Pretty much what Daph said.

Roles should tell about a character. Good stories that manage that are even better. You can absolutely get well rated roles based on bluntly telling me: "Dave is a warrior. He trained since he was a kid. His mom died. He is cool." since it tells me about the character, but it wouldn't be a top tier role-contest winning role for me.

Role contests for me involve 'all of the above'. If it is well written, has a certain level of depth, or manages to be original, then it has a much better chance of winning a RC for me.

-Ish