilting, even if computerized or pantos are used. They deserve their moment in the limelight if a quilt wins because it is partly their expertise in competition that made the quilt win.