Frustrations

Well, what you're describing is I think what we all experience - not so much frustration at the competition per se, but the frustration of being a writer. It truly is hard. And non-writers don't get that. They think if you can pick up a pen and place it on paper, you can be a writer. And even as writers who should know better, we each also carry a vestige of that belief. We think we should be able to do better. But there is a huge difference between scribbling a shopping list and creating art (because that really is what creative writing is - art - like the difference between chopping a tree and making a sculpture of it).

You are a writer, you are creating, you are an artist, you are not creating just shopping lists, and its intrinsically difficult and theres a huge learning curve. Speaking for myself I fully recognize that some of my writing is verging on tolerable, and some of it trully is miserable. What I do think is powerful about WOTF, or specifically the forum and most of the people here, is that we recognize 

1) its hard

2) we're all learning

3) we get better through mutual support, mutual critiques

4) progress may be slow

But, again, speaking for myself, while my 'grades' at wotf go up and down, I am confident my writing has got better over time. Its just theres a lot of other people who already write better or have also improved, and theres an element of luck and timing in striking a chord with judges. Lack of progress here doesnt necessarily mean lack of skill progress, so much as lack of matching tone to the competition. Its frustrating when that happens, but its good to try and work on both writing craft, and matching your pieces to the market you are targeting (WOTF or others).