I have won 24 awards in shows, including 4 best of show and 2 viewers choice awards 12 first place awards
Every one of my quilts were washed and dried before entering. Making sure your binding is even and full, your seams are straight, your design is appealing and your quilting is balanced is most important- along with being Clean.
I had 1 quilt about 11 years ago disqualify because I had failed to remove a marked seam. It was blue chalk, I didn’t think it was noticeable I had tried, it was quite faded. After that I started washing all my quilts.