I hate to criticize, not having much to stand on (for example, not picking finalists this month). This contest represents a lot of work and passion, and I respect that.

But there's more drama here than there needs to be, and I have a suggestion that might help with that.

Obviously it is unclear to a lot of people what each contest's  requirements really are. Those of us who "get" Dave's way of formatting the contest announcements know what the "hard and fast" rules are versus what are recommendations are to sort of format the theme... but not everyone out there does, or thinks it's always clear. I'll admit myself that it's not always been clear to me, going way back.

The problem (and this isn't the first time) is that the part that is always intended to be inspirational (like the "example" picture) is being scrutinized for any idea that might give an entrant an edge. A lot of these people don't see the same mental image when they hear "low and slow" that guys like me and Dave (and most pilots) see... they see the prize, and bragging rights. So it becomes a guessing game: is it the foliage that matters most? Isn't "slow" a relative term with airplanes? Etc., etc.

All this information is so titillating they fail to realize that "The Rules", the actual rules, are a completely separate post, clearly separated from any suggestions on how to best portray the theme.

I think the reason why is that there's sometimes too much description of the theme... yet The Theme isn't presented like The Rules. A preference is shown for a sort of image in the description, but it's open-ended, because it's not really considered a Rule, apparently.
For example, if you just stated the theme simply in the title and then showed The Rules, there may be more challenging choices for us to ponder, but we wouldn't have to hear the squabbling afterwards. 

If "Low and Slow" was the only description of the theme, no picture, no details, it would still be a fun and fair contest if the entries ranged from a Cub going 65 mph over gorgeous fall  foliage (the "normal" interpretation) to some supersonic aircraft flying as low and as slow as it possibly can over, say, water (somebody eles's interpretation).
And there'd be much less drama.  I think... 

If you only want light single or multi piston props flying low and slow over colorful fall foliage, maybe the theme (which would be given the same importance as the official rules) should say only:

"Low and Slow: Light single piston aircraft flying low and slow over colorful fall foliage." 

  The idea here is that the title contains the criteria for that contest. Any shot that does not include: "light piston single or multi piston/low/slow/colorful foliage" would automatically get rejected, even if it's 100% kosher freeware and clearly a raw shot in the right format, etc... even if it's otherwise a great shot!

It'd also help to list "No text; no toolbars" in the official rules. I always pass over those; it's a pretty lazy way to present something for a competition.
I was once the noobiest noob (and old to boot!), but I made damn sure I understood how to not have text, toolbars or cursors showing on my contest entries before I ever posted one. If I can do it, anybody can. Seriously.