The downside of that is you don't get the benefit of parallel attempts. Another option could be the splitting of the reward to the best few, the lions share going to the best quality option. And all of these attempts would also prove the capabilities of the competitor, which could help in selecting a full time position for them, especially if the attempts being published of the multiple winners is part of the protocol.

Designing game theory systems that minimise downsides for all participants are the best puzzles. I live for it.