Pitch Slam at Writer's Digest Conference?

Hi! Has anyone ever done this? The next conference is in August and I'm thinking about attending and possibly participating in the Pitch Slam.

I am in the midst of my second round of edits on my first completed novel (woohoo!) and hope to have a presentable version before then.

I am new to all of this and have never attended a writing conference so any tips in general would be greatly appreciated! No matter how basic they may seem...

Thanks in advance!

ps. I hope this is an appropriate place to post this. If not, please let me know.