We used to have kids from the UMinn come down to the MGEX about once a semester for mock trading sessions. The kids really enjoyed the pit, but then again with mock trading, there's no risk so it's not the same at all.
FWIW, as far as trading contest/competitions go: Freeman hosts 2010 Tulane Energy Trading Competition Monday, October 18th, 2010 "... This yearâs 28 finalists earned their place by successfully trading for two weeks, amongst a group of 174 students from 33 top-ranked universities, with simulated accounts against the live crude oil and natural gas futures markets. All of the students used Trading Technologies and Thomson Reuters professional software and were ranked based on their risk-adjusted returns. 'This is a demanding event on the students that have participated thus far. We are challenging them to use the same markets, trading software and risk management criteria that the top energy firms employ,' says Joe LeBlanc, director of the Freeman Schoolâs Trading Center. 'The finalists will now be challenged to not only trade against one of the most sophisticated energy trading simulations in the marketplace, but will be required to present their trading strategies and explain their ultimate results before our outstanding panel of top energy trading executives who will determine the top five university energy traders. This is difficult. This is what it takes to be the best.' In addition to approximately $375,000 in cash and cash equivalent prizes from sponsors, the students will compete for an opportunity to be selected for internships and jobs at participating firms..." "... The contest even has a twist when judges step in to trade against students in a refinery crack spread simulation. Refinery crack spreads are the margins earned by refineries for converting crude oil into an array of finished products. Students will simultaneously buy and sell crude oil, gasoline and heating oil futures as the judges participate in the heating oil marketplace to gauge how students respond to different real-life market events. 'The goal is to challenge students with actual trading orders of real energy firms which involves reducing risk while securing market trading opportunities for their firm. The idea is to create a trading competition more aligned with what employers want in the marketplace,' LeBlanc says... " http://freemanblog.freeman.tulane.edu/freemannews/index.php/tag/tulane-energy-trading-competition/
I did a contest like this hosted by UBS back in college. I was one of the winners and got to go on a trip to their Stamford trading room... the unspoken truth was that all the winners had figured out the contest platform was running on delayed data. so, the winners weren't really great traders, and they weren't lucky...they just figured out how to game the system.
lol the delay on the simulation makes it possible for people to make upwards of 30k a day on the simulator with little size at all... thats what happened at our prop firm, the people that cheated on sim found it hardest live