Well, part of the problem was just simply inexperience with the new weapons system. While some maps would have sucked with or without the change, some of them probably would have fared decently in the old system.
I might do the "Sending out my first impressions" thing again this time, so if some of your are thinking about entering, maybe try to get in early if you want someone to just walk through the level. While I missed some of the things that people still saw wrong with the maps I went through, I do think having a bit of critiquing before judging may help improve your scores. Even if you don't have me looking through your levels, having someone else look through you level and give you an honest opinion will help you improve your wad.