Toni, if your seriously contemplating competition my first advice would be to toss what you want out the window. The above mentioned advice about the details is exactly the type of things you will need to adhere to in order to compete. Building for competition is about the judges, as much if not more, than the subject and or you.

It is my understanding that one starts the judging process with a perfect score and all the judges do is take away points for things they see different than in the documentation photos. Also, in regards to documentation, the photos you provide must be consistent from one to another, of the same time/period frame.

I am sure you are aware of my Pitts that I am finishing up, it is a build for competition. There were many things about the build that I would have liked, initially, to have done differently. But due to my conversations with master builders and judges from all the local events I realized those things had to be in, in order to compete.
As Carl has mentioned, practice a routine until you can do it with your eyes shut, with a similar airframe. Choose a spotter that can assist you in maintaining that pattern as well as relaying it to the judges during your flight.
You can also download the requirements from most events to be more aware of that events specific requirements.