I highly recommend this swap if are a newbie and you've never had someone else look at your flies. Challenge yourself in a mix of styles of flies and do a few things you're not comfortable with! Parnelli will give you a fair shake and constructive criticism from a functional or not aspect is more helpful than almost anything. If you're on the fence, just do it!
I participated last year, and learned a lot. I've been tying for 3 years as of now, but most of my tying has centered around warmwater flies. I came into the swap last minute and challenged myself to tie trout patterns and use materials I hadn't before. It put my tying abilities at the "next level" and gave me a confidence boost at the end.