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Yes. This quotation from Goro Shimura sums it up, IMHO:

> "Though such a competition may have its raison d'être, I think those younger people who are seriously interested in mathematics will lose nothing by ignoring it."

And that's what it comes down to. Are these competitions fundamentally necessary to someone's development as a mathematician? Shimura seems to be saying something like, "Eh. Not really. If you don't like them, you don't need them."

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I've never done these competitions but I think that a good argument for participating in them is that you might meet like-minded people.

On the other hand, if you don't like the competitions, you probably would not meet like-minded people going there (assuming other participants like them).

Maybe we need alternative avenues for maths nerds to meet each other.

You certainly would. You're still talking about some very nerdy people.

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