"I competed in the masters advanced no Gi division for old guys like me 30-40 175lb and over, I lost on points. I was surprised how few competitors were in that divison compared to the intermediate and beginers!"
There was no masters intermediate no-gi division. If you were over 30, you had to compete in advanced, beginners or drop down to face the yung un's in the Mens division for intermediate. That was a dillema for a lot of older folks ;) with more than a year of experience but less than three years. Face a guy 10 years younger than you, or a guy your age with WAY more expereince than you.
Maybe some of em said f^&* it, and just did beginners, that would explain why that division got so big.