I have some friends I wouldn't mind fishing tournaments with, but personally I don't think I want to fish with a total stranger. I like to meet new people, but somehow when I'm in a boat a feel a little safer and more confident if I know the person in it with me. That most likely comes from being a woman, not a man. Yet there are other people who enjoy fishing with someone new or someone they have never met. Holding at least one draw event each year does help members get to know each other and holding several can help new members not to feel left out.
Draw events have benefits, but they, like buddy tournaments, have drawbacks as well.
There's nothing like a day on the lake with someone to learn more about them, and yourself as well. Tournament format is only one facet of club fishing and while it's important that events be well run, draw only tournaments have been a dwindling format in Texas for some years. On the other hand, paper events and interest in them is growing even for clubs holding buddy system events. That takes a lot of trust. And it is trust, as well as hard work that helps to fuel well-run clubs.