I still feel that the snaps I did at the pattern contest fit the criteria but as I have told others, we are putting on a show for the judges. We need to figure out what they want and give it to them. Sometimes that may involve a little smoke and mirrors. In the end it dosent matter what we do with the sticks, as long as the judges see the airplane doing what they preceive to be the correct thing.
Seems that "style" also is a part of the calculus. I have read that the World's judges preferred a slower, more deliberate pace, versus the quick/crisp style of flying displayed by the American pilots.